Last year, with the arrival of the spring/summer 2024 collections on the runways, we forecasted where fashion was headed. We saw a clear shift away from the pared-back minimalism that dominated during the height of quiet luxury and the arrival of elegance through pieces such as hourglass-shaped dresses, A-line skirts, and sophisticated handbags. Bordeaux emerged as the color of the season. As Gucci Creative Director Sabato De Sarno introduced a new signature color to the house that he dubbed Gucci Rosso, it only became more clear just how dominant the color would be come spring. Sheer took on new forms on the runway as designers introduced more wearable ways to style translucent pieces.
As the spring/summer collections begin to drop and enter the wardrobes of the style set, we've been tracking shifts in how the newness in fashion is translating to what insiders are wearing. Personality pieces—in the form of sculptural belts, leather gloves, and even pillbox hats—are starting to take over. Court shoes designed with soft almond shapes are emerging as the key shoes to own. One thing is certain: Already, 2024 is turning out to be a very stylish year in fashion. Ahead, read our spring/summer 2024 shopping guide detailing the most important trends to know and shop our edit of the key pieces to own this season.
Every so often, a key piece infiltrates fashion slowly and then suddenly all at once. That is exactly what can be said for the court shoes arriving in the closets of the style set. We first began seeing them last year when The Row introduced its Almond Pumps—shoes designed with an angled kitten heel, a rounded almond-toe shape, and a curved vamp in shades of soft gray and onyx. The shoe shape is also arriving on the market from brands such as Toteme, which has a flat ballerina version; Loro Piana, whose Rebecca shoes have gained a cult following; and Massimo Dutti, which released slingback styles. Carven, too, introduced a new iteration on its F/W 24 runway, so we expect to see the silhouette continue to carve out an even bigger space later this year. At once classic, elegant, and modern, court shoes reflect all of the big changes we're seeing in the fashion space in 2024, so it just makes sense that they are resonating in this way.
We live in a world where "obsessed" is a word that's used more frequently than maybe it should be. For whatever reason, people, especially people in fashion, have a tendency to zero in on certain things and let them take over, putting up blinders that keep us from seeing anything and everything else that's out there. We did it with oversize silhouettes. We completely shunned anything fitted, from pants and jeans to dresses, and prioritized flat shoes, kicking any pairs with more than a two-inch heel to the curb. For spring, however, it appeared on last September's runways that brands like Bottega Veneta, The Row, and Saint Laurent all wanted to see some change, using their collections to introduce new shapes that could break the cycle of obsessing and expand our horizons. In turn, we saw cigarette pants and fitted capris win out over anything oversize or relaxed. Short shorts at Gucci, Tom Ford, and Ferragamo likewise threw a wrench in things—as did the rise of unexpected funnel-neck and cape-like outerwear at Phoebe Philo and hourglass dresses at Khaite. Clearly, spring is the perfect time to try something different.
This is shaping up to be the year of the personality piece. Perhaps as a response to the minimalism that was so pervasive in fashion over the last year, style is taking a new direction. In its spring/summer 2024 collection, Alaïa resurrected pillbox hats. At first, the nostalgic hats felt purely editorial, but we have already seen them emerge as a cult item that has translated to the street style scene. Perhaps more wearable, pieces such as leather gloves and sculptural belts are the outfit makers that are creating powerful looks. This was also a major theme on the fall/winter 2024 runways—e.g., embellished hats at Prada and Altuzarra, brooches at Tory Burch and Erdem, and long leather gloves at Carven and Miu Miu—and early adopters are already experimenting with the conversation-starting accessories. Fashion is certainly getting its personality back!
If the excitement around the return of controversial silhouettes and sometimes shocking color combinations that reigned supreme in the early aughts and the early 2020s has started to peter out, we know the feeling. Fortunately, a new style of dressing that lies on the opposite end of the fashion spectrum has begun its ascent to the top spot in fashion's zeitgeist, putting an end to whatever's left of Y2K's former dominance. From the runways to our TV screens, elegance and glamour are on the rise, with brands like Altuzarra, Prada, 16Arlington, and Brandon Maxwell delving into the world of duchesse satin, A-line skirts, and opera-ready garments, from elbow-length gloves to outerwear. The same look is present on television, specifically on Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. The second installment of Ryan Murphy's Feud anthology follows Truman Capote and "the swans," a group of high-society women in New York City in the 1950s and '60s, including C.Z. Guest, Babe Paley, Lee Radziwill, and Slim Keith. Like most of Murphy's productions, the costumes on the show are spot-on, perfectly displaying the elegant and refined way that each of the above women were known to dress. That's all to say that the age of kitsch is over. Make room for something a little more timeless.
Red was the dominant color throughout 2023, showing up in spades on red carpets, runways, and the digital shelves of just about every retailer on planet Earth. Undoubtedly, it's continued to make waves moving into the new year, but an alternative shade to the classic bombshell one we now own probably too much of is rising the ranks just in time for spring. Named after our favorite variety of red wine—bordeaux—this color trend swept fashion month, and specific highlights came out of Sabato De Sarno's debut Gucci show as well as Hermès, Prada, and Saint Laurent. Because of that, we've already noticed that many of the season's It items are colored in the hue, from Gucci's Signoria pumps and high-shine Jackie bag to Hermès's Kelly Pochette and Versace's leather skirt suit.
The buzzword following the spring/summer 2024 shows was wearability, with the collections placing a spotlight on timeless pieces that are easy to style again and again. So it should come as no surprise that a strong emphasis has been placed on classic items that have, in many ways, stood the test of time because of their impeccable quality, anti-trend aesthetic, and unbreakable reputation. If we're going to spend in a real way, we want our purchases to hold up and not bring with them any surprises. Fortunately, that's never really been a problem with items like the iconic Bar Jacket, Christian Dior's nipped-in blazer that was designed for his very first collection in 1947; an Hermès bag, be it a Kelly or a Birkin; and luxury timepieces from the likes of Cartier, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Bulgari. On the more modern front, The Row's Margaux bag and Chanel's latest take on Mary Jane ballet flats are quickly making a name for themselves in the high-value world of fashion, guaranteeing them a spot on the "all-time greatest" list very soon.
Right now, we are seeing a new wave of sophisticated bags on the market. The recently dropped handbags are putting a spotlight on styles that take design cues from classic pocketbooks with new, modern spins. Alaïa released the Le Teckel bag—an east-west shape whose name is French for "dachshund"—which is already one of the most coveted bags of the season. Ferragamo's Hug bag takes inspiration from the brand's archival pieces but is cleverly finished with two buckled straps that wrap around the front in the form of a hug. Saint Laurent's Le Anne-Marie closely resembles an earlier-era pocketbook with its elongated strap and frame-top closure, but the glossy patent leather makes it feel entirely modern. What is old suddenly feels new again—a theme we're seeing across fashion right now as a whole but especially in the handbag department.
The sheer trend isn't anything new, but spring's iterations still managed to feel fresh thanks to unexpected takes on transparency that left the fashion world ready to continue showing off what's underneath their clothes (even if it is just another layer of clothes). At Proenza Schouler, the idea of netted fabrics as an alternative to the sheer silk and mesh that have thus far dominated in this particular trend space played out on the runway through buttery yellow and black dresses made of satin ribbons all braided together debuting in between splashes of red and painted denim. Meanwhile, at Prada, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons made dresses reminiscent of jellyfish moving through water with sheer silk overlays that billowed behind each model. On the shopping front, brands such as Diotima, Saint Laurent, By Malene Birger, and Altuzarra are currently offering up intriguing ways to add something see-through into your wardrobe for spring, whatever level of sheerness you're comfortable with.
