Can you extrapolate a distinct list of fashion trends from a show circuit that’s essentially all about tribes? From the Saint Laurent school of lingerie-lovers to Gucci’s new rich bitch crew, the front row can often feel like a circus of stars there to showcase the most extreme version of a brand vision. But despite all those lucrative brand ambassador contracts, certain themes do crop up across front rows in New York, London, Milan and Paris. From a bra-first attitude to all-white tailoring, here are the key trends to take from the celebrities keeping the paparazzi in full-time jobs at fashion weeks the world over.
Personality skirts
When Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons decide it will be the season of the skirt, you fall in line (wearing the rarest Prada skirt from your personal archive). The miniskirt of seasons past has given way to a sensible midi style made exquisite through embellishment fixed on with Velcro. It is, despite its grandeur, an equaliser garment – a people pleaser, said Mrs Prada, just like the humble T-shirt. Easy, then, to pull off during shows, when centring your look around a single piece (a trophy jacket, a wacky shoe, a major skirt) is the low-effort, high-impact way of looking put-together.
Peek-a-boo bras
An exposed bra can serve as a disarming tool during show season. Let the fawning paps get their shot, then plough on. It now identifies someone not as an exhibitionist, rather someone already taking trend notes from the new collections. Brands from Prada to Simone Rocha; KNWLS to Tom Ford, doubled down on micro bralettes as a key piece for next spring. Top marks for a soft starter-bra silhouette.
While a bra is the brazen way into the underwear-as-outerwear trend, lace is a more universally acceptable method of lingerie dressing – even if you’re wearing a whisper of a Saint Laurent look. Nearly-naked fashion, designed to be worn after-dark, will forever be a hallmark of Anthony Vaccarello’s time at the house, thanks to friends Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz and Charli XCX, who gladly slip into his noirish pieces. But elsewhere, Jonathan Anderson is doing pale and interesting lace as part of his lightening up of Dior’s house codes. There’s an option for everyone.
One of the defining looks of the season – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in a gargantuan faux-fur Gucci coat that went against all the style tropes typically associated with a spring/summer season – has already trickled down to the front row, where stars including Cardi B, Eva Herzigova and Emma Mackey have been taking up space in maximalist outerwear of their own. Does it make sense in a balmier than ever Paris? No. But this vibe is far from a comment on the environment; it’s about an ’80s-adjacent appreciation for excess. A fluffy cover-up in September isn’t an outfit, it’s a state of mind. Best worn with a top-handle bag in the crook of the arm and a death stare, per Demna’s diktat.
Jagger-approved suiting
One look that signifies there will be no dashing between shows on a Lime bike is the white suit, worn this season by everyone from Katie Holmes to Scout Willis and doyenne of wedding tailoring herself Bianca Jagger. Resolutely impractical and thus wholly fab, a white suit emanates a zero-fucks energy that’s more in line with popstars than fashion show-goers. After weeks of seeing the same faces, consider it a sartorial palette cleanser.
Scout Willis at Alberta Ferretti.
Marco M. Mantovani/Getty Images
