Trend Report: Spring/Summer 2024
From Peter Do’s debut at Helmut Lang to the delicate symbolism of Simone Rocha, key trends as seen on the runways of Gucci, Burberry, Loewe and more.
Spring/Summer 2024 was a season of debuts. Peter Do at Helmut Lang. Sabato De Sarno at Gucci. Stefano Gallici at Ann Demeulemeester. Three men, one mission: Making beautiful clothes and proposing new ideas while honoring a design legacy. Starting off in New York, it quickly became clear that spring’s prevailing ethos was one of wearability, with an emphasis on construction and versatility. And if you thought the day and age of bows on absolutely everything was over, this month has happily proven you wrong. While brands like Simone Rocha and Sandy Liang keep making use of the delicate symbol, other brands introduced bows on bags, shirts, pants and more.
Below, an overview of the moments and motifs that defined this season’s shows.
Clothes Meant to Be Worn
Peter Do debuted his long-awaited vision at Helmut Lang this season, with artful, highly wearable staples that nodded to the brand’s DNA. At Gucci, Sabato De Sarno unveiled his first collection, sending models down the runway in what was essentially the antithesis of the colorful ’70s glory that Alessandro Michele defined. Put simply, the new Gucci favors an accessible minimalism over theatrical maximalism.
What both Do and De Sarno presented were clothes for the everyday person, designed to be worn from the morning commute to after-hours drinks. Balenciaga likewise focused on wearability, casting figures close to creative director Demna Gvasalia and outfitting them in items aligned with their personal style, focusing in particular on subversively mundane—and wearable—pieces like hoodies.
Bow Craze
Call it the Barbie effect, but the hyper-femininity of bows was everywhere for SS24. The accent serves as a transatlantic thread between Sandy Liang and Simone Rocha—two brands that explore girlhood and womanhood from different vantage points and cultural perspectives. This season, even more brands jumped on the bow bandwagon. Acne Studios accessorized their bags with delicate bows, while Tanner Fletcher sewed ribbons on skirts and trousers. Quintessentially girlish, as an accent in 2024, this one feels like a tongue-in-cheek ode to femininity.
Waistlines Reach Toward the Skies
Perhaps due to the influence and ubiquity of Jonathan Anderson—the creative director of JW Anderson and Spanish maison Loewe—but hiking up pants and skirts could be the next cool thing come spring. Very reminiscent of Miuccia Prada’s signature Prada aesthetic, the Loewe show featured pants with very, very, very high waistlines, reaching up to just below the breast—drawing sharp contrast to the recent modishness of the low-rise Y2K revival.
Pops of Color
Spring 2024 is about many things, but surely not muted shades. Beyond Do’s grounded vision of basics through the lens of Helmut Lang, the NYC-based brand’s latest collection featured one rather unexpected thing: pops of fuchsia and yellow. Color was a central aspect of the collection, highlighted by saturated, bright tones. Designers all over the globe followed suit. Back in Italy, the new Gucci punctuated its restrained approached with hits of green—perhaps a future signature for De Sarno.
Sheer Moments
There is a fragile sensuality to the use of sheer fabric. For SS24, some brands deployed sheer as a simple skirt to let the underwear peek through. Others, like Prada, used it for dresses in various saturated colors. Simone Rocha and UNDERCOVER utilized diaphanous fabrics to let flowers, which were integrated into the garments, peek through the construction. David Koma made beautiful sheer dresses in his signature evening and red carpet wear style. Under the eyes of a disco ball, Acne Studios used sheer fabric as an accessory sewn to tops and dresses. And in a departure from classic sheers, Bottega Veneta showcased revealing knits.
Flair Fare
Jane Birkin might have passed this year, but her impact, especially when it comes to accessories, lives on forever. Inspired by her iconic personalized Birkin Bag, Balenciaga made a bag with just as many keychains, pieces of memorabilia and other trinkets dangling off of it. Channeling the legacy of the iconic British actress, the design cue is an invitation to make bags unique to yourself. Similarly, at his Ann Demeulemeester debut, creative director Stefano Gallici proposed a unique way to frame belts not just as an accessory, but as the focal point of the outfit.
Discover the best street style from SS24 Fashion Weeks.