I am so excited about 2022’s summer trends. The overarching mood was one of real optimism, but where the previous season perhaps went into overdrive with the desire (desperation?) to get dressed up for even the most low-key of weekly grocery shops, the outlook for summer is that there is a time and place to be extra fabulous but still a strong demand and a necessity for easy, simple, luxurious, gorgeous clothes and outfits you can fling on in a hurry. There are places to go, people to see and the many ensembles to suit. So while on the one hand there’s a very clear shift towards revealing, ultra-sassy, cut-to-here-and-slashed-to-there kind of dressing, there’s also a very chic, understated antithesis at play. It speaks to a modern shopper’s whims and natural inclination to change one’s mind. Some days you might channel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in a classic, all-beige get-up and others be more Dua Lipa in a rad minidress and stacked platforms. We are complex characters, and our wardrobes, and favourite brands, must keep up.
As fashion expert Lianne Wiggins, head of womenswear at MATCHESFASHION,explains, we are living through “the anything-goes mood of now,” which means that the old tropes of things being “in” or “out” is in itself redundant. It means you can be as wild and adventurous as you like with your spring trends or, indeed, as basic as can be. Sit in the middle? Me too. Every personal style can be catered for in the summer 2022 fashion trends line-up.
It was invigorating and inspiring to see runway shows return (almost) to normal, and “fashion moments” were plentiful, playful, and highly shareable, and as such, a few went viral. Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia merged a runway and a fake movie premiere celebrity red carpet to celebrate the arrival of a new collection. In addition, the brand created a fashion take on a Simpsons episode. Gucci took over Hollywood with runway chocked with high-profile friends of the brand in extravagant costume-inspired pieces that wouldn’t look out of place in a 1940s blockbuster. Chanel’s ’90s supermodel–inspired collection saw endless Instagram posts capturing sashaying models in monochromatic bikinis. Fashion fun was clearly back on the menu, and it was served up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Tom Ford alluded to a theory behind the more outré collections when he told VogueRunway how Instagram has changed the game and made many people focus on how clothes translate into imagery, saying, “Photogenic clothes today by their very nature mean that they are not at all timid,” and he was one of many designers to dive head first into loud colours, revealing cuts and high-shine finishes, all of which live very comfortably on screens and in a digital world of dress-up. In fact, one could draft the following as the blueprint for spring/summer 2022’s more showy half: Loud! Bright! Daring! Revealing! If it’s not turning heads or garnering likes, it’s clearly not extra enough.
As influential as runways are, trends are not solely born on them. There was a clear direction coming from Gen Z and their social media platform of choice—TikTok—to be seen across the shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Youth is still currency in fashion circles but not necessarily in the same way as before: You don’t have to be young to be hip, but you sure as hell can steal the outfit ideas and reference points of a younger generation. Nineties, noughties and even the 2010s have been plundered for inspiration, with many looks echoing the fashion choices shared on the likes of both TikTok and the coolest Depop resellers’ accounts. No brand did it more authentically than Blumarine: The brand was known for its kitsch-cool back in the day, and now the look is ironically reflective of the archive. Looking for that denim butterfly top you owned in ’99? Or how about those low-slung Miss Sixty–esque jeans? This brand is the ringleader for every person aspiring to that aesthetic and with unashamed dedication, too.
But there’s more! So much more, which is why we couldn’t narrow it down to a main trend or two but instead have found 17 key looks, pieces, details and ideas that create the most important summer 2022 fashion trends, with expert insight to back them up.
Bold, brave brights are here to stay as we continue to embrace fantasy fashion and experiment with eclectic colours and unique prints more than ever before,” says style expert Libby Page, senior market editor at NET-A-PORTER, noting that it’s these vibrant clothes that make consumers feel good from the inside out. “We’re of course backing anything with a positive and adventurous approach.” And it’s no wonder the buyers are keen to get involved, as the retail results back up the investment. This year, NET-A-PORTER has seen phenomenal increases YoY on sales of brightly coloured goods, with green being really driven up by bags and, specifically, the influence of Bottega Veneta’s Kermit-green styles, like the crazy-popular Jodie bag.
