The most talked-about collection at the spring/summer 2024 fashion shows was the one that wasn’t there. Phoebe Philo, yet to unveil the first fruits of her eponymous line, which had been originally slated to debut online in September some six years after she departed Céline, dominated the fashion news cycle throughout the month. As the spring/summer 2024 fashion trends piled up, designers waited nervously to see if their collections would be eclipsed by a spontaneous digital drop from a woman many revere as fashion’s messiah
Her cult status as industry saviour was only heightened by the news that the spring/summer 2024 show would be Sarah Burton’s last collection for Alexander McQueen, with Gabriela Hearst also departing Chloé. Incoming: Sabato de Sarno at Gucci, Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford, Peter Do at Helmut Lang, and Louise Trotter at Carven. Does fashion have a woman designer problem? At LVMH, the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, only Dior and Pucci have female creative directors, while Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo are eponymously run. At Kering, the second biggest fashion conglomerate, not a single brand is helmed by a woman, nor a person of colour.
Set against that demoralising disparity, and an equally sobering economic and political backdrop, designers played it safe for spring/summer 2024. The palette was muted, with black and white blotting out the colour-box brights that typically come to the fore for summer collections. Retina-searing red was one of the few tones that managed to make it through the muzzled colour wheel. The post-pandemic era of body positivity – and the nude looks that came with it – has largely faded, and with it the broader variety of body types that had begun to populate the runways.
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.
White noise
Will you say yes to the white dress? Ranging from diaphanous and sheer to embroidered and densely-worked, designers signalled a clear shift away from the euphoric shots of colour and frothy pastels that come around every spring with a bevy of swan-white dresses.
High-rise trousers
Trust Jonathan Anderson to define the season’s silhouette. At Loewe, the designer celebrated his 10-year anniversary at the Spanish house by ushering in a new super-high-waisted trouser shape – so high, in fact, that the trousers came with an in-built corset to hold them in place under the bust. The good news: they’re an instant leg-lengthener, as Anderson’s contemporaries at Alaïa, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent will attest.
Polo club
If Mrs Prada says the polo shirt feels right again, who are we to disagree? With Miu Miu riding high as one of the most influential fashion shows on the calendar, prepare to see a lot more of the humble collared cotton style, which was styled with everything from men’s board shorts to ruffled micro-mini skirts, gold brocade shift dresses to sequin-embellished blouses. That country club mood persisted elsewhere, with rugby shirts making an appearance at Dries Van Noten and DSquared2, and flip-flops and spa towels accessorising looks at Chanel and The Row respectively. The key to making it feel effortless? Just remember to muss up your hair. No one likes a prim prepster.
Transparent skirt
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After several seasons of sheer wafting gowns and lingerie-inspired details, the sheer skirt takes spring’s spotlight as a racy look to trial for day or night. Altuzarra lent it ladylike edge, pairing sheer pencil skirts with soft crew-neck sweaters and top-handle bags, a combination that showed up at Carolina Herrera, Coperni, Givenchy and Carven. If that feels a little frou-frou, double up sheer layers and style it with a bomber jacket and chunky belt, as seen at Louis Vuitton.
’90s redux
Time for a ’90s redux. As the world slides towards another recession, bold colours and ballsy logos are on the way out (Phoebe Philo’s October launch, with its uber-understated branding, made sure of that) and discreet chic is back. That the trend corresponds with the 25th anniversary of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s untimely death is no coincidence, as the New York Times recently pointed out. With a US presidential election and a potential Trump return on the horizon, cool-headed minimalism seems the only suitable sartorial riposte. Seek out camel pencil skirts, grey tailoring, white shirts and boyfriend-style jeans from the key practitioners: Proenza Schouler, Max Mara, Bottega Veneta, and Gucci.
Modern flapper
Embellished with Catherine wheels of crystals, metal fringing and shiny grommets, Prada’s spring proposition blended sculpted tailoring and shift dresses with Jazz Age pizzazz. The stand-out show christened a trend the Vogue editors are calling “the modern flapper”, traced through the season in the gilded fringing, shimmering headpieces and drop-waist dresses we associate with 1920s baby vamps, now remixed for 2024 with leather barn jackets and blazers.
