It’s a new year and we’re just waiting for AW23 to peak in February to see what next year’s Autumn/Winter trends will be.
But mainly the brands showed us which trends we should pay attention to during the spring-summer months of this year, and it’s quite a combination.
The many shapes that come in the form of oversized pockets, oversized blazers and flowing capes, as well as romantic silhouettes in lace textiles and daring looks in the form of denim and leather are the most popular. Style trends vary with something for every style.
These are the trends that will define 2023 in fashion.
Y2K nostalgia
Several designers from Matthew M. Williams (Givenchy), to Hedi Slimane (Celine) and Diesel had strong early 2000s references with printed designs, lots of denim references, low waists, baggy pants and matching bra and skirt or pants ensemble . There are indie and rock references in these Y2K ensembles.
Slimane’s Winter 2023 collection presented last year in LA included oversized combinations in chocolate, dark brown and earthy charcoal black tones. You’ll know you’ve spotted a Y2K nostalgia trend when there’s an all-denim dress (who can forget Britney Spears’ all-denim look on the 2001 AMAs red carpet and Katy Perry bringing it back on the 2022 CMAs red carpet?), or baggy jeans high waist or extremely low waist or wide leg.
Sharp suits and oversized jackets
Everyone who knows the British designer Paul Smith knows that he is a master tailor.
His 2023 look, like other European design houses such as Victoria Beckham, Valentino and Chanel, introduced oversized but tailored jackets in their 2023 collections.
A trend within this trend are these tailored jackets that are big enough to look like mini dresses.
Lace
Dior’s artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri channeled her love of lace and French nobility with a window display inspired by Catherine de Medici.
De Medici brought new innovations to French fashion, from heels to corsets and Burano lace. So Chiuri introduced lace collars and lace dresses, of all hem lengths, in Dior’s SS23 women’s runway collection.
Carolina Herrera, Elie Saab, LoveShackFancy, Burberry with their show postponed due to the Queen’s death and Versace incorporated lace into loose silhouettes and maxi dresses for their SS23 collections.
Crazy for pockets
No, these aren’t Dad’s cargo pants or Grandpa’s pants covered in fishing pockets. The SS23 runway was full of pockets of skirts, sneakers and jackets.
Back to Maria Grazia Chiuri, she created cute cargo pants. And Loewe created a series of cargo jackets in camel brown. Ib Kamara also explored large pockets for the Off-White SS23 “Celebration” show in Paris in September.
But when you think about that show, Kamara incorporated quite a few of the season’s trends of leather pants and boots, oversized jackets, crew necks on skin-baring jackets—also another trend. Stella McCartney, Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu also made an effort with pockets galore in their collections.
Dramatic capes
Capes are a unique way of expressing your own sense of style, more than coats and jackets. Valentino’s own Pierpaolo Piccioli made a strong statement with Maison logo pieces at their SS23 fashion show and threw out some dramatic capes.
Simple pants, leather pants because the fabric is trendy, and long dresses can be combined with capes. Alaïa and Issey Miyake also created dramatic capes.
A blast from the past
Chanel was the first European luxury brand to host a fashion show in sub-Saharan Africa. They did this last year from Dakar, Senegal for their Métiers d’art collection. Creative director Virginie Viard gave a nod to the ’70s with Barrymore-style long collars and long tops (a nod to actor John Barrymore).
In touch with the pop-soul-funk disco era of the 70s, there was no shortage of flowy pants and patterned blouses paired with jacket blazers.
And Louis Vuitton, Jil Sander and Chanel have re-used feathers in the Roaring 1920s style with an emphasis on silhouettes and wrap boas for a century later the Roaring 2020s.