There’s light at the end of the tunnel. And, as we prepare to start returning to a degree of normality (equipped with a fresh outlook on what actually matters), now is the time to rediscover the clothes we love to wear outside the house. But rather than go back to regular programming, the incoming fashion mood offers 1970s flair and a once-in-a-generation celebratory energy.
From the new era of the miniskirt to the colour palette of now, these are your key wardrobe revisions for 2021.
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1. Flares
The 1970s trouser shape that quite literally swept the floor at Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2021 has returned. In the hands of a new generation (read: mask-clad and socially distanced), nostalgic renditions of the classic denim bootcut and fluid bell-bottoms deliver a genderless wardrobe high, channelling the free-spirited mindset of a decade where disrupting social norms became the norm. On your moodboard? The loungey kick-flare (spied at Proenza Schouler, Charlotte Knowles and Nensi Dojaka). Extra marks for adding a trompe-l’œil thong strap, as seen at Versace.
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2. The 1970s-inspired track jacket
If the rate at which fashion editors are buying up Grace Wales Bonner’s Adidas Originals collaboration is anything to go buy, the track jacket (a piece which played an equally starring role on Gucci and Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2021 runways) is set to become a springtime phenomenon. Shop Wales Bonner’s genderless Lovers crochet-ribbed track top while it’s still in stock, or get your name on the waiting list for Miu Miu’s zip-through sports jacket—note the pencil-skirt pairing. Consider this our collective switch to refined athleticism where there isn’t a baggy sweatpant in sight.
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3. Anything pink
The news that Jacquemus is launching an affordable all-pink collection in time for the holidays landed in our inbox just when our festive spirit needed a little raising (you’ll have to move fast if you want the Pepto-Bismol-pink bike shorts). Pink is a crowd-pleasing shade, but it also packs a powerful political punch. With everything from blush to fuchsia making appearances on the spring/summer 2021 catwalks at Chanel, Gucci, JW Anderson, Cecilie Bahnsen, Molly Goddard and MSGM, the most intoxicating tone on the spectrum is set to reign well into summer 2021.
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4. The bralet
Versace’s spring/summer 2021 collection epitomises the new emphasis on exposed underwear, with the bralet forming the basis of many of the house’s souped-up silhouettes and seaside adornments (an homage to Gianni Versace’s spring/summer 1992 collection)—but Donatella wasn’t alone in her love of visible underpinnings. Look to model Mona Tougaard’s runway look for Alberta Ferretti and Malika El Maslouhi’s blockbuster turn on Jacquemus’s cornfield catwalk in France’s Vexin regional nature park.
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5. The miniskirt
You’ve already heard praise for the micro-kilt, but our rekindled love of abbreviated hemlines extends to all iterations of the mini. Stylist Lotta Volkova resurrected the rah-rah skirt at Blumarine, while Maximilian Davis made the case for slashed hemlines with his knockout Fashion East debut for spring/summer 2021.
