Overwhelmed by trends and micro trends? Don’t know what to wear? Not sure what’s chic or not? Don’t worry—I’ve been delving into TikTok and Instagram to tell you what’s hot and what’s not for 2025. The fashion trends I’ve included in this compilation are just the ones that caught my eye. Trends can sometimes die fast or last for several seasons, but if anything is to last in your closet, it’s your own personal style.
Throughout this article, I suggest ways to incorporate these trends consciously without buying into fast fashion. I also recommend other ways to include these fashion trends into your daily work or school outfits.
Fashion industry statistics about their effect on the environment
Fast fashion has created a significant amount of negative effects on our environment. Due to cheap materials and labour fast fashion is able to keep on top of upcoming trends and is creating a drastically devastating impact on the environment.
- How much clothing do Canadians throw out annually?
- An article from Waste Solutions highlighted a study conducted by the University of Waterloo in 2023. It was revealed on average “that each Canadian throws away approximately around thirty-seven kilograms (81 pounds) of textiles every year. This waste contributes to the rapid filling of landfills and creates significant environmental concerns.” Waste Solutions noted that that weight is equivalent to, 27 t-shirts, 16 jeans, 18 jackets, 18 sweaters, and 18 dresses total.
- What about the effects on water?
- According to Earth.org, to make one cotton shirt, it takes approximately 700 gallons of water, while it takes about another 2000 gallons for a pair of jeans. If the garment is dyed, the water used to dye the garments is “often dumped into ditches, streams, or rivers.” As a result, garment dyeing is the world’s second-largest contributor to water pollution. In addition, washing clothes creates “500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.”
- What about emissions?
- Business Insider reported that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of total global carbon emissions, matching the amount of emissions that the European Union produces.
Hopefully through more eco-conscious choices, being fashionable doesn’t need to equate to being wasteful.
Colour Runway Palette Review:
What’s great about the colours below is that they are versatile and most people likely have one or more of these colours in their wardrobe already. Trying to include two colours together if you have them in your wardrobe for an outfit is a great way to be on trend this season. You can try to match tones or contrast them.
If you don’t have one of these colours, don’t sweat it, your college or university roommate might! Having a shared wardrobe with a roommate or friend is a great way to get more use out of the clothes you already have and explore different colour combos.
A post on Instagram from September 2024 had a colour analysis palette from Milan Fashion Week. The Instagram user uses code and image recognition to see the pattern consistency (pretty cool if you ask me). They also recently analyzed men’s wear from some of the biggest luxury fashion brands to identify the main colour palette themes. However, I wouldn’t assign these colours to just one gender—they’re a good overall analysis of general-neutral palettes for the Fall 2025 season.
Below are the top recognized colour themes for each high fashion brand:
Spring/Summer 2025
- Bottega Venta: Mauve pink
- Ferragamo: Nude and maroon red
- Max Mara: Shades of brown
- Versace: Olive green
Fall/Winter 2025:
Fabrics:
- Fur: I suggest going with faux fur or finding fur second-hand, it’s a great way to be environmentally friendly while also staying on trend! As @DATABUTMAKEITFASHION stated in their reel, “Fur in fashion has never gone away.”
- Sheer/tulle wraps If you feel comfortable, showing a little skin, such as by wearing a sheer top with a bra peeking through. 65% of @DATABUTMAKEITFASHION followers want this look to stay. Tulle wraps tap into “naked dressing,” as British Vogue describes it. Tulle is very popular in the spring/summer season, but don’t let that stop you from wearing it year-round! It can be subtly layered in your day-to-day life. Since mesh and tulle are both see-through, you might want to choose to put the tulle or mesh on top of your outfit for a cool layering look.
Accessories:
Use accessories such as pins or charms to add character to your outfit. Lots of thrift stores have many cool jewelry finds like earrings, broaches, pins, and other loved accessories. It’s always a great way to express your personality.
- Accessories for your bag: Whether it’s a bag for work, school, or a purse to go out in, take any bag of your choice and embellish it. Add necklaces, key chains, scarves, pins, and more on the outside of your bag. Go ahead and pick anything that suits your style and you can always switch it out for different things easily later on. Jane Birkin was known for personalizing her bags to reflect her style. She once said, “I always hang things on my bags because I don’t like them looking like everyone else’s.”
- Big chunky jewellery: Feel free to mix gold and silver together because who cares it’s 2025! I want to see your biggest hoops paired with layered necklaces and big rings. Go bold, but make sure it fits your vibe. Jewelry can always help add spice to an outfit or even help tie it together.
Shoes:
- Sneakers: These types of shoes never go out of style. Most people have a few pairs in their wardrobe, if not, the thrift store is a great place to look. They’re simple, but you can personalize them by changing the laces for more colourful options or by adding charms. This will give you plenty of looks, sneakers work with everything.
Patterns:
- Fun and bold plaid: These plaids are not Blair Waldorf plaids—they’re more of a nod to a classic Vivienne Westwood look. Westwood was known for her iconic “tartans” that were actually inspired by Scottish tradition.
- Cheetah: Cheetah is still on the runways and has flowed through different time periods. Cheetah with styling can be chic, normally sticking to one piece that has a cheetah print is a great start.
- Gingham: Any type of gingham pattern works this year. Many runways are showcasing classic gingham and playful variations. It’s a great look for Spring/Summer because it can be dressed up casually or formally.
Layering:
- Skirts and pants: Layering a skirt and pants is a bold move, but if you try it, I suggest baggy denim jeans with a pleated skirt on top.
- Suiting up: Be a boss lady. This style leans slightly more “masculine,” staying true to classic men’s officewear for a 9-to-5 outfit. Think ties (if you like), oversized blazers, and sleek oversized pants with basic flats.
- Bubble silhouette: I was skeptical about this trend on the runway until I saw Izzi Poopi’s post of her in a beautiful blue bubble dress. The bubble silhouette looks “inflated” at the bottom. There are a lot of subtle ways to wear it for school or work: one suggestion is to pick a top or bottom that you want to look inflated, tuck it in and pull a lot of the fabric back out to give a bubble look.
Final Thoughts:
Just because something is “in” doesn’t mean you have to jump on the bandwagon to buy or wear it. Fashion is about self-expression, so if these “ins” speak to you, go for it! But always stay true to yourself, this year is about finding your own style and these trends are just hopping off points.
I’ll leave you with this quote:
“Popular culture is a contradiction in terms. If it’s popular, it’s not culture.”
Vivienne Westwood
Use this as a perspective on overconsumption. Give things new meaning. Take the idea of fashion and look in your closet. Play with it, borrow from friends, go to thrift stores, the environment and your wallet will thank you.
If you need some more visual inspiration, check out this Pinterest board.