Whether you’re looking smart to head to work every day or choosing to relax in loungewear, Euronews Culture’s 2024 fashion trends guide will help you feel and look lavish either way.
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Fashion trends have come and gone fast in 2023. From mermaidcore to blokecore to balletcore, we’ve moved on faster than you can scroll through TikTok.
Experts predict that 2024 will see a slower pace, a restorative approach to wardrobes full of muted colors, and a reinvention of classic styles with an egalitarian outlook.
Fiona Harkin, forecast editor at strategic forecasting consultancy The Future Laboratory, said: “The cored fashion of 2023, which saw consumers change styles at an unprecedented pace, is being phased out in favour of a slower, more thoughtful dressing sense – one that is better suited to current environmental needs.”
Malaika Yewande, founder and creative director of fashion consultancy Vesuvius Creative Bureau, agrees, believing: “The fashion industry is moving towards finding balance in terms of creativity. For example, we have seen elements of formality in casual pieces and minimalism mixed with luxurious pieces for the past few seasons. We are throwing a lot of the age-old rules of fashion out the window.”
With that in mind, here’s your guide to the key trends you need to know about in 2024.
Rework Wear
Demand for formal suits in the workplace may have been declining for a while now, but don’t throw them out just yet: classic tailored styles are getting a DIY makeover in 2024 by upcycling details like zippers, lace, studs and embroidery, and mixing up formal looks like pinstripe vests and shoulder-padded jackets teamed with wide-leg trousers and sneakers.
Yewande says, “I love seeing people wearing sneakers with a loose-fitting suit to the office. Look closely and you’ll see genius details like an off-center collar, an extra zipper, or a loose waist for added volume. Classic suits are always available in the brightest, most poppiest colors and prints possible, which is really fun.”
Look to the SS24 catwalks of Schiaparelli, Hugo Boss and Yohji Yamamoto for inspiration, but this trend is easy to pull off with your own styling.
Color Me Calm
Trend experts WGSN predict that “Apricot Crush” will be the color of the year 2024. A soothing, warm hue, the gender-neutral hue is predicted to be most popular in loungewear, activewear and outerwear.
“Apricot Crush represents the importance of nourishing the mind and body,” Claire Smith, colour strategist at WGSN, said in a statement. “It’s the perfect colour for a world that’s looking for calm and optimism, providing a much-needed pick-me-up as consumers continue to wrestle with a range of emotions and uncertainty about the future.”
Other key colours this year include muted sky blue, which appeared in the SS24 collections of JW Anderson, Fendi and Balmain, and lilac, seen in Tom Ford, Maison Margiela and Andreas Kronthaler’s collection for Vivienne Westwood.
Ready to wear
While some brands are addressing anxiety with feel-good style, others are taking a more practical approach: with military details, tech-forward fabrics and packable functionality, WGSN is touting “prepwear” as a mainstream trend that is “pushing survivalist themes into mainstream fashion.”
While Acne Studios and Balenciaga showed off camo patterns and utility pockets in their SS24 collections, keep an eye out for smaller brands like Vollebak that have put survival at the core of their business, with their lightweight Apocalypse jacket featuring 16 hidden pockets and made to withstand black lava, flash fires and chemical attack.
A vibrant archive
It was announced in November that the theme for the 2024 Met Gala, which will take place in May, will be “Sleeping Beauties: A Fashion Comeback.” The exhibition will showcase some of the museum’s historically significant pieces that are too delicate to wear.
While the theme will pose challenges for dress codes at the red carpet gala, he expects it will also give further impetus to archive fashion — rare past-season designs from luxury brands — which has become a big trend in recent years. “We’re entering an era where fashion archive collectors want to use fashion to demonstrate their taste, and it embodies a playful, esoteric vibe,” Harkin said.
Does anyone play tennis?
Racquet sports and fashion have long been playmates due to their association with the middle and upper classes, but perceptions are changing. The rise of new sports such as pickleball and padel has led to criticism of the elitist nature of more traditional sports such as tennis.
“While racquet culture in previous decades was characterised by a status-driven ‘preppy’ style, the past few years have seen the rise of tenniscore, a nostalgic homage to the style of traditional sports,” Harkin explains.
Streetwear brand Major Racquet Club’s mission is to “bring the joy of tennis to everyone, everywhere,” while Dsquared2 takes preppy tennis icons like knitted polos, striped blazers and rolled-up sleeves and fuses them with the brand’s signature ripped denim and bold sexiness.
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There it is.
Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our ongoing 2024 Preview series, where we look ahead to the coming year and recommend the releases and events that are already getting us excited. You can already find book, album and TV previews.
