Statement gowns are out and discreet chic – buoyed up with wardrobe staples including trench coats, pencil skirts, trouser suits and good jeans – is in. At the fashion search engine Tagwalk, which scanned more than 11,000 images from the spring/summer 2024 shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris, looks that were tagged “minimalism” were up 46 per cent on the previous spring/summer 2023 season. Logo-tagged looks, meanwhile, were down 52 per cent, while ’90s-tagged looks were up 42 per cent – the latter was also the most searched tag. With the 25th anniversary of the untimely death of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy coming up next year, meanwhile, the Succession-fuelled “quiet luxury” trend is segueing into something that more closely resembles the understated ’90s-New-York elegance of the former Calvin Klein publicist.
What will you be wearing next year? The good news is that you probably already own most of spring’s key elements, and that clever styling – a splash of red here, a crisp white shirt there –will serve as easy updates. Ballerinas and Mary-Janes are going nowhere, nor a well-cut blazer. And carrying a full-to-bursting bowling bag stuffed with last night’s high heels, a spare pair of socks, your notebook, wallet, keys and some paracetamol, is no longer anything to be ashamed of, thanks to Miuccia Prada and Miu Miu. The designer said her show was an exploration of modern beauty: “Not beauty, but beauties, an embracing of unique characters, the joy of life.” Momentarily, it gave us something to smile about.
