Unpacking nine key motifs present on the seasonal runways of Dries Van Noten, Louis Vuitton and more.

Unpacking nine key motifs that emerged from the latest round of collections.

​​Breezy Suiting
Despite [gestures broadly] everything, the tailored men’s suit seems poised to carry on—just don’t call it a comeback. That’s because the suits on spring’s runway were anything but the uptight office uniforms of yore. Instead, designers proposed easy, loose and laid-back options brimming over with WFH appeal. Flowing, oversized, and rakish is the way to go.&nbsp;

Men’s Midriffs
Plenty of designers went full-on shirtless this season (blazers over bare chests, anyone?) but a subtler, sexier take on the skin-is-in trend also emerged:&nbsp;bare midriffs. From just a sliver to a full-on bared belly, everyone from Hedi Slimane to Thom Browne think it's high time that men start flaunting their midriffs more freely. This summer the trend began to blossom on <a href="https://www.goat.com/editorial/paris-fashion-week-street-style-ss22">city streets</a> and TikTok screens, but now it’s got a full-throated endorsement from the savviest creators in fashion.&nbsp;

Garden Party
With the environment top of mind, is it any wonder that designers are incorporating nature’s bounty in their collections? Sure, there were your typical floral prints for spring (groundbreaking!) but some designers took the literal route, incorporating what appeared to be actual plant life into their designs. The results were as zany as they were thought-provoking, a way to wear sustainability and eco-friendly practices on their sleeves, as it were.&nbsp;

Placid Pastels
Designers looking to pry your eyes away from your TikTok feed often use traffic-stopping shades in fluorescent or neon, for obvious reasons. But this season, color palettes got softer and more subdued, and looked all the better for it. There’s so much out there to give our pulse a spike, why shock us into submission? Instead, maybe it’s better to gently coax us with a pale, plush spectrum of cocooning color. The result is a calming, placid option for those who know that, sometimes, a whisper is more persuasive than a shout.&nbsp;

Yee-Haw Agenda&nbsp;
From “Old Town Road” to Orville Peck to Clint Eastwood, there’s no denying that there’s something ineffably cool about a cowboy. Add to that the fact that a classic herdsman is, in many ways, a foundational archetype of the American mythos and you’ve got a cultural figure that has a long shadow and large sphere of influence. So perhaps it’s not so shocking to see designers upend that iconic image, from Thom Browne’s camp version to Dries Van Noten’s opulent Western shirting. It’s a way to re-imagine our own mythology and create a new one—something needed perhaps more now than ever. &nbsp;

Caped Crusaders
Who doesn’t love a little drama andomance? Who doesn’t love something that both conjures up historical dress and vampires? Who doesn’t love a big reveal? Well, some designers are certainly feeling for the dashing, rakish cape, something that can read as goth or glam, depending on how you style it. Regardless of the ensemble, it’s hard to deny that a dramatic cloak is the perfect thing to toss on as the weather goes from chilly to mild, and a way to make sure all eyes are on you. &nbsp;

Gun Show
From sleeveless blazers to sweater vests to tank tops, next spring will be a season to bare arms. So, consider yourself warned—designers ripped the damn sleeves off of everything, which means you better not skip the bicep curls next time you hit the gym.&nbsp;

Double Denim
The most American of garments, <a href="https://www.goat.com/collections/denim-36c0661e-b03b-47e8-aebc-230b2276dffc">denim</a> has been ponderously absent from runways over the past few seasons. And yet for spring, it came roaring back (thank Glenn Martens, who has revitalized the jean-centric label Diesel). Not only that, designers gave it a double dose, showing it in full head-to-toe looks, invoking the dreaded “Canadian tuxedo” (think: Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears at 2001’s American Music Awards). Suddenly, though, the look has real street cred, a Y2K-meets-workwear mash-up so unhinged it kind of works. There are plenty of runway options, but chances are you have the makings of this trend in your wardrobe already. &nbsp;

Flip-Flops
Sorry <a href="https://www.goat.com/collections/summer-slides">slides</a> and mules, there’s a new divisive shoe making the rounds on the runways:&nbsp;the flip-flop. Conjuring images of beach bums or Paris Hilton in the early aughts, the flip-flop is the natural evolution of the ongoing trend for unexpected, nostalgic footwear (think <a href="https://www.goat.com/sneakers/brand/birkenstock">Birkenstocks</a>, <a href="https://www.goat.com/sneakers/brand/crocs">Crocs</a>, and Uggs). Designers have been playfully and shrewdly re-thinking this one, rendering them in luxurious fabrics like leather or with slightly reworked proportions. The results are surprisingly covetable.&nbsp;

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