Fashion: The Next 365 Days

If 2025 was shaped by excess consumption, 2026 will be all about intention. For the corporate, self-sustaining woman, 2026 will be influenced by the 90’s with sleek, twisted updos, turtlenecks, cashmere, mid-length skirts, and calf-high leather boots. For the women in need of something warm, trench coats and mock necks are back in business, after a year of brands such as PARKE reinventing the look. Maximalism feels exhausted, minimalism feels relieving. Instead of buying every colour available in a Stanley, there is a craving for a reliable Nalgene. The year of the horse is bringing quality over quantity back. Obviously, for the truly niche, it was never gone. Now, the broader public is beginning to catch up to those who have been ahead of the curve.

What else? Cashmere, Merino wool, Grand Cru Chardonnay, Levi Strauss & Co., mixing gold and silver jewellery, and having a 5-step makeup routine. Some things will carry on into 2026 from 2025, of course, like skincare, shabby chic, and unusual colour pairings. In 2026, society will expand on these ideas through the revival of modern silhouettes, 90s simplicity, and the essence of boldism from the 1960s fashion revolution. I didn’t purchase L'Oréal's “Ballerina Shoes”, I bought the shade right next door: “Tickled Pink.” People will take a trend and think outside of it, making it original. Trends make American consumerism the thing it is today, but trend individualism will make 2026 a year to be included in history, if done right.

What about travel, health, and relationships? Some cities can’t be replaced by another. New York City, London, and Paris: they will always be the holy trinity in fashion travel. However, there will be more of the unique and understated locations this year. Rhode Island, Boston, Florida Keys, Savannah, Georgia, and Palm Springs, California. People will begin to use Instagram as a personal blog again without fear of embarrassment or judgment. I predict a continued shift in health and wellness, too, with women prioritising their bodies and mental health. Yoga (and not the whitewashed, western version of yoga- genuine practices with roots directly planted in India) will rise. 2026, which is the year of the horse in the Chinese horoscope, is about new opportunities, bold decisions, and independence, but something has to balance the freshness out. Vinyasa will provide the grounding that many of us will need as our lifestyles change.

After Chante Joseph’s Vogue article, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now,” some women might be pessimistic about entering into a relationship or two in 2026, but I think they shouldn’t be phased. Although dating and friendships with men will continue, women will focus on identity and their own lives first, before ever prioritising a man. In an age where young women are exposed to interesting (to say the very least) influencers such as Danielle Walter and her ‘To the Single Girl’ 21-part podcast, women will naturally lean more into healthy, careful, balanced relationships. In 2026, women will continue to realise that their lives should not revolve around becoming someone’s girlfriend or wife.

In 2025, we are leaving behind brainrot, uncreative usage of AI, and being broke.

2026 will see:

• Side parts (and additionally: big hair in general)

• Polka dots

• Digital cameras

• CD players

• A new emphasis on micro-influencers

• Practical and functional > useless and unrealistic

• Cigarette jeans

• Book clubs

• Diamond or pearl stud earrings

• Statement jewellery

• A craving for authenticity from brands, celebrities, and friends

• Isabel Marant wedge sneakers

• Side hustles

• Minimalism and maximalism: each done correctly

• Bare nails

Why these? What unites them? They all gather under one umbrella: quality, originality, authenticity, and nostalgia.

It seems as though each year that passes is deeply influenced by one from twenty years prior, and I predict that 2026 will contain remnants from 1990, 2012, and 2016. Slower consumption and novelty interests will take over once more. There was a massive cultural shift in 2016, marked by Vevo, Vine, Broadway’s “Hamilton,” and King Kylie, which the majority yearn for.

2026 will be characterised by impatience for imitation and a renewed appetite for unconventionality.