We take a look at the style trends of the past year, from the impact of brat summer to brand boycotts

It has been a jarring year in the world of fashion and beauty. Last year’s cutesy Barbie pink was replaced by this summer’s brash brat green. After a decade of body positivity, weight loss drug Ozempic swept through Hollywood and suddenly, being dangerously thin was back in.  Meanwhile, everywhere I looked young women were dressed either like the frontman from Limp Bizkit or a trad wife. 

As we wind down and reflect on the year while watching bad movies and wearing flannel pyjamas, here’s a selection of some of the biggest style trends of 2024. 

Brat summer

Whether you loved it or hated it, there is no hiding from the fact that Charli xcx’s wildly successful marketing campaign — sorry, album — was the defining sound and colour of the summer. Suddenly everything was a hideous shade of slime green and everyone from the Kamala Harris campaign to Asda was using the album cover template as a way to sell their wares.

Dark cherry red

Still, somehow dark cherry red made it as the colour of the year (sorry brat green). Burgundy, bordeaux and maroon hues were all over the 2024 runways, particularly in the form of accessories and leather pieces. Miu Miu showcased patent leather slingbacks and Bottega Veneta, Vivienne Westwood and Coach released dark ruby-coloured handbags, while Gucci’s new creative director, Sabato De Sarno, built his S/S 2024 collection around the colour, calling it Rosso Ancora. The shade firmly established itself as the colour of the moment — not just for accessories, but for hair too. 

Leopard print

As an Iranian woman whose wardrobe is composed of at least 30% animal print, my personal reaction to the news that leopard print was making a fashion “comeback” was “hands off — my culture is not your costume”. Nonetheless, the gaudy print really did see a revival this year, from Wales Bonner’s sought-after Adidas Sambas to the Dolce & Gabbana x Skims collection. It was perhaps partly inspired by TikTok’s so-called “mob-wife aesthetic”, which saw fashionistas emulating Carmela Soprano by dressing up in knee-high boots, chunky gold jewellery, and oversized (faux) fur coats. 

Jorts

Speaking of comebacks, one of the more unexpected trends of this year was the return of a clothing item most closely associated with nu-metal bands from the turn of the millennium: jorts – AKA long, baggy jean shorts. The polar opposite of the tiny hotpants that have been de rigueur for my entire adult life, these are less Daisy Duke and more Fred Durst, and were sported by celebrities from Emily Ratajkowski to Simone Ashley. 

It’s part of a wider trend bringing back all of the worst of turn-of-the-millenium fashion that those of us who were there the first time thought we had buried: dresses over jeans, oversized belts, baggy denim. They have, sadly, been dug out and brought back to life by Gen Z. A humbling reminder that time is a flat circle.

Very demure

Ankle-length skirts, zip-up collared cardigans, loose smock dresses, hair covered with a bandana or tied up in a low bun with a scrunchie … 2024 was the year that modest fashion went mainstream in the secular world. 

Continuing the trend for a more modest style of dressing saw flat shoes being embraced in a way we hadn’t seen since the rain-sodden feet of the indie era. Sandy Liang and Miu Miu ushered in the new flat-footed dawn with their coquette-style ballet shoes in opalescent satin pinks, with Tory Burch and Proenza Schouler offering up structured Mary Janes and sporty, mesh ballerinas in their Spring 2024 shows. 

Maybe it was the natural outcome of the endless “tradwife” content pushed by conservative influencers such as Nara Smith and Hannah Neeleman AKA Ballerina Farm, but some modest styles long-worn by Muslim women found popularity among irreligious young women looking to embody “quiet luxury” and “avoid the male gaze”. It’s a noble pursuit, although, as one X user pointed out, does lack swag. 

Natural beauty hacks

The deepening cost of living crisis left us all with less money for luxuries. And as wellness influencers continue to fear-monger on social media about “toxic” ingredients in certain products, many people have turned to at-home beauty remedies to replace store-bought hair and face masks. I myself have been trying to work up the courage to start my day by dunking my face in an ice bath for years, but still haven’t quite managed to take the plunge (no pun intended).

Boycotting

It’s impossible to look back over the year without acknowledging that the genocide we’ve witnessed unfold in Gaza has changed the way so many people move in the world, including their spending habits. 

Consumers have chosen to take a stand by boycotting products from brands and companies with ties to Israel. Shares in Puma, who have been on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions list since 2018 due to their sponsorship of the Israeli Football Association, fell to a six-year low in August. 

Other shoppers boycotted brands such as Dior and Adidas following decisions to drop Palestinian model Bella Hadid from major campaigns. Meanwhile, some designers have used their own platform as a form of protest. British-Palestinian designer Fadi Kazem Sarandah, for example, withheld his brand Altar’s collection from London Fashion Week as a form of protest. 

2024 also saw a rise in people wearing keffiyehs — a symbol of Palestinian resistance since the 1930s — as an act of solidarity. The scarf was worn by celebrities including Kehlani in her music video for Next 2 U, and Hadid, who stepped out at the Cannes Film Festival in a keffiyeh dress from Michael and Hushi’s 2001 collection in a nod to her heritage. 

But, much like the image of a watermelon, the keffiyeh has been co-opted by high street brands and dropshipping companies looking to make a quick buck, so if you’re in the market for one, make sure to buy from an authentic maker such as Hirbawi in the West Bank.

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