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And just like that, another fashion month concludes. If you look at the numbers — 440 runway shows and presentations held across four cities over 27 days — it was a bumper season. If you look at the clothes, the same sentiment rings true.
While spring/summer fashion trends are easiest to distil when we’re looking at it city-by-city, overall, there was a unifying lightness throughout fashion month. Whether they adopted London’s grunginess or Milan’s unfussy cool, the clothes floated around models and trailed down runways as if they weighed nothing at all. It was a nod to the spring/summer season, no doubt, but also seemed to suggest a general sentiment among designers for levity and occasional whimsy in a world that feels particularly heavy.
From New York to Paris, these are the spring/summer trends that made themselves known on the runways, coming soon to a fashion girl near you.
Embellish The Story: Rich Embellishment
It was a sensory feast across the runways this season, as designers infused clothes with texture and embellishment that felt sumptuous. At Loewe, this was achieved by way of teensy-tiny caviar beads which covered shoes, dresses and bags. At Schiaparelli, the final seven looks took cues from archival pieces by the house’s namesake, embroidering velvet and silk jackets with intricate patterns using fine threads, beads and sequins, while Saint Laurent embraced brocade and jacquard throughout its entirely gold collection, making a compelling case for metallic monochrome dressing.
Tied Up: Scarf Tops
It’s been a few years since the scarf top has had a stranglehold on summer wardrobes, but if the runways were anything to go by, they’re about to make a triumphant return. From Miu Miu to The Row, scarves were fashioned into halters, intricate crops and one-shouldered tops, making a case for buying a vintage silk one and watching a YouTube tutorial.
Be Jewelled: Jewel Embellishment
Not sparkles, jewels. Opulent, richly-coloured gems were the adornment of choice across the runways, bringing a deliciously over-the-top feel to simple silhouettes. At Dries Van Noten, for instance, jewels were fashioned into brooches that were affixed to hips, shoulders and chests. Burberry’s Daniel Lee opted to encrust coats and skirts with them, while at Miu Miu, they adorned mini dress and skirts that had a sportswear inflexion.
Light As A Feather: Breezy Silhouettes
No sensibility loomed larger than lightness this season. Traditionally weighty and structured garments were reimagined in diaphanous silks, floaty chiffons and sheer organza. At Dior, Jonathan Anderson cleverly turned suiting into fluid pieces that moved on their own accord, while winter coats were fashioned for summer at Max Mara and Sportmax. Even Nicolas Ghesquière, whose collections for Louis Vuitton often lean heavy and futuristic, traded weight for a bright, free-spirited collection of breezy dresses and trousers.
Hang Low: Low-Rise Skirts
These weren’t the kind of skirts you need to unbutton by the end of the day. From Prada’s skirt-centric collection to Chanel, Marni and Miu Miu, low slung skirts were the silhouette du jour. Generally hitting knee-length, the shapes were unfussy and versatile, as well suited for someone in their 20s as they would be for someone in middle age and beyond. ELLE’s fashion director, Naomi Smith, said the tweed skirt suit worn with a wide burgundy belt at Chanel was the “absolute ultimate look.”
The Bomb(er): Lightweight Parkas
You need a jacket in summer too, and for spring/summer the jacket of choice was a gorpcore-inspired lightweight bomber. Sometimes funnel-necked, other times quarter-zips, the roomy jacket was often paired with an incongruent bottom of distinction or fabricated in unexpected colours. At Prada and Simone Rocha it was the former, pairing parkas with pretty pleated or slip skirts, while Loewe and Balenciaga presented a bunch in cobalt, khaki and camel.
Don’t Look At Me: Dramatic Hats
Discretion was the order of the day at Chloé, Valentino and Bottega Veneta, which all presented dramatic broad-brimmed hats that hid its wearer from observation (even though they demanded attention). Chemena Kamali’s versions at Chloé were mostly made from water-repelling material in paintbox brights, worn on an angle to completely obscure half of its wearer’s face. Meanwhile at Bottega Veneta, brims were smaller, but hats were worn lower on the head, offering maximum protection from the sun (and prying eyes).
Wound Up: Layered Necklaces
The days of dainty jewellery are over. Well, on the runways at least. More was more was more at Chanel, where Matthieu Blazy wound strands of necklaces around necks that appeared as beads but were actually made from fabric. At Gucci, Demna inflated the horsebit motif to plump proportions on shorter chains and kept it finer on longer ones, layering them together and slinging them over sweaters.
Belt It Out: Statement Belts
Waists demanded cinching with belts this dramatic. At Celine, Michael Rider augmented the buckles of his belts to comically large proportions, using it to tighten silhouettes. Givenchy kept the belts themselves simple, if not a little long, adding drama with oversized circular medallions smack bang in the centre. Valentino, on the other hand, wound its belts around waists twice to give the impression of two belts in one.
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