Trouser waistbands were sky-high on the spring/summer 2024 runways, with models at Loewe slipping their hands into ribcage-skimming pockets, meanwhile Alaïa’s barrel-leg trousers were cut just below the chest. The news in dresses, however, is quite the opposite: drop-waist dresses have become summer’s standout silhouette.
Jil Sander’s collection featured several drop-waist dresses, which came with ribbed tank top uppers and full skirts; then there were the sheer turtleneck tops and scalloped waistbands seen at 16Arlington’s fall/winter 2024 show. Look 53 from Ferragamo’s show, meanwhile, featured a fitted bodice and pleated skirt. Jonathan Anderson also moved away from his high-waisted propositions for autumn/winter, opening the show with a hat-trick of maxi dresses, finished with low, hip-skimming skirts and giant buckled belt adornments.
Challengers fever has also inspired sporty takes on the drop-waist silhouette. Zendaya wore a custom, crystal-swathed Loewe tennis dress for the film’s photo call in Milan in April, while her stylist Law Roach was behind the bespoke, drop-waist Thom Browne dress—complete with a polo collar and racket appliqué—that she wore to the London premiere.
“Nothing beats the drama of a ravaged drop-waist dress from the 1920s,” says contributing beauty editor Tish Weinstock, who has moved away from the ’90s and Y2K styles that have dominated the fashion landscape, in favour of 1920s and ’30s pieces. She regularly scours eBay, Vinted and Etsy in search for treasures from bygone eras.
Scroll on for Vogue’s edit of the best drop-waist dresses available now.
1 / 18
16Arlington Vezile Pleated Cotton-Poplin Midi-Dress, $1,134
Available at Net-a-porter.
4 / 18
Christopher Esber fusion jersey and gathered crepe maxi dress, $827.16
Available at Net-a-porter.
6 / 18
Another Tomorrow drop-waist gathered tank dress, $328.55
Available at Another Tomorrow.
9 / 18
Jil Sander drop-waist full-skirt dress, $4,910.80
Available at Farfetch.
10 / 18
Khaite Romee open-back draped merino wool maxi dress, $5,480
Available at Net-a-porter.
12 / 18
Nicklas Skovgaard Ssense Exclusive white Audrey maxi dress, $1,792
Available at Ssense.
13 / 18
Proenza Schouler White Label drop-waist cotton maxi dress, $890.87
Available at Farfetch.
14 / 18
Reformation stretch organic-cotton maxi dress, $366,30
Available at Selfridges.
16 / 18
Simkhai Kenlie Taffeta-trimmed midi-dress, $1,352.79
Available at Mytheresa.
18 / 18
Ganni sleeveless mini dress, $387,73
Available at Farfetch.
This story was originally published on British Vogue.
