With innumerable trends rising to the forefront of fashion and many becoming passé at the same time, 2023 has been quite an eventful year for the global fashion industry. While mulling over everything that transpired this year, if the fashionista in you is yearning to know what’s in store for 2024, here’s our take on the fashion trends to look forward to in the upcoming spring-summer season.
The year 2023 was an emotional whirlwind owing to several creative directors of prominent fashion houses, leaving their current roles for new appointments. While Sarah Burton concluded her 25-year-long run at Alexander McQueen and Jeremy Scott stepped down from his position at Moschino, Pharrell Williams was announced as Virgil Abloh’s successor at Louis Vuitton.
Additionally, the year also witnessed many runway moments that made it into fashion history. Think models sharing the ramp with robot dogs at Coperni, men rising from underneath the stage at Dior, Kendall Jenner’s fingernail dress, Schiaparelli’s take on Dante’s Inferno with dresses featuring faux animal heads, and glowing terrariums in the skirts at Undercover.
While such directorial changes and fashion week moments led to a more experimental and futuristic approach to couture, trends such as quiet luxury, crochet wear, repeating outfits to champion sustainability, reimagined denim and cargo pants took over wardrobes steadily. Likewise, for 2024, one can expect a playful perspective when it comes to proportions, silhouettes, materials, designing and state-of-the-art iterations of the classics.
That said, if you’re ready for a closet refresh for the new year, here are some of the hottest fashion trends you need to watch out for, picked straight from the spring-summer 2024 runways.
Fashion trends to bookmark for your wardrobe in 2024
Sporty, preppy styles
The Spring-Summer 2024 runways witnessed an emergence of sporty aesthetics and the 2000s preppy style at large. Quintessential athletic pieces (tracksuits, sports shirts and jerseys) and layered polos and rugby shirts were paired with tailored silhouettes, heels and flats. While polo t-shirts and collared shirts were put together with skirts and blazers at Miu Miu, windbreakers were effortlessly styled with satin pants at The Row and with distinctive skirts at Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Such windbreakers and hoodies were also a part of Dion Lee, whereas tracksuits at Coperni added to the rise of this trend. A-listers Taylor Swift, Bella Hadid and Rihanna have donned such collared staples recently as well.
Bringing the relevance of fashion from the higher education and graduation days to the forefront, preppy fashion has been reinstated on the ramp in the previous months. This blended approach is sure to take over the wardrobes of any fashionista in 2024.
Suit it up
A spring-friendly trend, as the name suggests, it includes blazers paired with tailored Bermuda shorts. This bossy yet fun aesthetic was seen on the runways of popular designers including Chanel, Staud, Mason Margiela, Loewe and Dries Van Noten.
While Max Mara, Saint Laurent and Zimmermann unveiled the classic full-length silhouette with a belted twist, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alain Paul went bold with squared shoulders. From oversized, gender-fluid designs to high-waisted pants, sleeveless jackets and neutral shades, the spring-summer collections had it all.
No matter what the style or silhouette is, a business casual look will be a top fashion trend in 2024, and adding some statement pantsuits to your closet will be a great bet.
Roses and other florals
Yes, florals for spring aren’t avant-garde, but summers can never be complete without some blossoming staples in your wardrobe. The fashion weeks’ runways experienced florals in plenty of forms, shapes and sizes. From outfits with floral prints all over chosen for classic pieces by Chanel, Carolina Herrera and Balenciaga to voluminous and multi-dimensional pieces at Loewe, Alexander McQueen and Chloé, both flamboyant and understated floral work made for some of the hottest ensembles.
While vivid flowers also marked a few minidresses by Balmain and Dsquared2, what stood out were freshly cut real pink roses sheathed in tulle at Simone Rocha. However, the one flower motif that was the cynosure of all these bouquet-like outfits was the rose, reigning in all its glory, incorporated in distinctive ways.
Ethereal white dresses
White dresses are going to take over the spring-summer fashion scenes in 2024 just like they did at the various couture weeks. Some of the biggest design houses dropped a range of dresses and even other ensembles such as blazers, denims and blouses in this stunning colour. From Valentino choosing extravagant, bright white pieces to Gucci, Theory and Tory Burch taking on a rather minimalist and short-length approach, the collections were a testament to the classic white, becoming the new IT colour in 2024.
Additionally, long, flowy versions, some even fashioned in sheer and see-through fabrics prominently marked the collections of designers such as Stella McCartney, Prada, Y/Project, Ermanno Scervino, Alaïa and Proenza Schouler. Regardless of how you create your ensemble with this hue, it is safe to say that you are never going to go wrong.
Skirts galore
Skirts were a big part of 2023, and they are also venturing with us into 2024 with newer versions of the classic long and short silhouettes. Poofy bubble hems, voluminous maxi and midi styles and ball-gown-inspired flares are going to make it big this season. Miniskirts in distinctive styles and asymmetrical hems with ruffles (Chanel and Miu Miu) and sculptural craft (Weinsanto and Mugler) were also seen dominating the runway.
What also indicated the rise of the skirt trend was the experimental use of distinctive fabrics across the various collections. While the use of vinyl at Louis Vuitton was a nod to the seventies, leather skirts by Courrèges, Prada and Andreadamo were in sync with the biker trend. Furthermore, distressed denim skirts were seen at Dior, Mowalola and KNWLS shows; Givenchy had wrap-style skirts and the low-waist Miu Miu skirts were reminiscent of the nineties.
It’s surely the right time to bring out those old skirts from your troves and add a few new ones in 2024.
Cascading fringes
The year 2024 is going to witness the resurgence of the classic fringe detailing in all its glory. As seen at the Milan and New York Fashion Week ramps, a sea of brands incorporated the bling of fringes in their collections, depicting that the trend is back.
While some ensembles featured toned-down detailing (Alexander McQueen’s black leather skirt, Ann Demeulemeester crochet top and dresses by Burberry, Akris, Tom Ford and Khaite), many others took it a notch higher with an edgy, sequinned vibe. Be it the lime green Gucci long coat, the Givenchy skirt with crystal fringes or metallic ones adorning Prada shorts, fringes turned out to be that accessory that stitched the entire look to perfection.
See-through silhouettes
An unmissable outfit option on the hottest fashion trends 2024 list, the sheer or see-through style isn’t dwindling any sooner. It is catapulting straight into the new year’s spring-summer season with more flamboyance than before. One aspect of this trend focuses on the use of openwork materials such as embellished mesh at the Bottega Veneta show, cutwork material used by Valentino, open weave netted tops and dresses at Staud and Isabel Marant and crochet knitted-look pieces at Tom Ford and Supriya Lele.
Other revolutionary sheer and see-through outfits were seen in huge numbers on the runway as well. From Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Dior, Victoria Beckham and Coperni to Saint Laurent, Atlein, Prada, Altuzarra and Ann Demeulemeester, plenty of designers presented their own version of the see-through trend impeccably. The pieces ranged from blouses and tops to dresses, full-length gowns and even skirts.
In case you were wondering if see-through outfits are relevant anymore, well, they are, and it might bode well for you to get your hands on some sultry ones right away.
Eclectic grandpa fashion
After being ruled by the coastal grandma aesthetic that brought a resurgence in crochet and knitwear, the fashion industry is all set to welcome its counterpart in 2024. Drawing inspiration from the sophisticated style of our grandfathers, this fashion trend will bring back retro pieces such as chic sweater vests, printed cardigans, tweed jackets, berets and vintage loafers to the forefront. It’s also a fairly gender-neutral style that anyone can pull off with ease.
While many design houses such as Dior, Loewe, Givenchy and Fendi showcased looks pertaining to this style on their recent runways, the trend has already picked up among Gen Z. According to data by social platform Pinterest, the search volumes for terms such as grandpa style, grandpa core, grandad style and retro streetwear have increased in high numbers.
Whether you’re an ardent follower of fashion trends or prefer comfort over style, grandpa core will let you channel both these aspects to a tee.
(Main Image: Courtesy Loewe, Staud, Stella McCartney; Featured Image: Courtesy Coperni)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What will be the fashion trends in 2024?
Pantsuits and short suits, blooming florals, white ensembles, see-through outfits and edgy skirts are going to be some of the top fashion trends in 2024.
– Is hot pink in style 2024?
While hot pink is a colour that one can never go wrong with, another shade of pink that ruled the spring-summer 2024 shows was Millennial Pink. A soft, stunning hue, it was seen at Carolina Herrera, Tory Burch and Sandy Liang in the form of mini dresses, gowns and accessories such as bags.
– What is the colour of the year 2024?
As announced by Pantone, the colour of the year 2024 is Peach Fuzz 13-1023 TCX.
– What are the fashion colours for 2024?
Some of the most prominent hues for 2024 include black, white, millennial pink, metallics (especially gold), muted pastels (blue, pink, coral and green) and shades of brown.
