Fashion Predictions for 2018: What You’ll Be Wearing In the New Year

We all remember Carrie Bradshaw’s claim that “no woman who works at W Magazine and lives on Perry Street would be caught dead at a hip downtown restaurant wearing a scrunchie.” Demna Gvasalia seems to disagree. For resort, Balenciaga featured some of the best and most ridiculous accessories – including bright color leather scrunchies. For Mansur Gavriel’s first runway show, they styled their model’s in a more subdued version of this ’90s hair accessory. If 2017 was the year of the grosgrain hair ribbon, we predict that 2018 will be the year of the scrunchie.

Packing for a great escape from the winter months? We predict that Sienna Miller circa 2004 may just be your new reference point. Soon in stores we’ll see parson’s hats, leather patchworked duster coats, and fringed ponchos from Dior’s resort 2018 collection, southwestern-inspired skirts and dresses at Valentino, and earthy, suede accents at Coach 1941 and Acne Studios. And, as we all know, cowboy boots have already made a comeback thanks to Raf Simons at CALVIN KLEIN 205W39. All of these looks will make great Instagram fodder no matter what island you plan to escape to.

The ultimate ’90s and early 2000s high school status symbol is back. But perhaps it never left? Almost every look in Prada’s Spring 2018 show included a variation of the brand’s iconic nylon bag—whether a backpack, bum bag, or shoulder bag. Some remained true to the original and some were adorned with pops of colors and studs. No need to wait till spring though, Prada sells their classic nylon bags in their stores and online year-round.

Love it or hate it, we predict that see-through clothing, bags, and shoes will be one of spring’s major trends. Thank Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, who for spring created a rain forest-esque set, complete with a waterfall. He dressed his models in plastic bombers, plastic bucket hats and plastic boots. Valentino, Balmain, CALVIN KLEIN 205W39 and Off-White also featured key pieces created in the synthetic material.

Christopher Kane has featured embellished crocs for a few seasons. However, Balenciaga has brought the ‘ugly-comfort-chic’ footwear to a new level, literally. For SS18, Demna Gvasalia embellished the giant platform rubber shoes with a variety of toy-like pins including a French bull dogs, rosettes, butterflies, making the it-cult item of the season. You can get the look for less by buying, well, actual crocs.

Is punk coming back? After a long hiatus, labels like Prada, Dior, and Balmain sent out a few punky looks for Spring 2018, leading us to predict that red and black stripes, and a good dose of leopard, may find its way back into your wardrobe. Even Altuzarra offered up a chic version of punk with his fishnet midi skirts for spring.

Tired of millennial pink? The sorbet hue is not going anywhere, but we predict the color is going to be joined by other pastels as the palette for spring. Make way for lavender, which cropped up during New York Fashion Week spring shows like Victoria Beckham and continued through Paris. Beckham herself wore lavender-hued shoes to her show, visible when she came out to take her bow. Mint also popped up in a number of designer collections for next year.

Yes, florals are nothing new. However, we predict that we’ll be embracing more oversized, garish, acid hued 60s inspired florals in the near future. Miu Miu, Dries Van Noten, Simone Rocha, and Marc Jacobs all embraced this poppy feeling for spring, so break out the bold hues this spring.

It is finally official; the reigning queen of minimalist fashion, Phoebe Philo, is saying goodbye to the beloved maison after 10 years. So stock up on all your Phoebe Philo for Céline now while you can, chances are key pieces will sell out faster than in most seasons. Plan to snag this chic update on the classic trench as part of your new year’s wardrobe.

It is difficult to predict a full year ahead, but there could be a world where the ballet staple makes a return to every-day life. Not since the ‘80s has this seemed truly possible, but with the return of crimped hair thanks to Beyoncé anything is possible.