With summer fast approaching, it’s way past time to start updating your closet for the 2023 season. With the Pantone color of the year being Viva Magenta—a deep pomegranate-pink, you already know the trends of the year are going to be bright, bold, and splashy.
Creating your individual style is easier than ever with the streetwear colors and structures of the current fashion. Let’s take a virtual tour of the fashion trends taking over the streets (and the internet) this year.
Structured Minimalism
One of the trends taking over the runways (and the viral videos) of 2023 is structured minimalism. This can be as simple as a well-tailored suit in an unusual setting or as complex as a skirt-suit combination that’s been cropped into a crop top-mini skirt set, usually with a collection of ornate buttons or zippers to add visual interest and shape. The cropped suit top is also very popular with a set of crisply tailored high-waisted pants. Combine this with your favorite pair of heels or chunky sneakers and you’re set for the runway, Coachella, or a trip to your favorite rooftop bar.
Colorblock
This trend has been inching up the fashion ladder for the past few years, but this year it’s really starting to take over. Color blocking can be seen everywhere from the high-fashion runway to the luxury loungewear industry. This is a great way to showcase your favorite colors, no matter whether it’s egg yolk yellow or royal purple. The color block trend also really lends itself to being combined with structural minimalism—adding rich color to the crisp line of a suit jacket set or a skirt and top combo can easily create an eye-catching combination that’s Instagram-worthy and comfortable.
Color blocking is especially apparent in fitness fashion, with matching sets taking over gyms all over the country in the past few years. You can barely sneeze without hitting someone in an impeccably fitted lilac or lime green crop top and shorts set heading to a Pilates or Barre class. As we move further into 2023, these will likely stay in fashion, just in jewel tones instead of pastels. If you’re looking to get ahead of the trend, look for deep magenta, royal purple, emerald green, and mustard yellow.
Texture, Texture, Texture!
The use of textiles and textures in clothing has historically been a way for people to express themselves, advertise their class status, and display their cultural heritage. Weaving, knitting, and crocheting have skyrocketed in popularity since 2020—no mystery there!
As we collectively shifted our worldview and perspective as we were isolated in our houses, millions of people turned to textiles creation as a way of returning to their cultural roots, familial bonds, and their creative expression. Thousands of creators on TikTok and Instagram are making a living creating wearable textiles that reflect modern-day, fashion-knit loungewear: chunky knit sweaters, bright pastels, two-piece sets, and long maxi skirts all handmade with crochet hooks, knitting needles, and looms.
Draping, slouchy silhouettes are the shapes of the season for anything knit. Using the shape of the body as inspiration, the texture creates a cage-like woven silhouette that flatters any body type and keeps you warm on those chilly spring evenings. The colors we are seeing in knit are a little more muted than the colors we are seeing in other fabrics—lighter pastels and darker jewel tones like deep maroons and rust colors are very popular.
Statement Footwear
For 2023 trends, the heat is in the feet. Footwear has long been a way to express yourself, and since shows like Sex in the City aired, shoes, especially for women, have been more popular than ever as a fashion accessory. Whether you’re using shoes as a way to compliment an outfit or the shoes is the star of the show, finding boutique shoes that impress is the perfect way to make a splash in any fashion situation.
The footwear that’s trending this year is a little less bulbous and avant-garde than last year, but the chunky shoe is still definitely in. Chunky sandals, tennis shoes, block wedges, and thick-soled boots are all stepping down the runway and into paparazzi photos. While previous years have seen muted colors of footwear—beige, white, brown, and gray—color is starting to creep back into the shoe scene to match the colors of the bright outfits.
You can even apply this to your fitness fashion—running shoes and exercise shoes come in a rainbow of colors, textures, and styles now, allowing you to show your style even while you run a marathon or do burpees and situps. Athletic shoe companies are leading the way in the fitness shoe industry for color and support, so you can run safely while still being in the height of fashion.
