Seemingly no collection was without some kind of slim and sleek tank silhouette; fashion’s Olympics-fuelLed athletic fixation has not yet waned. At Christian Dior, tanks had a sporty aspect. We also saw sophisticated takes on sportiness like billowy polo dresses and windbreakers in materials from nylon to satin, to wear with sequined dresses.
Circles and discs, symbols associated with femininity, were also abundant. The invitation to Jonathan Anderson’s spring show for Loewe was a ring, and on the runway the man who resurrected the structured pannier for spring/summer 2023, went further back in history to bring the bell-shaped hoop skirt back into rotation. His had a weightlessness the originals lacked. Panniers put in an appearance too, most notably on side-bolstered robe de style dresses popularised a century ago by Jeanne Lanvin. Also coming out from the shadows were bewitching looks. These ranged from the darkly mysterious (banshees were referenced at McQueen; Disney’s Wicked antiheroines made their presence known), to the romantic á la Stevie Nicks’s “Rhiannon” (who, as “a woman taken by the wind” is exceedingly on trend). Seduction is a kind of sorcery that designers played with via cone bras and transparent (tulle) veiling that was like a physical replication of a soft filter.
Softness and fluidity are not far apart, and into this especially feminine season, dandies made a dramatic entrance. At Saint Laurent the house founder was the muse. Sailors, Renaissance princes, Tudor kings, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and other storybook characters also came to life on the runways.
This analysis of the most directional spring trends is based on a review of over 400 brands in the four fashion capitals (New York, London, Milan, and Paris) as well as Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Berlin, plus women’s looks presented during menswear.
Float away in power-pouf dresses that are stuffed or actually inflatable. Diaphanous shapes took form as sculptural fashion-come-art pieces on the runways, most notably at Comme des Garçons (by no surprise), where duvet-like globules of fabric brushed past front row attendees. More traditional bubble silhouettes, meanwhile – which offer a more down-to-earth alternative, fit for everyday wear – came courtesy of Chloé, Patou, Nicklas Skovgaard, Rokh and Emilia Wickstead. The full-bodied skirt, with a puff-hem, is a spring must-have.
The humble tank top has been a permanent fixture on the seasonal runways for some time – and they took centre stage once again for spring/summer. Rather than forming a quiet foundation for outfits, as they have done for many decades, the basic was a clincher of looks at Rabanne (worn as a dress, with silver chainmail detailing atop), Willy Chavarria (worn with belted wide-leg trousers), 16Arlington (knitted and sheer), Ralph Lauren (worn with a high-waisted, embellished gold skirt) and Stella McCartney, where tanks came emblazoned with “mother” across the chest and “fucker” in small print below. The classic scooped neckline was a resounding winner – take note.
There’s been a gothic mood lingering in fashion for some time, spurred by releases including Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Nosferatu. Free-spirited or severe, looks that embodied dark romance were interspersed throughout the collections. At Rick Owens – the king of drama – there were, naturally, plenty that would double-up as a winning costume, while Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut brought with it whimsical yet mysterious florals. Elsewhere, Standing Ground’s Michael Stewart poised cameras on the front-row with his hooded velvet gown; ditto Balenciaga’s angular-shouldered closing look, worn by house muse, Eliza Douglas. The easiest way to welcome this attitude-ridden mood into your wardrobe? Consult Saint Laurent’s flowing boho dresses, which were worn beneath heavy-duty leather jackets.
Fashion loves a hybrid, and this season skants, skousers and one-legged pants are vying for our attention. See: Matthieu Blazy’s sophisticated take on the trend that’s taken Gen-Z by storm; elevated in a rigid all-black silhouette. London talent Johanna Parv, meanwhile, provided a practical option rendered in crunchy light grey shell – worn with a cycle-inspired purple zip-down top, a headband and wraparound sunglasses for ultimate high-low athleisure style. While there were many hybrid versions on offer, there was also endless styling inspiration in the form of skirts – mainly midi and mini – worn atop jeans and tailored trousers. Why pick one when you can have both?
Wisps of gossamer-thin tulle and organza fabrications juxtaposed the aforementioned gothic propositions at the shows. For a period of time, sheerness was few and far between, but nowadays, “naked dressing” is commonplace every season – especially in spring/summer collections, when the weather is much more forgiving. There were looks destined for the red carpet, at Tom Ford, Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini, Simone Rocha, Sportmax and London’s resident sheer aficionado, Nensi Dojaka. And a way to feasibly incorporate mesh into everyday style, courtesy of Dries Van Noten, where a mint tunic was layered atop a double-breasted lilac blazer.
Football cups, the Olympics, World Championships… an endless stream of sports tournaments – and a pandemic spent in tracksuits – has fully integrated sportswear into fashion, and there were several new ideas at the shows to take on board for 2025. Take cues from the block-coloured track jackets at Miu Miu, Tolu Coker and GCDS, and the sporty ballet-pink silky separates at Simone Rocha and Ferragamo. The ultimate interpretation of sportif fashion arrived at Wales Bonner, via effortlessly styled mainline pieces and new pieces from her ongoing collaboration with Adidas Originals. Set your alarms!
Further developing the idea of flatness introduced for autumn, designers turned to nude-illusion and other tricks of the trade to create anti-gravity looks. These aren’t the easiest investment for spring – to wear or to store – but this trend is made for the avant-garde fashion fanatic. From Loewe’s rigid coat (complete with a splayed hemline), to Victoria Beckham’s wired handkerchief top; Tory Burch’s spherical-waisted, textured skirts to Pieter Mulier’s ingenious, body-skimming spiral dresses, fashion reached new dimensions this season.
Pick your muse: Nirvana or Country Living. Whichever your preference, the plaid memo for spring was realised as everything from separates to classic, Cobain-esque flannel shirts, coats and ruffled skirts. The Row’s look book brought an elegant rendition of the print: look 38 comprised a square-neck maxi dress secured with black bows at the shoulders, while Matthieu Blazy – who famously sent Kate Moss down his sophomore spring/summer 2023 Bottega Veneta runway in trompe l’oeil leather “jeans”, a white tank top and a checked shirt, worn nonchalantly undone – explored the pattern once again for spring/summer 2025, as a thick coat-come-shirt.
Fashion typically has one foot in the future, one rooted firmly in the past. The present flashes by in a mere second – a look on a runway, then onto next. Novel interpretations of historical ideas arrived as full-bodied skirts (Junya Watanabe, Erdem, Loewe) in addition to crinoline-like under layers (Harris Reed, Chanel) and the usual corsetry and boning that crops up every season. Though new pieces are made in the spirit of what’s come before, the most authentic way to buy into this trend would be to scour vintage and antique markets. Make haste.
Prepped with pockets, buttons, poppers and the like, 2025’s take on utilitarian is as practical as it is stylish. Consider Sacai’s cargo trousers, Isabel Marant’s desert-hued waistcoat, or funnel-neck jackets from Gucci and Mugler your new uniform. With all the functional fashion, some looks were imbued with scout-ish charm, interpreted literally by Fashion East’s Olly Shinder, who flourished one look with a preppy hat and neckerchief.
No designer explored the spiralled silhouette more than Pieter Mulier, who for Alaïa spring/summer 2025 echoed the infrastructure of the Guggenheim – where his show was held – via brushed shearling chubbies and micro-pleated dresses that snapped onto the body, made using similar techniques to jewellery manufacturing. Draped spiral silhouettes debuted at Atlein, Luar, Peter Do and Tibi, while Ludovic de Saint Sernin nodded to Alaïa’s iconic zipper dress with an unravelling eyelet-trimmed dress, with tiered bands that were suspended by invisible threads.
Anthony Vaccarello’s coterie of suited models set a tone for tailoring in 2025. “My last men’s show in March had been all about tailoring, but based on flou; I wanted this one to be the opposite – more strict,” the designer said of his collection. “It’s not about when I would do a tuxedo for a woman which was worn naked underneath. The suits come with shirts, ties. You’re dressed. It’s about control, and power, in a way.” For fine and dandy inspiration, see also: Willy Chavarria, Nicholas Daley and Ann Demeulemeester, to name but a few.
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