Spring 2021 Fashion Trends – Fashion Trends from Spring 2021

Distilling down to the basics is one approach to our current fashion conundrum, which comes down to a simple question: What do we want to wear right now? The innovative trenches on offer for spring may be based in the idea of a classic, but they’re hardly your typical belted fare. From dramatic lapels to interesting slits, drop waists, and bold sleeves, it seems that you can have your trench and your statement piece all at once.

Pictured from top to bottom: Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Nina Ricci, Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Marni, Y: Project, Victoria Beckham, Altuzarra, and Rokh.

How passé to believe your oversized shirting is your “husband’s shirt,” your “dad’s shirt,” or “borrowed from the boys.” Let your double XL be yours and yours alone. The look is all about billowing silhouettes that take inspiration from standard poplins reimagined in bright shades of pink and orange, done up as dresses, shown extra long and extra wide, or with proportions that simply make you look twice.

Pictured from top to bottom: Sacai, Michael Kors Collection, Wales Bonner, Xuly Bët, Valentino, Schiaparelli, The Row, Balenciaga, Coach, Coperni, and Vaquera.

How does your garden grow? The bolder, the brighter, and the more impactful seems to be the only way forward for spring. Designers certainly aren’t here for wilting daisies; instead, they’re bringing the floral motifs in sunny yellows, on neon tulip dresses, and on gala-worthy ball gowns in shades of pink so incandescent you’ll need shades to look straight at them.

Pictured from top to bottom: Tom Ford, Valentino, Marni, Carolina Herrera, Duro Olowu, Kwaidan Editions, Molly Goddard, and Christopher John Rogers.

While 2020 has quite literally been about isolation, the prevailing notion is that it’s about time to stand out in a crowd. What better way is there to approach that than in a brightly hued statement coat? Come spring, you’ll have your choice of stripes, patchwork, and checks.

Pictured from top to bottom: Dries van Noten, Prada, Duro Olowu, Dolce & Gabbana, Chopova Lowena, Christopher Kane, Burberry, and Christian Dior.

We never thought we’d fall so hard for a sporting staple like the windbreaker. But wonders never cease when a concept is put in the right hands and an athletic mood is in the ethos. Offered in primary colors, blacks, and whites; in extra-long, cropped, shrunken, and oversized versions—there’s a one for everyone.

Pictured from top to bottom: Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Miu Miu, Koché, Heron Preston, Marine Serre, Givenchy, Molly Goddard, and Plan C.

The waist has it for spring. Though belts are hardly new, this fresh iteration is never low slung. Instead, it’s all about creating shape on the body. Whether you’re all about bows or something edgier like heavy metals, you’ll have no trouble finding middle ground.

Pictured from top to bottom: Chanel, Prada, JW Anderson, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Art School, Miu Miu, and Chloe.

Mix up all your go-to denim looks with lighter shades of khaki. The tan cotton fabric, née chinos, often reserved for high school boys and suburban dads is getting a high-fashion turn in oversized, slouchy takes paired with uber-feminine portrait tops, tailored blazers, sweater vests, and more sequins than you might expect.

Pictured from top to bottom: The Row, Thakoon, Tory Burch, Simone Rocha, Ambush, Paco Rabanne, Schiaparelli, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Valentino.

Let’s be honest, we’ve never been ones for do-it-yourself fashion. That’s what designers are for. So while we appreciate the sentiment of creating your own colorful tees, we prefer how the experts are translating the counterculture mainstay. From caftans to maxi dresses, sweat suits and denim, these shibori-inspired patterns hit every color of the rainbow, and are decidedly bougie.

Pictured from top to bottom: Christopher Kane, Dries van Noten, Y: Project, Gabriela Hearst, Tom Ford, Collina Strada, Matty Bovan, Christian Dior, Osman Yousefzada, and The Elder Statesman.

What started as a nod to the ’80s has taken on a life of its own, with the recent crop of standout shoulders becoming less about a throwback and more about coming into their own. With not-so-subtle peaks, a mutton sleeve, a cape, not-so-simple tees, and an origami moment, these big shoulders aren’t one-size-fits-all.

Pictured from top to bottom: Alberta Ferretti, Loewe, Richard Malone, Patou, Maison Margiela, Comme des Garçons, Khaite, Carolina Herrera, Moschino, Yohji Yamamoto, Givenchy, Melitta Baumeister, and Balmain.

While our actual fishing references are admittedly limited, we do know that some well-placed netting satisfies our desire for purely aesthetic pleasures. These nets are not here to keep you warm; they serve no higher purpose other than that they exist as eye candy, as newness, as that something that feels perfectly right now.

Pictured from top to bottom: Dries van Noten, Burberry, Hermes, Judy Turner, Fendi, Jil Sander, Balenciaga, Lanvin, Ports 1961, Rick Owens, Noir Kei Ninomiya,
and Nanushka.

Some have argued for sweatpants forever, and we can’t deny the appeal, but a girl can never be fully divorced from her denim. Get the best of both worlds in oversized jeans that are as louche and cool as they are comfortable. Washes run the gamut from dark blues to tattered lighter fare—just add some oversized shirting and jackets, and you have your new uniform on lock.

Pictured from top to bottom: Balenciaga, Victoria Beckham, Ami, Chloe, Etro, Celine, Christian Dior, Valentino, and Paco Rabbane.

Get in the mood of the season with shades reminiscent of your absolute favorite rose varietal. With soothing buttercup yellows, lovely lilacs, peony pinks, and subtle bluebells on offer, the whole garden is there for the picking. Nothing quite says spring like a pretty pastel.

Pictured from top to bottom: Tod’s, Chloe, Thebe Magugu, Rick Owens, Max Mara, Jil Sander, Giorgio Armani, Marina Moscone, Versace, Peter Do, Raf Simons, and Chanel.