These recent NYFW trends are officially dead
Nothing lasts forever. (Not even diamonds, lol).
Trends come and go: it’s their nature and the literal definition of the word ‘trend’. I think we can all remember a time wherein bubble skirts, colored skinny jeans and Ed Hardy were all particularly relevant, though we choose to collectively forget.
But trends always come to head tenfold during New York Fashion Week, where what’s worn on the street is just as important as what’s worn on the runway.
All of that considered, looking back just a couple of years, we may be surprised by what was considered interesting, fashionable and, well, trendy.
These concepts may all seem regrettably passé now: but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.
Fishnets
Think (hard); there was a time where fishnets were really cool for a few months last year. The really cool thing was to wear them underneath your strategically distressed jeans in a way such that they peaked through accidentally-on-purpose. This is such a specific trend and it had its time in the sun…but it’s Winter now, if you feel me.
READ ALSO: THESE TRENDS WILL BE EVERYWHERE AT NYFW
OFF-THE-SHOULDER EVERYTHING
We love a good off the shoulder moment. That being said, last year every. Single. Look. Worn by every. Single. Person. Was off the shoulder. Jackets, dresses, sweaters; shoulders were out and about like nobody’s business. Honestly, I’m kind of cold just thinking about it. Off the shoulder is still done, but tastefully and in much lesser quantities. I’d say specifically that the off-the-shoulder jacket is definitely in the past, at least for now.
CHOKERS
Oh my goodness. If a cat has nine lives, then the choker has ten. Honestly, this is the trend that just won’t cease, for better or worse. Officially deemed a 90s thing that we stole, they really came back a couple of years ago and hung in there until relatively recently. The right choker is certainly still cute, but this trend got out of hand to the point where it was unnecessary prevalent, which probably explains why they’re nowhere to be found these days.
PATTERNED FUR
I’d argue that fur in general has lost a lot of momentum in favor of faux fur as the pressure on designers to go faux increases. That being said, patterned furs were everywhere last Winter in a way that I just don’t see happening anytime in the near future. Last year, it was the louder and more colorful the fur: the better. Now, not only is flamboyant fur a slight faux pas, it’s also been deemed a bit gimmicky.
READ ALSO: 6 brands that do faux fur right
EMBROIDERED JEANS
Embroidered jeans were like really cool in middle school, and then randomly were again in like 2016 and last year. Gucci did their infamous snake embroidered jeans, and lots of other brands, and bloggers, followed suit. This trend was super photogenic-and-cute and the way that fashion week trends are. Now though, embroidery has given way to monogram.
STAN SMITHS
Stan Smiths had a way of blurring the line between casual sneaker and Cool Shoe in a way that kind of revolutionized the role white sneakers play in our wardrobe. It’s hard to pinpoint what made them quite so cool and appealing over their other white-sneaky counterparts, but they owned the streets last year at fashion week. The sneaker is still a huge part of the fashion week uniform, but we’ve evolved from Adidas to Balenciaga, Gucci and Vetements.
RUFFLES
They’re always around, but last season ruffles came out of the woodwork with a vengeance. Ruffled tops, ruffled pants, ruffled skirts. Peoples’ ruffles had ruffles, it was some next level stuff. Not only do I feel like ruffles aren’t relevant in the winter, but lately they just haven’t really been a thing.
THIGH HIGH BOOTS
Thigh high boots will never be completely out of style, but I feel like they come and go like the flu season. There was a time just as Vetements was gaining in popularity wherein every single blogger last year could be caught wearing an oversized sweatshirt and thigh high boots. Then, the Stuart Weitzman Highland boots took all the way off. Thigh highs work in the right context, but I’m not sure this trend holds up or that anyone cares that much rn.
And then of course, we have the bags that went viral:
GUCCI DIONYSUS
I think Chiara Ferragni literally has enough of these bags to gift to all of us and our future generations. This bag is super cool and interesting, and you couldn’t go one day last season without seeing tens of them on the street. Also, there were somehow enough colorways to go around so that no two bloggers wore the same one. That said, I haven’t seen these bags around much lately, and I’m not sure they’ll make a comeback anytime soon.
CHANEL BOY
We would never deem the Chanel boy bag “dead”, but it’s probably safe to say this bag has peaked. It’s had a similar trajectory to the Gucci Dionysus bag, but is definitely a bit more timeless.
Now, you may be looking back and questioning some fashion choices of years’ past. It’s important to be critical and #question #authority, particularly when said authority suggests you wear fishnets.
But think about it: we are all walking around with Juicy Couture tracksuits and chunky dad sneakers on (sometimes, all in one outfit)…trends always come full circle.
Photography: Matt Leung
