New year, new wardrobe. The best 2024 fashion trends are already taking shape, thanks to the spring runway shows and some boundary-pushing red carpet style—and just when we were starting to get tired of our current wardrobes, anyway.
In 2023, the biggest overarching fashion trends—Y2K and quiet luxury—seemed to be at odds with each other. The latter championed simplicity over sparkle, and investment pieces over one-season wonders. The other was pure fun and nostalgia. So what do the experts—and the runways—foresee for 2024?
“I think if prices for luxury goods continue to remain as high as they currently are, we’ll see the ‘quiet luxury’ trend stick around for a bit longer,” predicts Emilia Petrarca, who writes the fashion Substack Shop Rat. “It’s just too expensive to take risks on pieces that you might not like five, ten years down the line. Timeless pieces are perhaps a better investment.” Still, she doesn’t think we’re headed for a year of unexciting clothes. Instead, “People are interested in trying a timeless sort of elegance or opulence—not just a boring beige minimalism that’s perhaps safer.”
One safe bet: Secondhand fashion will continue to be hugely popular. But Petrarca thinks we’ll move away from the Y2K aesthetic. As does Jenny Walton, writer of Jenny Sais Quoi on Substack. “I’ve been waiting to see if there will be a sort of 1920s resurgence, followed by a 1930s long silk bias cut dress resurgence,” she says. In the meantime, Walton (and seemingly everyone else on Instagram) has eyes for one dress in particular. “The only thing I’m focused on is how to get one of those flowing silk Prada dresses from the runway.”
Wondering what else will hit next year? We compiled the biggest fashion trends to expect in 2024, ahead.
Girlcore
Everything is currently covered in bows, and we’re certain that they’re going to get even more popular as 2024 fashion trends take shape. We also saw countless rosettes, ribbons, and ruffles on the spring runways, meaning we’re in for a year of feminine, girlish fashion. Let’s call it what it is: girlcore.
Sequined Everything
Another repeated motif on the 2024 runways has been high shine—especially sequins. Once relegated to New Year’s Eve outfits, paillettes are now showing up in looks destined both for the dance floor and the office. Why not make this your flashiest year yet?
Prep School
Miu Miu’s spring runway was like a new episode of Gossip Girl (or a peek at the students who were actually having fun in Saltburn), and tons of other brands featured models done up in preppy, athletic styling. In the new year, we’re excited to play with that relaxed, moneyed aesthetic by stocking up on striped button-downs, polo shirts, academic blazers, and outdoorsy sandals.
Non-Basic Basics
Thanks to the coffee-table book CBK: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy: A Life in Fashion, the late style icon’s look is on inspiration boards all over again. “I believe we will move into an ’80s-’90s look somewhat adjacent to quiet luxury,” predicts Walton. “Someone who dressed in a very simplistic and chic manner such as Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy will continue to be a big inspiration. I also think that restraint will become more and more alluring.”
C-Suite Chic
Our favorite winter 2023 fashion trends included power dressing, and we’re expecting to see much more of it in the coming year. Channel your inner executive and pick up a tailored blazer or an office-ready dress—then pretend like you have your life in order.
Sheer Layering
If the Dior, Proenza Schouler, and Jason Wu collections—among many, many other runway presentations—are any indication, expect see-through clothing to continue its reign on and off the red carpet.
XL Bags
We have Succession to thank for the name “ludicrously capacious bags,” but labels like Stella McCartney, Tibi, and Victoria Beckham to thank for adding them to their spring collections. Start doing your shoulder exercises now, then pick up an oversized designer bag from Coach or Tory Burch before the rest of your group chat does.
