10 fashion trends to watch out for in 2022: colour, sequins and chic twinsets

Amid the several silhouettes and swirls of fabric, we cherry pick the biggest trends for the coming year

Givenchy blends the codes of both genders into one look for the boy-meets-girl trend.

Boy meets girl at Victoria Beckham.

Boy meets girl at Saint Laurent.

The new year is set to bring drama back into our wardrobes, in the form of capes, drapes and trains, as seen here at Emilia Wickstead.

Capes, drapes and trains at Fendi.

Capes, drapes and trains at Valentino.

For a blast of unadulterated joy, nothing beats bright colours, as seen here at Halpern.

Pops of colour at Brandon Maxwell.

Head-to-toe pink at Molly Goddard.

The leather biker jacket from the 1990s is set to make a comeback in 2022, as seen here at Alexander McQueen.

Biker chic at Dolce & Gabbana.

More leather from Simone Rocha.

The mini skirt is back, and shorter than ever, as seen here at Miu Miu.

A mini skirt worked in with a matching look at Hermes.

Sequins and metallics are in this season, as seen here at Balenciaga.

Sequins and metallics at Bottega Veneta.

Sequins at Rodarte.

Break out the twinsets in 2022, or pick one up from Chanel.

Twinsets at Dior.

Twinsets at Versace.

Whether vertical, horizontal or chevron-ed, stripes are set to be everywhere for 2022, as seen here at JW Anderson.

Stripes at Raf Simons.

Stripes at Schiaparelli.

All-white is set to be a sartorial palette cleanser, as seen here at Altuzarra.

Whites at Chloe.

Whites at Peter Do.

Low-rider trousers and bra tops epitomise the Y2K trend, as seen here at Dolce & Gabbana.

Y2K at Etro.

Y2K at Tom Ford.

From left, colours at Molly Goddard; sequins at Bottega Veneta; and a matching set at Versace.

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

Metallic shimmer at Balenciaga.

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

Loewe adds a train to a top-and-jeans look.

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

Pops of colour at Brandon Maxwell.

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

Creamy white by Max Mara for spring/summer 2022.

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

A striped shirt becomes a dress in the Raf Simons spring/summer 2022 collection.

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

Hermes offers a stylish woven leather mini skirt, with matching top and coat.

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

The biker jacket is back, as seen in Simone Rocha's spring/summer 2022 collection.

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

Dolce & Gabbana revisits Y2K with a bra top and low-rider trousers.

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

Lace shorts with a blazer at Givenchy.

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

A twin set in pink checks at Chanel.

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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