Instep looks at the most prominent trends of 2018 and what’s going with us into 2019.
A lot of my time is spent shopping and styling clothes and even when I’m not looking at them, I’m often thinking about them. What I often think about is how trends come about and permeate through our everyday style/culture becoming ubiquitous. 2018 was filled with such fashion moments – the return of the biker short, the resurgence of 1980s silhouettes, belt bags and a renegade mix of exotic animal prints. Instep looks at the most prominent trends of 2018 and what’s going with us into 2019.
Sporty is an attitude
The term ‘athleisure’ may not be used as much but the practice of dressing up your gym wear isn’t going anywhere. A full sportswear look is rarely sighted but street style abroad had a number of people wear cycling shorts with well-tailored jackets. This is not a trend that has arrived to our home ground but iterations of it have. A tailored suit with a cross body fanny pack or a suit with a Nike t-shirt or even a blazer with ripped jeans all add a casual vibe to what is considered traditionally office wear. The juxtaposition of the two brings some excitability to the outfit.
More is more
There’s a new rule when it comes to your day-to-day style: the bigger, the better. There was a time when excessive logos, shoulder pads, dramatic puff sleeves, gigantic bows and cocktail jewelry, shiny lame, satin and belted patent leather may have been considered tacky. Today, these are used to set the mood of an outfit. Anything that adds an exciting texture, detail or design to a look is interesting. Watch out for more print/texture play come 2019.
Pleated skirts
This season, a number of designers injected their collections with radically swish-worthy folds. If we were to single out one wardrobe staple that appeals to a vast modern world of women, it’s the flyaway silk skirt. So, if you’re tired of restrictive pencil skirts then a pleated midi could be just the stylish solution your wardrobe needs. We’ve seen them being paired with chunky sweaters and blazers alike.
The clear bag trend
2018 has seen a leap forward in how we look at single-use plastics and a growing awareness of the textile industry’s impact on the health of the planet. There’s also been a visible rise in ‘invisible’ plastic handbags.
The jury is still out on whether these are the ultimate in reusable shoppers or not but they’re already everywhere including Zara and ASOS as well as high end retailers.
Animal prints are timeless
Animal prints are a tried-and-true favorite among stars from all decades but there was a time one had to “be careful” with them lest they look tacky. But not anymore. Toward the end of 2018, there was a shift in print preferences. Classic leopard prints and zebra stripes have been effectively replaced by an oft-overlooked animal print: snakeskin. It has gained steam over the past few months so much so that it’s become a bona fide trend. Unlike most other prints, animal prints feel like a new neutral and it’s quite easy to mix them with others.
