2023 In Fashion: The Year’s Biggest Trends, According To Lyst
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5 months ago
Were you on trend this year? Did you even want to be?
‘Quiet, shocking, virtual, viral; how would you describe this year in fashion?’ tech company Lyst asks at the beginning of its annual Year in Fashion report for 2023. Scrapping ‘virtual’ (we’re still not convinced anyone is investing in digi garms), it’s a succinct summary of 2023 in fashion: quiet luxury lovers seeking timeless, versus that trend’s exact opposite, shocking vibrance. Meanwhile, ‘viral’ always plays a role in modern fashion in our TikTok and Instagram influenced world. Here’s exactly what 2023 in fashion looked like.
2023 In Fashion: The Year’s Biggest Trends, According To Lyst
Keep It Brief
We’re forecasting this to be a huge trend for SS 2024, following the epic rise and rise of our hemlines since 2022. Enter: the brief (aka hotpants, aka underwear). Lyst cites a 133 percent year-on-year increase for the tiny shorts, with the likes of Bella Hadid, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Blackpink’s Jennie Kim, and Kylie Jenner all embracing the trend. ‘The underwear-as-outerwear trend has been seen on the SS24 runways at Tom Ford, Khaite, Chloé, Stella McCartney, Gcds and Coach,’ Lyst adds. ‘And, after Emma Corrin walked down the FW23 Miu Miu runway in a pair of gold sequin knickers, searches for the brand spiked 257 percent in 24 hours.’
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The C&TH Verdict: We love this playful trend, and the idea of embellished knickers is always entertaining. One little question for the Brits in the room: would you be willing to step out into the cold in just your knickers, regardless of how pretty they are? We’re not convinced. Instead, we’re looking to the slightly more practical sheer dress/visible underwear trend this party season. Kate Middleton-core for sure.
Meg Bellamy as Kate Middleton. © Justin Downing/Netflix
Sheer Shoes?
If you embraced ballet core in 2023, you might have noticed a few shoes lacking most of the, well, shoe element. We’re of course talking about the so-called naked shoe, aka the sheer shoe. It’s a tad different to a sandal, keeping the shape of the beloved ballet shoe but using sheer material – as seen at Loewe, The Row, Khaite, Bottega Veneta, Nensi Dojaka, Chanel and Stella McCartney, Lyst says, citing Alaïa’s $850 mesh ballet flats as a harbinger for the transition from catwalk to street style. ‘Worn by Jennifer Lawrence and Sofia Richie, the hard-to-buy shoe quickly rose to cult status, selling out across multiple retailers throughout the year and entering The Lyst Index’s hottest products ranking in 7th place in the second quarter, with searches for the style increasing 56 percent on Lyst in February.’
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The C&TH Verdict: We’re confused by this barely-there shoe. When – and where – should it be worn? It has a wintery vibe, looking best with sheer tights, and yet we imagine this would underlie the lovely shoes with a tinge of blue from our frost-bitten toes. In summer, we reach for sandals. Maybe, though, we’ve just not caught up with the dissonance – sheer dresses seemed ridiculous at first, after all.
Samba Supremity
Lyst claims Adidas’ Samba trainer was searched every 1.7 minutes on the site, popularised by celebrities, influencers and common folk alike – notably fans of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic (throwback). The trainer dates back 73 years, and ‘has been worn by the likes of Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Hailey Bieber, A$AP Rocky and Harry Styles, with searches increasing 43 percent on Lyst over the past four months alone,’ the site says. Thanks to limited edition versions, collaborations and a whole lot of TikTok hype, the shoe has cemented its place as a hugely trendy 2023 piece.
@kyliegarbourg need them in every single colour💳💥🤍 #fashioninspo #everydayoutfit #neutraloutfit #adidassamba #unioutfits #stylingshoes #blackgreywhite #samba #elevateyouroutfit ♬ original sound – Elsie Silver
The C&TH Verdict: I received some pushback from the team when I expressed my disdain for these trainers, but I maintain that they are ugly. That said, ugly shoes have reigned supreme for many years now, so hating these trainers is not a hill I will die on. Dad trainers have their place. I will not, however, be wiggling my own feet into a pair.
Uniqlo’s Power
It’s the cheapest product ever featured by Lyst on its Year in Fashion, and yet here it is: the Uniqlo bag. It has taken street style by storm this year, layered atop a far-ranging span of outfits. The Round Mini Shoulder Bag, priced at £14.90, sold out multiple times in multiple colourways throughout the year thanks to a word-of-mouth effect, with over 119 million views on TikTok and videos gushing about the bag’s Tardis-like capaciousness. The brand has quickly released different seasonal renditions, including corduroy and a new larger faux-leather version with Clare Waight Keller.
The C&TH Verdict: While it is buoying that Uniqlo’s best selling bag of all time was spread through word-of-mouth, we can’t help but feel like this is less of a trend and more of a frenzy. Will you be wearing this fast fashion bag in 2024, or will it become a marker of a very specific period of time? Regardless, avid fans of the sack are lucky it’s reached ‘cool’ status: it is, objectively, a very ugly bag, best reserved for festivals.
Quiet Luxury
Succession triggered a vibe shift in 2023 – and we loved it. Quiet luxury was ‘fuelled by the über-luxurious, minimalist clothes worn by the Roy family in HBO’s Succession,’ Lyst says, with fans of the show even analysing the workwear worn by each character on an impressively granular level. The stealth wealth vibe drew on the likes of Brunello Cucinelli, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford and Zegna, with specific products in high demand (searches for Acne Studios’ face patch sweatshirt – as worn by Alexander Skarsgård’s character, Matsson – rose 393 percent between May and August, Lyst says). Plus, dare we point out in the light of Uniqlo’s domination, Cousin Greg’s date to Logan’s birthday party was berated by Tom’s scathing review of her handbag, which he called ‘ludicrously capacious’. Just saying.
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We’re going to lump another of Lyst’s trends in here: Gwyneth Paltrow’s courtcore. Cast your mind back to March 2023 and Paltrow’s two-week skiing court case, and you might remember some incredibly chic, quiet luxury fits flooding your feed, all thanks to the Goop queen herself. In retrospect, this was akin to a starter dish: a taste of stealth wealth ahead of the delicious main course Succession would plate up later in the year.
The C&TH Verdict: We love quiet luxury, and consider it one of the year’s more timeless trends. It’s versatile, it’s chic, and – despite its highly luxe connotations – pretty accessible on a wider scale, free from any logos and brand-specific pieces. It has our stamp of approval.
Read Lyst’s full report at lyst.com to learn more about 2023 in fashion.
