It’s been a big summer. We watched the World Cup and followed the New York Knicks to their NBA triumph. We climbed Mount Olympus with Tom Holland, Zendaya and Matt Damon in The Odyssey, and sailed around Muskoka, Canada, in teen show Sterling Point. The affluent among us boarded yachts, and the fancy-free hit beach clubs or night clubs in Ibiza. Some of us bookended the summer with Milan and Paris Men’s fashion weeks in June, and Copenhagen Fashion Week’s 20th anniversary in August.
But now, it’s back to school, as the September womenswear show season kicks off in New York this Friday. And the memories of summer, and the cultural moments it brought, are influencing next season’s trends. Once again this season, we sat down with some of the industry’s leading data analysts and trend forecasters ahead of the shows to understand what’s next for the season ahead, based on consumer behavior, street style, social media data, and the men’s and Copenhagen Spring/Summer 2027 shows.
The upshot? Fashion will continue to fight its way back from the quiet luxury, clean girl aesthetic next season, with fresh ideas and experimental styling. Messy girl summer
It’s been brewing for some time, but recent albums and press runs from the likes of Charli XCX, Oliented that the clean girl is on the way out
Welcome to messy girl summer, achieved mainly through
Welcome to messy girl summer, achieved mainly through clashing colors, prints, and effortless styling. WGSN notes “free-style expression” as an adjacent SS27 mood. “Building on rising momentum from catwalk to street style, free-style expression subverts prim suburban codes through an expressive, self-styled lens,” says Kim Cupido, senior catwalks strategist at WGSN. In practice, it will look like pastel colorways, dreamy florals, and tactile materials paired with offbeat styling, including graphic tees, pattern clashes, and unexpected footwear.
“This maximalist narrative celebrates playful individuality and irreverence, serving as a key precursor to future self-expression trends.”
Slogan tees, a key style of the trend, are up 156% for SS26, based on in-store and online arrivals data from retail intelligence platform Edited. While majority sellout — meaning the amount of styles where over 50% of the SKUS were sold — on spotted and striped garments were up 108% and 29%, respectively, from SS25-SS26, which EDITED analyst Karis Munday partly attributes to a rise in layering patterns with separates to achieve the messy girl look.
As seen at CPHFW from designer Sson, contrasting prints, or those such as polka dots and stripes, with the same pattern in different sizes are bubbling up. “Layering and color-clashing in different hues is a key trend, with a lot of like stacked T-shirts, sheer overlays, contrasting tanks, and hybrid pieces,” says Frida Tordhag, analyst at Paris-based trend analytics firm Heuritech.
Retro sportswear is another revolt against the clean
Retro sportswear is another revolt against the clean girl. “We’re moving away from coordinated sets towards a more colorful, patterned, and clashing sportswear,” Tordhag adds. Gardening-core
Cottage-core may be behind us. But the gingham, sourdough-in-a-basket pandemic mood has given way to a less twee trend for SS27. Enter gardening-core, or allotment-core, as consumers seek to unplug and dress like they’re tending to a vegetable patch instead of looking at their phones.
Just last week, Loewe launched a full branded gardening kit, complete with a watering can and a trowel, strictly for VICs. The brand also released a raffia green “gardening bag”, shaped like a watering can this summer, as part of its 2026 Paula’s Ibiza collection. Other pieces in the collection included a raffia tote embroidered with artichoke flowers and a small black shoulder bag, with bag charms including an artichoke, a gardening hose, and a fish.
On the runway, more gardening-appropriate silhouettes, colors, and materials will show up across SS27, Munday says. Aprons are a key item to watch. Miu Miu was an early adopter, launching 20 apron options in stores as part of its SS26 collection, per Edited. In turn, retailers have started to describe slit-side tops and dresses on Instagram as aprons, to capitalize on growing demand, Munday adds.
We can also expect workwear influences
We can also expect workwear influences. Arrivals of cargos were up 17%, check shirts were up 48%, and utility belts were up 94% during SS26 we saw some designers take inspiration from garden baskets, using raffia and straw to create entire looks. Raffia and straw hat majority sellouts grew 23% year-on-year from SS25-SS26, per Edited, while raffia bag sellouts were up 70%, with the trend only set to continue through next year
The modern goddess
As we saw in previous seasons with Wuthering Heights or Barbie, film releases and their subsequent press tours have serious bearing on future trends. And designers are set to reinterpret ancient style codes for SS27, partly inspired by Christopher Nolan blockbuster, The Odyssey. As Zendaya deftly demonstrated on the film’s press tour, think draped gowns, asymmetrical skirts, embellished detailing, and hardware and chain belts.
Among SS26 store arrivals, mentions of draping in product descriptions were up 43% and 20% year-on-year in tops and dresses, respectively a sign brands are both identifying and trying to capitalize on the trend. Alongside draped garments, we can expect breezy materials and bohemian, flowy silhouettes, Tordhag says, as consumers seek pieces that are comfortable, following this summer’s heatwaves
Last season, we spoke a lot about volume,
“Last season, we spoke a lot about volume, shape, and drape. This is an extension of that style, but it’s more easygoing and not as polished,” she says. Visibility of loose tops is set to grow 16% over the next 12 months, she adds. In Copenhagen, this showed up as billowing tops, spotted at Anne Sofie Madsen and Baum und Pferdtgarten. As a continuation from FW26, sculptural balloon pants will continue to surge, per Edited.
Sellouts of the style were up 586% versus SS25, signaling the trend is far from over, Munday says. Embellishment is also due a moment, exemplified by Kendall Jenner’s gold embellished vintage Armani at Venice Film Festival last week. It applies to footwear, too. Embellishment and hardware detailing on sandals have increased in new store arrivals by 131% year-on-year, while there’s also been an uptick on arrivals of chain belts (+64%), resin-stacked bangles (+64%), and statement earrings (+25%).
Sheer romance and whimsymaxxing
Linked to the modern goddess, we can also expect sheer fabrics in whimsical silhouettes next spring. We’ve had many seasons of romantic dressing, from the gothic to the proper. But the trend won’t let up for SS27, particularly as viral romantasy author Sarah J. Maas drops not one but two new books in October and January, respectively, galvanizing an already booming genre.
For SS27, alongside the usual ruffles and lace,
For SS27, alongside the usual ruffles and lace, we can expect a sheer, light mood, linked to the modern goddess — it is ethereal and fairytale inspired, but imbued with sexiness by baring skin. “It’s a softer aesthetic: think lace camis, ethereal tops. While lace and babydoll silhouettes borrow from lingerie, vintage romance and occasionwear, they’re translated for everyday styling,” says Sydney Stanback, global head of trends and insights at Pinterest.
“The result is delicate rather than overly polished, and expressive rather than overly pretty. It’s wearable and commercially broad.”
Rodrigo’s current favorite, the bizarrely divisive babydoll dress, has seen a 705% uptick in search volume on Pinterest, as users look up “babydoll dress styling”. While it’s inherently a cute, feminine piece, we can expect many iterations of the style, paired with chunky boots or layered over clashing patterns, to align with the aforementioned messier mood.
Orange is the new brown
After many seasons of neutrals and earth tones (plus a flash of turquoise this summer), we’re getting zesty for SS27, with orange tipped to be the color of the season. Call it the Knicks effect. Since New York’s NBA team took home the Championship title for the first time in 53 years in June, team colors orange and blue have stayed front of mind, forecasters agree.
From Knicks WAG and influencer Jordyn Woods’s lucky
From Knicks WAG and influencer Jordyn Woods’s “lucky” orange bag, to Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner continuing their Marty Supreme phase courtside, in custom orange and blue Chrome Hearts looks, the color is set to surge on the SS27 runways. Trend analytics platform Heuritech — which uses AI to analyze the appearance of colors, textures and silhouettes on social media and predict future trends — also sees orange on the horizon.
While blood orange and darker hues have bubbled up over previous seasons, visibility of lighter shades including yellow orange and amber is set to grow 6% from SS26-SS27. The return of the peplum
There were already signs in the fall shows, notably at Jonathan Anderson’s Dior, but the peplum — an aughts favorite — will be a firm fixture in our spring wardrobes looking ahead.
The style has already popped up on the red carpet,eater Spring Gala in May 2026, and Anne Hathaway in a knitted peplum co-ord on The Devil Wears Prada 2 press tour. But consumers are reinterpreting the look for everyday. “We’ve seen rising interest in peplum tops and peplum-led outfits for SS27,” says Stanback
“This suggests women are once again drawn to having a defined waist with volume and shape, with it being fashion-led rather than occasion-focused. What makes peplum compelling now is the styling flexibility, she adds, “you can wear with skirts, pants, matching separates, bringing volume and shape to everyday dressing. It’s fun to see it make its way back.”
From all of these trends, it’s clear that as we slowly leave behind the quiet luxury, clean girl era, consumers are ready to color-clash, bare some skin, try new (or old) silhouettes, and take up some more space.
Source: www.vogue.com
