The sensorial pleasure of acquiring a shiny new object never seems to lose its luster. So, what’s new for spring? The high-gloss treatment seems to be reflected everywhere you look.
Several studies have linked humanity’s attraction to glossy shine to our innate need for water. If that’s the case, the trend escalation from Korean beauty‘s glass skin to the Internet-breaking porcelain doll skin by Pat McGrath for Maison Margiela’s couture spring 2024 runway collection would suggest consumers are thirstier than ever. This isn’t a sure-to-rise-and-fall niche aesthetic either — just read the double-glossed lips of TikTok beauty influencers with millions of views on the social media platform.
Just as how a smooth, reflective treatment can enhance the shape of your cheek bones and lips, a reflective sheen draws attention to a garment’s silhouette and construction. Prada’s shiny satin shoes — across pointed-toe pumps and square-toed kitten heels — grounded the ethereal, featherweight voile- and gazar-fabric shift dresses with complimentary sheen. Accented with glossy eyelids from Prada Beauty’s new Dimensions eye shadow palette and gentle pats of its brand’s hydrating serum, all veiled behind a slimey curtain of cascading liquid, the spring 2024 collection‘s fluidity-as-form messaging was strong and impactful.
Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson’s fusion of art and design with mixed materials has been instrumental to the success of his surrealistic fashions, from cartoon-ish, glossy lacquered foam pumps to the fashion house’s spring 2024 shiny sculptural jewelry, which was made in collaboration with artist Lynda Benglis. The brand’s first major art exhibition, Loewe Crafted World — which is on view in Shanghai, China through May — provides “an interactive journey through time, space material and techniques of craft steeped in art and culture,” according to brand’s website. One art piece in the curation by Anderson, “Repressed Apple, 2015” by Siobhán Hapaska, perfectly showcases the beauty and tension of a round, green lacquered fiberglass sphere between two aluminum artificial snakeskin pieces that could easily serve as textile inspiration for an upcoming collection.
These light-reflecting radiant products creates a wearable form of futuristic style, but this trend can be — and for many, should be — considered in a harmonious look of contrasting textures that elevate everyday style, as exemplified in Matthieu Blazy’s spring 2024 collection for Bottega Veneta. The textile illusionist and architectural artisan added glossy calfskin and shiny nappa leather to his lineup of masterful, refined ready-to-wear creations with ease in a way that redefines modern dressing. Even if a gleaming garment falls outside of your fashion comfort zone, the patent leather accessories trend this season is a sure bet to enliven capsule wardrobe classics.
The interior design world is in its feels with textural play as the dominant trend for 2024. Echoing the lustrous, glossy trend for interiors, soft curves are completed with touches of gleaming sheen that provide an instant gratification of freshness to your living space sans spring cleaning. Unlike matte materials, the light-reflecting surface of a fixture showcases the artistic manipulation of the object’s sculptural design that justifies its praise with purchase. In the same way one takes pieces of inspiration for their curated wardrobe from a designer runway collection specifically meant to convey a singular mood or message, one should take elements of midcentury modernism to harmoniously contrast other furnishing in your current living space.
If you’ve taken a shine to this cross-category style trend, you’ll beam with joy for these luxury goods.