‘Tis the season for vision-boarding and goal-setting, for reflecting on old habits we wish to amend while also looking forward to the progress we make by the next ball drop. No matter how one feels about making New Year’s resolutions, it is undeniable that the new year spurs excitement in everyone, promising change and new beginnings. Thinking about new habits, jobs, travel destinations, and – what this article will focus on – wardrobes we hope to attain as 2024 unfolds can help develop our goals for the new year. Plus, letting the mind wander and envision our dream selves is simply fun. Therefore, this article joins in on the season’s excitement by offering some 2024 fashion predictions that will surely spark some inspiration in the New Year’s enthusiasts and skeptics alike!
1. Bows, Rosettes, and Embellishments Galore
2023 was the year that embraced various hyperfeminine aesthetics. The summer exploded with Barbie pink and 80s neon, while winter turned to lighter and subtler microtrends such as ballet, coquette, and vanilla girlcore. By December, bows were added to everything from braided hairstyles to the backs of Ugg boots. Even food and vapes were embellished with bows as a meme on TikTok. Nevertheless, the fashion industry has clarified that bows, ribbons, lace, and rosettes are embellishments here to stay. Copenhagen Fashion Week (which took place in August last year) embraced hyperfeminine embellishments in their Spring/Summer 2024 show, with designers such as Magda Butryn and Sandy Liang featuring rosette chokers, belts, and pins. Designer brands such as Moschino and Mirror Palais also incorporated bows as embellishments and statement pieces in their S/S 2024 collections. Thus, while the subtle shift in feminine aesthetics from summer to January shows the bow craze might evolve as the year goes on, it is safe to say these embellishments will continue to take the fashion industry by storm in 2024.
2. Time to pop, sparkle, and shine
Incorporating a “pop of red” into one’s wardrobe was all the craze during the 2023 holiday season. The “pop of red” trend took off by presenting a subtle yet exciting way to level up an outfit, only requiring one red item, such as a scarf, top, or nail polish. This was seen throughout Paris Fashion Week, where showgoers such as Kendal Jenner and Camille Charrière added touches of color to their street style. Going into 2024, the idea of adding a “pop” of color will stay but extend to other color wheel members. Aya Kenai, Head of Editorial and Creative for Shopping at Google, is “betting on shades of green in 2024.” Furthermore, having a piece that stands out will also include the pop and shine of metallics. This was made clear in the S/S 2024 collections of significant designer brands such as Miu Miu, Ralph Lauren, and Versace, showcasing various metallic materials – from sequined-embellished blouses to chainmail pieces. Thus, while red continues to have its moment in the early months of 2024, it is time to think beyond one color and consider alternative ways to make an outfit “pop”!
3. Challenging the “clean girl” and “quiet luxury” aesthetics
The most drastic change in fashion predicted for 2024 is the shift from a “clean girl” aesthetic to a messier, gritter look. The “clean girl” aesthetic is characterized by natural makeup, athleisure, dainty gold jewelry, and slicked-back hair. Yet, natural beauty brands such as Rare Beauty, Kosas, Drunk Elephant, and Glow Recipe have cleared off shelves this holiday season at an alarming rate, making the look less obtainable.Recently, this has been to the shock of Sephora employees in the US, who note a concerningly young customer base of 9-10-year-olds taking over stores and emptying shelves. Furthermore, a growing tiredness of having to appear “put together” online is pushing many to turn to other, more relatable looks. This month, “90s messy makeup” gained a following on TikTok, with viral makeup tutorials claiming “clean girl makeup is dead, messy 90s grunge makeup is back.” Indeed, grunge made its way to Moschino’s S/S2024 runway show with Katie Grand’s designs incorporating lots of leather, denim, straps, and knee-high boots. She also directly challenged the “quiet luxury” trend of 2023 (marked by a minimalist wardrobe of investment pieces) by embellishing her eccentric designs with the phrase “loud luxury.” Thus, the “clean girl” and the “quiet luxury” enthusiast might meet a challenger who promises accessibility and relatability in 2024: the messy, grunge look.
These are only a few fashion predictions that can be made for 2024. Fashion specialists and major magazines like Vogue also forecast “flapper”– inspired and “‘90s redux” fashion to define looks in 2024. Yet, while we can try to predict the trends worth our investment and imagine what looks we hope to fashion this year, nothing is set in stone. The lifecycle of fashion trends continues to get shorter and shorter due to the fast-paced nature of social media. What once was a twenty-year process from runways to eventual obsolescence, the relevance of fashion trends now only spans months. While timeless trends – especially the current 90s revival – may resurface every few years or so, the fact that trend lifecycles are shortening shows how unstable and unpredictable the public’s attention span can be. Thus, the fleeting nature of trends makes one thing clear: while making fashion predictions for 2024 gives us an idea of what is to come, what should ultimately matter to the average consumer and to you, the reader, is what wardrobe gives you the most confidence and comfort. Ultimately, trends and predictions should be treated lightly as means to an end – as a way to share interests and build self-confidence going into 2024.