The Spring runway shows this year faced some unexpected mood dampeners in the form of unruly weather in many places. Thanks to the heat waves in New York and the deluges in Milan, guests, including the elite and the crème de la crème, appeared in off-beat street fashion. Nonetheless, dressed to the nine and ready to shine!
While the runways presented official alluring collections for work and play to look forward to, the streets had a different story to tell. Clad in sophisticated, on-trend, as well as nostalgic numbers, the guests had it blazing for the books.
And that’s exactly why, we seek inspiration outside of the runways too.
Here’s a rundown of six of the most shop-worthy street style trends from the off-tracks of the Spring shows
Cosmo and Wanda inspired colour blocks
A glaring nostalgic look that took us down the childhood days of the 2000s, was the color-blocking trend inspired by the Fairly Odd Parents of Nickelodeon. Guests took to pairing bright Barbie pink and zesty green in many shapes and forms, channeling their inner Cosmo and Wanda. While some chose to color block with a single outfit, others played dress-up in pairs. 2000s kids may find it refreshingly interesting to reminisce about their favorite cartoon from back in the day with this trend.
Polka dots
Polka dots are apparently as evergreen as they can be at the moment. For some notable guests, retro was the code word as they came clad in the print, in interesting new ways. Many embraced experimental print-on-print with polka, which, according to reporters, inspired a whole fall wardrobe overhaul for onlookers. The neutral take on colors, mixed with the power play of prints, brought about an elegant season-neutral outfit trend, that was loved by many.
On the other side of the streets though, were bolder strides with red polka dots, featuring a dominantly retro vibe, which interestingly emerged from Marni’s Fall 2023 runway show. Once again, we witnessed a promising marriage between high fashion and street fashion, and between Fall and Spring.
See-through
See-through styles have had their own sweet place in the cocktail of street fashion for years. And this year was no different. The elegance and sheer versatility of the trend often inspire wearers to sport unique and unconventional looks, which once again brought about a new array of ways to embrace the trend this year. From sheer nude skirts with contrasting lingerie assemblages featuring barely there looks, to sheer black pants and printed bottoms paired with similar shades of lingerie maximizing “sheer sophistication”, the star-takes on the trend had as falling in love all over again with the trend.
Metallic bags and bottoms
Metallics were undeniable along the streets of the fashion capitals this year, but how they were worn, made the talk of the town. While Copenhagen had an influx of silver sequined skirts, the streets of New York and Milan displayed a clear obsession with shiny silver pants. Paris on the other hand, sophisticated as it is, chose metallic Mirrorball bags for their “something metallic” trend. The silhouettes, needless to say, were straight out of Spring lookbooks.
Martine Rose Shox
Nike dictated the “it” shoes this summer and how! People went all out with the Martine Rose Shox on the streets and although it was released in two colorways, the neon orange and yellow combo was the hot favorite. Street-style trendsetters adorned them in all ways imaginable. With tulle princess dresses, midi skirts, flared shorts, balloon skirts, you name it; they had onlookers and paps taking notes. A strikingly common yet obvious combo was with plain black.
Skirt Suits
Suited looks recently swapped the tailored oversized trousers with midi skirts, and the streets were all about it. While a majority of the street looks exuded fun spring sophistication, skirt suits fascinatingly brought the much-needed sophisticated sophistication to the party. Fashionistas paired textured, pleated, asymmetric, leather, and all other kinds of suit skirts with low comfy heels, and that, rendered the entire concoction of street fashion complete.
Bhagya Lakshmi
I’m a fashion designer, content creator, writer, and a strong advocate of body positivity. I love animals, books, rose gold jewellery, putting together minimal OOTDs, and purpose-driven writing.