They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and indeed, anyone who has seen a parent gushing over their toddler’s finger painting knows this to be true. But, the longer I work in fashion, the more I’ve come to realise that the same aphorism can be applied to fashion trends, too. No single style is “one-size-fits-all”.
In fact, some of the best-dressed people I know are united in their ability to apply a fine-tooth comb to the runways and handpick the visual references and silhouettes that they feel a) best suit their personal style and b) possess true longevity. However, as we all know, this is easier said than done. The sheer noise of social media can make the process of sorting the wheat from the chaff almost impossible at times – it’s no surprise that “deinfluencing” has gathered such momentum in recent months, with the hashtag accruing over a billion views on TikTok.
Repeat after me: you don’t always need the thing. You life’s happiness is not contingent on obtaining the thing. But of course, as someone who loves fashion as a hobby and creative outlet, I can find this a real challenge.
Some collect fridge magnets – I collect vintage jackets. So, I decided to set myself a challenge to trawl through the autumn/winter 2024 collections and come up with a definitive line-up of trends that I will not be investing in this year, plus those I want to try instead. Everyone will have their own criteria, but for me, it was helpful to reflect on the fashion pi.