Summer is upon us, and with it the promise of tank tops, shorts, and sandals. Oh, and linen—so much linen. “Linen, for spring? Groundbreaking,” you may be saying to yourself. Which…fair! Don’t you fret, here at Vogue, we have many more ideas about what, exactly, we may be seeing this season. Be it on the streets, in cafes, at backyard barbecues, and all your other summertime occasions. Unexpected fringe? Why, yes. Blazing blasts of day-glo? Count on it. Perhaps a soccer jersey or two? Check. A sky-high heels renaissance? Why not?
Not to brag, but with as much time as we spend scrolling Runway and poking around the annals of the Internet, we think we have a few solid hunches on what the season may have in store, sartorially speaking. Summer trends, after all, have been something of a talking point around the office as winter’s chill has finally mellowed into something much, much lovelier.
And so, we surveyed the office to give our biggest, boldest, and most off-kilter predictions for the months ahead. Here, without further ado, is our list of the unexpected summer trends we think you’ll be seeing a lot more of, starting right around now through Labor Day.
Freaky Flip-Flops
Photographed by Anthony Seklaoui; Courtesy of Isabel Marant
I think that we will continue to see plenty of flip-flops this year, piggybacking on last year’s sandalmania. But while last year’s were sleek, slim, elegant, and demure, I think we will see designers leaning into more statement-making iterations. Weird, even, perhaps a touch freaky. We already brought you the Isabel Marant x Havaianas collab, which featured thick, cabochon-infested thongs, while Alaïa made pointy-toed footbeds with pillowy, plush silk-blend straps. Louboutin has spikes, and Balenciaga has versions featuring the hardware from their popular Cagole bag.
Daring dressers will no doubt want to figure out how to add more personality to this streamlined footwear style. Expect to see lots of weird things going on below-the-ankle.—Max Berlinger, senior fashion news editor
Heels Heights Will Rise Again
Photo: Courtesy of Versace
