It's hard to look fashionable in a Christmas jumper covered in mince pie crumbs and spatters of mulled wine, so we're not here to make anybody feel bad this festive season
Come spring, many of us will be spending way too much money on the hottest looks, in an inevitably fruitless attempt to look as good as the models on our Instagram feed.
Here are eight of the biggest fashion trends set to dominate 2024:
Polka dots
Every single polka dot was counted at every fashion show this year, and the total came to 12,487,396. The runways, in other words, were packed full of them. The pattern is often popular in summer, but the prints are a timeless and versatile trend that you're likely to see a lot of throughout the next year. Polka dots can be relied upon for elegance and impact. Spots are playful; they don't take themselves too seriously. Even the name, polka, suggests joie de vivre.
This time around, we are making them our own. They're big and bold, they're imperceptibly small, they're punchy, they're muted... This is a print for everybody: it's genderless, classless, ageless, and timeless. It's time to join the dots.
Cherry red
Except for the annoying stone you have to spit out at the end, you have to love everything about cherries - and this season they provided the runways with a distinctive, vibrant, and confident colour. Some fashion houses put forward designs that were cherry red from head to toe, while others kept it limited to a skirt or jacket and combined it with other colours to make an ensemble. Fashion's obsession with bright red has been impossible to ignore in recent seasons, seen on the runway but also on the red carpet. Spring/summer 2024 [collections] brought a noticeable shift towards deeper and more opulent versions of the shade.
Metallics
Several designers took inspiration from the pipes under their kitchen sink for this next trend - a variety of outfits and dresses with a metallic sheen. A favourite Met Gala theme of the last decade was 2016's Man vs. Machine, which saw A-list guests dress in silver, futuristic colours with robot-inspired accessories. Metallics became prominent once again in 2023 as fans dressed up for Beyonce's Renaissance tour. The trend looks set to continue into next year and dominated during Paris fashion week, with Net-A-Porter noting: Swathes of shimmering metallics glistened across the SS24 runways. But if you're opting for gold, be careful not to overload. Metallic gold can have a gladiator look. If you want to tone it down, pair metallic gold with alternate materials like denim or leather.
Knitwear
Let's get down to the knitty gritty: In the UK, the weather is so appalling that frankly a nice cardigan or jumper never goes out of fashion. The SS24 collections acknowledged that knitwear is a year-round staple, but one that should be no less fabulous than the rest of the items you wear. Erdem's embroidered cardigans were some of the most beautiful pieces we saw. Cardigans and fair isle knits were the most prominent knitwear trend this season.
Snowflake patterns
These beautiful and intricate designs are a bit more sophisticated than the snowflakes we made in school with some paper and a pair of scissors. Designers got crafty this season and the Paris runways were aflutter with super-size lace and broderie anglaise designs for SS24. (Don't worry, we've already Googled it, broderie anglaise refers to patterns with small round or oval holes cut out of the fabric, providing the snowflake look.) Several of the outfits on display during fashion weeks saw the snowflake design put front and centre, while others displayed them through an outer layer of sheer.
Bows and ribbons
If you're reading this in a room surrounded by discarded gift wraps, make sure you scoop up those bows and ribbons before they reach the rubbish bin. Giant bows showed up in the collections of several major designers during the various fashion weeks, so we could see them adorn a variety of dresses next year. Oversized and opulent bows, spotted at shows like Sixdo and Aknvas, added a touch of whimsy to looks that were otherwise simple or unadorned. But not all fashion houses went for large and conspicuous designs - others opted for much smaller bows and ribbons to decorate, accessorise or tie together outfits. The dainty accessory creates a soft, romantic look no matter how it's worn, acting as garment detailing for a slew of different silhouettes.
Short shorts
If you already feel overloaded by the number of tabloid headlines which use the phrase "leggy display", then you may want to skip this one. This summer will likely see an explosion in popularity for short shorts in a variety of colours, styles, and fabrics. Those leg days at the gym are about to pay off, because if the recent runways told us anything, it's that seriously short shorts are set to be the ultimate power-dressing move come summer '24.
Upcycled, pre-loved or sustainable materials
Arguably the most important fashion trend we could all adopt in the coming year is green. But not the colour. Sustainability has long been a concern in the highly polluting fashion industry. A huge number of consumers buy something cheap, wear it a few times, and then chuck it out.
Tiny steps are being taken to address the industry's carbon footprint, such as the increasing popularity of websites that specialise in "pre-loved fashion", but many feel a great deal more needs to be done. So we applaud the designers who are putting sustainability in the spotlight - either by changing their working practices or by incorporating used materials into their designs.
Waste materials and deadstock are given a second life as new garments. Materials destined for landfill are rescued and reworked. Pieced, patched, and layered together with imperfections and signs of wear and tear celebrated rather than hidden. As consumers' awareness of their carbon footprint increases, perhaps the items many will choose to wear the most in the coming year are the clothes already in their wardrobe.
Adapted from: BBC
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