Instead of becoming extinct in the Covid-19 pandemic, the fashion trend – once a rigid dictatorship regarding what is in or out of vogue – has now softened into a list of suggestions and ideas, to be perused at will rather like a box of chocolates.
With the multifaceted lives we all lead these days, the old one-idea-fits-all mentality is no longer the best option, so replacing it with a more fluid, personal and endlessly adjustable approach is a far better way to reflect who we are on a daily basis.
Looking for a new glamour go-to? Consider tracksuit bottoms, upscaled in gleaming satin and killer high heels. Need a pick-me-up to lift the spirits? Try a blast of head-to-toe colour. Or how about the days you feel on top of the world? Then only sequins as daywear will do.
Rather than thinking of trends as a hard-and-fast set of rules, embrace them as ideas to be picked up – and put down again – as you deem fit.
Here, we suggest the 10 biggest for the year ahead based on covetable runway looks for the coming season.
1. Sequins and metallics
Once the preserve of the festive season, sequins and metallics have been promoted to year-round wear, and deservedly so. Balenciaga’s glorious full-length silver dress looks like it has been beaten out of foil, while Rodarte embraced fringed metallic beading that echoes the Roaring Twenties. Bottega Veneta, meanwhile, went for a dress covered in sequins, each the size of a coin.
2. Capes, drapes and trains
No doubt a reaction to the work-from-home fallback on sweatpants and hoodies, 2022 is instead set to bring all manner of theatrical drama back into our wardrobes, in the form of capes, drapes and trains. Dressed down, as a top that falls into a train and is worn over trousers, as seen at Loewe, or as a train at Fendi and Emilia Wickstead, or even as a cape over shorts, as seen at Valentino; these three cuts will lend an air of splendour to any outfit.
3. Colour wheel
For a blast of unadulterated joy, nothing beats bright colours, either head to toe pink, as seen at Molly Goddard, or as unexpected combinations such as at Valentino, which mixed chocolate with blue and deep red, and Halpern that dressed ballet dancers in tangerine and pink. Brandon Maxwell, meanwhile, married emerald green with sherbet pink, showing that, for 2022 at least, fortune favours the brave.
4. Whiter shade of pale
Not a fan of colour? No problem, as all-white is set to be a sartorial palette cleanser. Hermes delivered it in a casual look of roomy trousers and a blouson jacket, while Peter Do went the other direction, with nipped in-tailoring. Issey Miyake offered it deconstructed as an asymmetric dress, while Altuzarra lent its long coat and linen trousers an almost wintry air in crisp white. A creamier version was seen at Max Mara as a simple dress and coat in buttermilk, while Chloe delivered something homelier, with a slubby crop top, coat and trousers fringed with amulets, in parchment.
5. Let there be stripes
Whether literal, vertical, horizontal or chevron-ed, stripes are set to be everywhere for 2022. Marni offered both vertical and horizontal in one look as a happily clashing top and bottom, while Raf Simons made a case for giant-sized work shirts worn as a dress complete with a 1990s white collar and cuffs. Schiaparelli turned deckchair stripes into a sleek shirt dress, while JW Anderson went for chunky knitted body-skimming dresses with fringed hems. Fendi made stripes evening wear, as a fluid diagonal kaftan dress, while Molly Goddard mixed it up for daytime, with a horizontal striped tabard top and ruched skirt.
6. Maximise on the mini
The mini skirt is back, and now shorter than ever. At Miu Miu it was so curtailed, the pocket lining hung past the hemline, while at Missoni, it was reduced to a strip of shimmery fabric hanging from the hip bones. Hermes, meanwhile, kept things classy with a matching outfit of skirt, top and coat in etched leather.
7. Biker-chic jackets
With the ongoing obsession with all things retro, another relic from the 1990s has returned – the leather biker jacket. Once the jacket of choice for off-duty models, it has made a return in a big way, with Simone Rocha's supersized version. Alexander McQueen recut its jacket with denim, while Dolce Gabbana mixed a jacket with lace and a mini skirt.
8. Y2K
Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and even J-Lo were big fans of low-rise trousers and crop tops in 2000, as women the world over added in skinny scarves, body chains and, inexplicably, butterflies. Well, now it's all back, mainly courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana and Blumarine, which gave us a quick history lesson with low-rider trousers and bra tops galore. Etro went for baggy, drawstring pants worn in a scarf-as-bra arrangement, while Tom Ford made it glamorous, adding a bra top to green satin cargo pants caught at the ankle, with high heels.
9. Masculine meets feminine
Perhaps the most wearable trend for 2022 is the masculine-meets-feminine one, which blends the codes of both genders into one look. In other words, mix something masculine, such as a blazer, with something feminine, such as a floaty skirt. Givenchy combined dainty lace shorts with a sharply tailored jacket, while Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello kept it simple, elongating a tuxedo jacket into a dress. Worn with gloves (with heavy bracelets on the outside), it was simplicity itself. Victoria Beckham, meanwhile, delivered a perfectly cut man's suit, for women.
10. Game, set, match
The twinset is another big mover for 2022. Perhaps the ultimate in pulled-together-dressing, a matching jacket and skirt is lady-like yet effortless. There's nothing dowdy about this look, either, as proven at Versace, which had a set in zappy lime green, while over at Dior it was in chartreuse, and worn with knee-high flat boots. Of course, the queen of the twinset is Chanel, where a perfectly cut, below-the-hip jacket was paired with a flared, almost flirty A-line mini. In a pink check and with pockets trimmed with chains, it was the perfect punk-meets-princess outfit.
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