The Key Spring/Summer 2025 Trends To Know Now

The top trends of the spring/summer 2025 collections speak not to politics, but to the idea of soft power – of using fashion to influence, beguile, charm, seduce and bewitch. The season as a whole felt uplifting, positive and women-friendly; the overall message being, as Nicole Phelps put it: “You don’t have to renounce your strength to be feminine.” Or, as Muhammad Ali so memorably said: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Fashion can take us places, and one of designers’ chosen destinations for spring was cloud nine. This was a season in which air was the predominant element and ethereality abounded. Chiffons floated and jerseys swung in unison with the body – movement being another key theme. Cloud-like dresses were buoyed with stuffing at Comme des Garçons and Torishéju, or actually inflated at Anrealage; elsewhere, more traditional balloon skirts puffed out the picture. At the same time, autumn’s fascination with 2D flatness evolved to the point where many garments seemed to defy gravity, an aesthetic set in motion seasons ago by Glenn Martens’s use of wire at Y/Project, and Demna’s “windswept” couture look.

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Designers this season encouraged a willing suspension of disbelief, meaning an openness to a sense of wonder – and not just when it came to the clothes. At Bottega Veneta, chairs were magicked into squishy creatures, and backstage Matthieu Blazy showcased a copy of Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever with a custom intrecciato cover. Scarry’s Busy, Busy World and What Do People Do All Day? would’ve been equally apropos for a season in which many shows celebrated individuality, rather than showcasing a narrative through-line. That’s also how the world works in Busy Town, where the reader is introduced to all manner of folk – their jobs, attire, and accoutrements (pickle car, anyone?) – going about their business with more or less finesse. And don’t tell me there is no connection between Lowly Worm and Blazy’s one-legged pants! Skousers and skorts were news this season.

The presence of plaids, typically an autumn/winter theme, speaks to the a-seasonality of our global world. It also evokes grunge and its attendant “come as you are” ethos. “Fashion needs to get messed up,” said Balenciaga’s Demna, and he wasn’t the only designer who rejected perfectionism in favour of something more lived-in.

At Alaïa, Peter Mulier introduced the idea of the spiral, while the Möbius strip made an appearance at Courrèges, where Nicolas Di Felice addressed the feeling of nostalgia-soaked postmodernism running as if in a continuous loop. “In the period that we live in, it’s always a comeback to something else – and I’m not talking only about fashion – so I decided we’re going to work on cycles and repetition,” the designer said. Indeed this season’s trends are largely a remix of tendencies designers have been playing with for the past two years or so, such as Madame Grès-inspired draping, balletcore, etc. These ideas are reframed to be sure, but it is hard to shake the feeling that the world is at a tipping point.

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Still, stasis is not an option; the world, and fashion, must proceed. There is work to be done. In a strangely apolitical season, Willy Chavarría’s América show told the story of the USA “through the voice of the immigrants, and the people who make this motherfucker run”, as the designer put it. And it stood out. If you think about it, utilitarian workers’ gear forms the basis of American style: jeans, t-shirts and tank tops, khakis. Fashion isn’t finished with barn-jacket beige and for spring the hue appeared in scouting and military-inspired looks. Olive drab, a hue known to army brats (not to be confused with Charli’s brats), expanded the palette.

Seemingly no collection was without some kind of slim and sleek tank silhouette; fashion’s Olympics-fuelled athletic fixation has not yet waned. At Christian Dior, tanks had a sporty aspect. We also saw sophisticated takes on sportiness like billowy polo dresses and windbreakers in materials from nylon to satin, to wear with sequinned dresses.

Circles and discs, symbols associated with femininity, were also abundant. The invitation to Jonathan Anderson’s spring show for Loewe was a ring, and on the runway the man who resurrected the structured pannier for spring/summer 2023, went further back in history to bring the bell-shaped hoop skirt back into rotation. His had a weightlessness the originals lacked. Panniers put in an appearance too, most notably on side-bolstered robe de style dresses popularised a century ago by Jeanne Lanvin. Also coming out from the shadows were bewitching looks. These ranged from the darkly mysterious (banshees were referenced at McQueen; Disney’s Wicked antiheroines made their presence known), to the romantic á la Stevie Nicks’s “Rhiannon” (who, as “a woman taken by the wind” is exceedingly on trend). Seduction is a kind of sorcery that designers played with via cone bras and transparent (tulle) veiling that was like a physical replication of a soft filter.

Softness and fluidity are not far apart, and into this especially feminine season, dandies made a dramatic entrance. At Saint Laurent the house founder was the muse. Sailors, Renaissance princes, Tudor kings, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and other storybook characters also came to life on the runways.

This analysis of the most directional spring trends is based on a review of over 400 brands in the four fashion capitals (New York, London, Milan, and Paris) as well as Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Berlin, plus women’s looks presented during menswear. Read on for the key takeaways from the spring/summer 2025 runways to consider incorporating into your wardrobe.

The humble tank top has been a permanent fixture on the seasonal runways for some time – and they took centre stage once again for spring/summer. Rather than forming a quiet foundation for outfits, as they have done for many decades, the basic was a clincher of looks at Rabanne (worn as a dress, with silver chainmail detailing atop), Willy Chavarria (worn with belted wide-leg trousers), 16Arlington (knitted and sheer), Ralph Lauren (worn with a high-waisted, embellished gold skirt) and Stella McCartney, where tanks came emblazoned with “mother” across the chest and “fucker” in small print below. The classic scooped neckline was a resounding winner – take note.

There’s been a gothic mood lingering in fashion for some time, spurred by releases including Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Nosferatu. Free-spirited or severe, looks that embodied dark romance were interspersed throughout the collections. At Rick Owens – the king of drama – there were, naturally, plenty that would double-up as a winning costume, while Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut brought with it whimsical yet mysterious florals. Elsewhere, Standing Ground’s Michael Stewart poised cameras on the front-row with his hooded velvet gown; ditto Balenciaga’s angular-shouldered closing look, worn by house muse, Eliza Douglas. The easiest way to welcome this attitude-ridden mood into your wardrobe? Consult Saint Laurent’s flowing boho dresses, which were worn beneath heavy-duty leather jackets.

Fashion loves a hybrid, and this season skants, skousers and one-legged pants are vying for our attention. See: Matthieu Blazy’s sophisticated take on the trend that’s taken Gen-Z by storm; elevated in a rigid all-black silhouette. London talent Johanna Parv, meanwhile, provided a practical option rendered in crunchy light grey shell – worn with a cycle-inspired purple zip-down top, a headband and wraparound sunglasses for ultimate high-low athleisure style. While there were many hybrid versions on offer, there was also endless styling inspiration in the form of skirts – mainly midi and mini – worn atop jeans and tailored trousers. Why pick one when you can have both?

Wisps of gossamer-thin tulle and organza fabrications juxtaposed the aforementioned gothic propositions at the shows. For a period of time, sheerness was few and far between, but nowadays, “naked dressing” is commonplace every season – especially in spring/summer collections, when the weather is much more forgiving. There were looks destined for the red carpet, at Tom Ford, Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini, Simone Rocha, Sportmax and London’s resident sheer aficionado, Nensi Dojaka. And a way to feasibly incorporate mesh into everyday style, courtesy of Dries Van Noten, where a mint tunic was layered atop a double-breasted lilac blazer.

Football cups, the Olympics, World Championships… an endless stream of sports tournaments – and a pandemic spent in tracksuits – has fully integrated sportswear into fashion, and there were several new ideas at the shows to take on board for 2025. Take cues from the block-coloured track jackets at Miu Miu, Tolu Coker and GCDS, and the sporty ballet-pink silky separates at Simone Rocha and Ferragamo. The ultimate interpretation of sportif fashion arrived at Wales Bonner, via effortlessly styled mainline pieces and new pieces from her ongoing collaboration with Adidas Originals. Set your alarms!

Pick your muse: Nirvana or Country Living. Whichever your preference, the plaid memo for spring was realised as everything from separates to classic, Cobain-esque flannel shirts, coats and ruffled skirts. The Row’s look book brought an elegant rendition of the print: look 38 comprised a square-neck maxi dress secured with black bows at the shoulders, while Matthieu Blazy – who famously sent Kate Moss down his sophomore spring/summer 2023 Bottega Veneta runway in trompe l’oeil leather “jeans”, a white tank top and a checked shirt, worn nonchalantly undone – explored the pattern once again for spring/summer 2025, as a thick coat-come-shirt.

Prepped with pockets, buttons, poppers and the like, 2025’s take on utilitarian is as practical as it is stylish. Consider Sacai’s cargo trousers, Isabel Marant’s desert-hued waistcoat, or funnel-neck jackets from Gucci and Mugler your new uniform. With all the functional fashion, some looks were imbued with scout-ish charm, interpreted literally by Fashion East’s Olly Shinder, who flourished one look with a preppy hat and neckerchief.

No designer explored the spiralled silhouette more than Pieter Mulier, who for Alaïa spring/summer 2025 echoed the infrastructure of the Guggenheim – where his show was held – via brushed shearling chubbies and micro-pleated dresses that snapped onto the body, made using similar techniques to jewellery manufacturing. Draped spiral silhouettes debuted at Atlein, Luar, Peter Do and Tibi, while Ludovic de Saint Sernin nodded to Alaïa’s iconic zipper dress with an unravelling eyelet-trimmed dress, with tiered bands that were suspended by invisible threads.

Anthony Vaccarello’s coterie of suited models set the tone for tailoring in 2025. “My last men’s show in March had been all about tailoring, but based on flou; I wanted this one to be the opposite – more strict,” the designer said of his collection. “It’s not about when I would do a tuxedo for a woman which was worn naked underneath. The suits come with shirts, ties. You’re dressed. It’s about control, and power, in a way.” For fine and dandy inspiration, see also: Willy Chavarria, Nicholas Daley and Ann Demeulemeester, to name but a few.

One of the key colours to emerge from the spring/summer 2025 shows was hard to look away from. Tomato shades in all their vibrant glory were realised in everything from basic staples to statement pieces and accessories at Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta – the latter of which released a red, leather-clad Biggest Word Book Ever!, made in collaboration with Richard Scarry. Miuccia Prada also took her Miu Miu bow in a tomato-hued ensemble.

Sequins, crystals, feathers, carabiner clips – you name an embellishment, the spring/summer runways had it. As ever, Chopova Lowena’s offering was a smorgasbord of playful jangling adornments; suspended from skirts, emblazoned across denim and climbing models’ plaits (expect the glittering hair bows to be quite the hit among the brand’s fervid fanbase). Whether you buy something pre-embellished or take a turn in DIY upcycling, “more is more” is one of the key memos for spring.

On the fashion forecast for spring? Waterproofs that can be worn weather permitting – or not. Come rain or shine, directional raincoats are the perfect layering piece; as seen at Prada (rendered in fisherman yellow, paired with otherworldly visors) and Ferragamo, where a longline black version put a contemporary, elegant spin on the otherwise practical wardrobe hero.

From scholarly pressed pleats to diaphanous zig-zagging folds, pleated skirts of many kinds defined the spring collections. At Prada, a uniform-grey style was secured to a cinching leather belt with clips; Miu Miu featured midis in leather; McQueen debuted a frayed-edge mini, while Bottega Veneta included a pinstriped version, styled atop trousers. This is a staple that’ll last all year round.