Spring has arrived with a fashion rivalry that eclipses the tension between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump or Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. This season, are you going to put Charli XCX on repeat and be a brat girl or dress like a demure tradwife?
“What I expect to see this spring is not what I hope to see,” says fashion commentator Megha Kapoor, former editor of Vogue India. “The kids, and the ones who still dress like them, will become Charli XCX clones. Brace yourself for a sea of lime green.”
Charli XCX defines the brat movement following her album release of the same name. ‘Barbie’ director Gerwig is demure in a tradwife dress from Maison Margiela.Credit: Getty
Cue Naomi Osaka’s brat baby doll dress at the US Open.
“Then we have the whole tradwife movement,” Kapoor says of social media’s shift towards fifties silhouettes found in The Donna Reed Show, Don’t Worry Darling and John Galliano’s triumphant couture show for Maison Margiela in January.
“But you do have options,” Kapoor says.
Here are on-trend alternatives to nineties lime green dresses and tattered singlets that go beyond dressing like a pop star or a television housewife.
Boho: Sienna Miller attends the Chloé Womenswear autumn/winter 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week in February. Camilla and Marc filigree dress, $650; Country Road belt, $89.95; Chloe platform clogs, $1830, Net-a-porter; LeSpecs tragic magic sunglasses, $70; Isabel Marant fringe bag, $1575, David Jones.Credit: Getty, supplied
Boho is back
The surprise appearance of Sienna Miller in the front row at designer Chemena Kamali’s debut for luxury label Chloé at Paris Fashion Week in February signalled the return of the boho trend, just minutes before sheer flounces and fringes hit the runway.
The impact was instant, with luxury re-seller the RealReal reporting a 37 per cent jump in searches for Chloé the day after the show and a 130 per cent increase in sales the following month.
“Boho luxe will be huge going forward,” says fashion commentator and singer Glynis Traill-Nash. “Emphasis on the luxe.”
Tennis star Naomi Osaka at the US Open in her brat dress.Credit: AP
US Vice President Kamala Harris has jumped on board, wearing a coconut brown Chloé suit to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and the brand’s $690 logo belts currently sold-out on Net-a-porter.
If you’re keen to make the most of the trend, look for platform clogs and anything that summons the spirit of the seventies, without the smell that lingers in vintage polyester.
“Fringing is a no-brainer update,” Traill-Nash says. “Look for it on a skirt, bag or dress.”
Kapoor’s take on Boho focuses on craftsmanship, along with colours that move us away from the safety of blacks and neutrals.
“It’s a great way to move beyond the current uniform of putting a trench coat or oversized blazer on top of activewear,” Kapoor says. “Even adding a woven belt brings more personality to an outfit. Look to labels like Bode and Kartik Research for inspiration on pieces that evoke the touch of a hand.”
While Hamish Tame, the creative director of Australian eyewear brand Le Specs, says Y2K sunglass styles remain strong sellers, the boho trend is picking up speed above the nose.
“Seventies-inspired aviators with tinted lenses are a great way to update your spring eyewear look while still feeling classic and effortless,” Tame says.
Sheers remain solid
Sheer delights: Halle Berry attending the premiere of ‘The Union’ in Los Angeles wearing a dress from La Perla; Courntey Zheng ‘Anke’ lace gown $420; Vestirsi ‘Ella’ quilted body bag, $379; Sarah & Sebastian drop ring, $300; Alias Mae Leana ‘Leanna’ shoe, $229.95; Skims boyshort $39.95, David Jones.Credit: Getty, supplied
The Hollywood red carpet has been a safe haven for sheer dresses on Halle Berry, Dakota Johnson and Emma Roberts. The trend has trickled down as far south as Summer Bay with Home & Away cast members Emily Weir, Emily Symons and Emily Weir, along with Seven Network presenter Kylie Gillies, choosing sheer options for the Logies.
“Sheerness will replace clean cut-outs,” says Melbourne stylist Lana Wilkinson.
“We’ll be leaning into sheer, structured fabrications, like silk organza and silk gazar,” says designer Courtney Zheng. “Expect to see fishtails, panels and godets, complemented by draped, knotted and twisted fabric details.”
If your body confidence needs building up before completely replacing woollen blends with mesh in your wardrobe, follow the lead of Danish style leaders and take baby steps with a sheer skirt or dresses with lace details, which cover more than they expose.
Gold jewellery and chunky hardware on handbags anchor diaphanous dressing and pay tribute to its origins on the runway for Gucci in the nineties, when Tom Ford was bringing see-through sexy back.
Footwear is also moving away from covering up, with chunky black loafers making way for toe cleavage. On the Paris and Italian runways Sportmax, Victoria Beckham, Burberry and Versace demonstrated a preference for peep-toe styles, while Valentino and Dior turned to revealing straps.
For the boys
Women’s fashion may be drawing from the nineties and seventies but the current debate in menswear about the length of shorts last took place in the eighties, when Sydney Swans player Warwick Capper showed more thigh than a jumbo bucket of KFC.
Short odds: Paul Mescal in June attending the Gucci menswear show in Milan; Adidas Originals x Grace Wales Bonner shorts, $186, Farfetch; Haulier mesh singlet, $125; MJ Bale ‘Barney’ striped shirt, $149.95; Cotton On socks, $6.99; R.M.Williams Comfort Craftsman boot, $649.Credit: Getty, supplied
Actor Paul Mescal is partly to blame, having worn shorts on the red carpet and in Gucci campaigns. Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, Donald Glover and Chris Pine have all committed to leg day, with Prada, AMI, Fendi and Gucci providing inspiration on the runway.
Things have gone so far the US edition of the menswear bible GQ recently wrote about “Why Men Can’t Stop Wearing Slutty Short Shorts”.
“I’ve been doing this for a decade, and it has become a signature of the way I dress,” says Sydney stylist MIkey Ayoubi. “It’s not just about wearing them with T-shirts and singlets. You’re mixing it with shirting, blazers and knitwear. Shorts are even an option for cold spring days.”
Don’t think you can get away with the same linen shorts seen on Australian beaches for the past six years. These are cotton boxer styles or tailored silhouettes meant for more urban environments.
While confident men on the street of Paris paired shorts with business shirts, ties and suit jackets, a boxy short-sleeved shirt is also worth a spring fling.
“This spring for men it is all about a signature shirt,” says Jac Hunt, co-founder of 20-year-old Australian fashion brand Jac + Jack. “You can embrace a softer side, with washed double georgette shirts or placement printed silk twill short-sleeve shirts. Broderie anglais-inspired, oversized boxy shirts are another option.”
Dressing outside the box
If Boho, sheer and short shorts fail to excite you, be prepared to blaze your own trail.
Vintage Dries Van Noten is in high-demand following the designer’s retirement from the runway after 38 years, including pieced from his spring 2015 collection.Credit: Getty Images
“While it is seemingly easy, the challenge is making it your own and not look cookie cutter,” fashion commentator Zara Wong says about current trends. “I love looking for interesting pieces that you can’t find elsewhere, whether it’s vintage or from your own closet.”
“As a pendulum swing away from the nineties trend, I love a Hawaiian shirt or colourful board shorts that Prada and Dries Van Noten have done in the past. It can read as crazy surfer, but done correctly, it’ll look really irreverent and chic.”
In fact, vintage pieces from Dries Van Noten, the beloved Belgian designer who staged the last show of his 38-year career in June, might be a trend to carry you through to 2025.
“Anything Dries will be my next purchase,” Kapoor says. “If anything comes along I will snap it up.”
“Strangely I also need an oversized rugby shirt in a bright stripe which is the perfect spring transitional piece.”
That takes us into the preppy trend still lingering from winter. Add that to crazy surfer and vintage Dries and you can choose brash over brat until summer arrives.
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