LEG DAY
Whether you’re a street-style star in a pop of red or Charli XCX in wine-splashed sheer tights for her “360” music video, hosiery has become a staple, no matter your aesthetic. For spring 2025, Valentino and Chanel favored patterned-lace tights and knee-highs; Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana went provocative with sultry takes on hold-up stockings; and Prada opted for a rainbow of opaque styles.
“Statement hosiery,” once reserved for avant-garde runways, has now infiltrated everyday style,” says Cami Téllez, executive creative director of L’Eggs, a 55-year-old legacy brand that’s been experiencing a revamp.” According to the brand’s customer research data, 45 percent of women plan to wear more colorful and patterned tights this year. Téllez calls it “the red lipstick of the category.” Another view comes from the founder of a brand that you’ve likely seen on Beyoncé. Destiney Bleu of d.bleu.dazzled. “Tights are like eyelashes,” Bleu says. “They give the appearance of a little extra effort.”
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/2011024767.jpg]
CHARM OFFENSIVE
These days, you can’t swing a purse without rattling your bag charms. Fendi, Coach, and Stella McCartney capitalized on the trend for spring, offering an array of charms and mini bags-on-bags. “This personalization is great for your feed,” says Ryan Kleman, director of non-apparel and fine jewelry for Moda Operandi. “Before the internet dominated fashion, we called these ‘conversation starters.’” (He cites Jane Birkin and her charm-covered namesake Hermès bag as an example of the trend’s endurance.)
Bonbonwhims founder and designer Clare Ngai-Howard recently hosted a conversation of her own, going viral for posting a Louis Vuitton bag decked out with charms and chains from her own brand and travels. She chalks it up to “this collective appetite for revisiting past fashion trends. Growing up in Hong Kong, it was a given to personalize my flip phone's case and layer key chains and Tamagotchis on my school backpack.” Today, everything from hats to hair clips has become a canvas for personalization. Shoppers have an “ongoing desire for individuality,” notes Silvia Merati, CEO Americas of Golden Goose. The brand dedicates an entire station, called Co-Creation, to luxury customization of its bags and sneakers, helping shoppers feel connected to the design process. With so many combinations of monograms, birthstones, zodiac signs, and trinkets, it’s nearly impossible to look exactly like everyone else. The only question left: Is there any frontier left uncharmed?
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/0477247243.jpg]
ODD SQUAD
There’s no denying that fashion has gotten kooky lately. And spring 2025 brought an avalanche of novelty accessories, from Coach’s Teddy bear clutches to Tory Burch’s Pierced bags. For Viv Chen, who writes The Molehill newsletter on Substack, the absurdity is indicative of something larger: an ever-growing struggle for uniqueness. “With the influx of microtrends and the homogeneity of style online, it's getting harder and harder to stand out,” she says.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/7137047414.jpg]
Opposite, from left: Statement hosiery at Balenciaga and Prada spring 2025. This page, from left: A charm-heavy handbag on the Fendi runway; Bottega Veneta's whimsical purse.
And then there's the social element. “You don’t bring out a life-size plush dog bag without expecting to be approached,” Chen says. So is it a sartorial Trojan horse intended for political subversion? A social crutch for a digitally native generation? Is it just plain fun? It’s a bag shaped like a bear; it’s whatever you want it to be. So much for minimalism and quiet luxury. For spring 2025, Bottega Veneta, Prada, and McQueen used headwear to offer a window into a future where bold accessories reign supreme. Ornamented with diamonds, fringe, and playful motifs, these pieces are more like wearable sculptures, offering an avant-garde approach to styling.
> "The future of fashion should be unpredictable.joyful, and capricious." -ASHANTÉA AUSTIN
Prada’s co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons were particularly intentional, and timely, with their depiction of a world beyond two-dimensional dressing—one that featured leather goggle hats with circular cutouts that looked almost like astronaut gear, and a raffia fringe headpiece that hung over the eyes. In his sophomore season leading McQueen, Seán McGirr experimented with knitted “skull masks” that were both functional and extravagant. One particularly glamorous iteration came complete with crystal embellishments and chains that extended all the way down to the waist.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/6732364140.jpg]
DOUBLE-BAGGED
Why carry one bag when you can make it two? In true city-girl fashion, this season is about multitasking—whether it’s a high-fashion take on the shopping bag paired with a luxury handbag, as seen at Bottega Veneta, or a smaller purse affixed to its larger counterpart, à la Chanel and Stella McCartney.
According to Madé Lapuerta, who runs the digital platform and Instagram account Data, But Make It Fashion, this trend is an accessible way to experiment with style. “When trend cycles change quicker than ever—sometimes in just a matter of weeks—double bagging resonates with people tired of feeling like they need to constantly purchase new products,” she says. “Instead, what if I just wore my old Balenciaga City bag with my mini Moynat… at the same time?”
It can also be a more attainable entry point for those who want to invest in luxury fashion, as it offers more functionality than the smaller mini-bags while also being a more interesting ...
Whether you’re a street-style star in a pop of red or Charli XCX in wine-splashed sheer tights for her “360” music video, hosiery has become a staple, no matter your aesthetic. For spring 2025, Valentino and Chanel favored patterned-lace tights and knee-highs; Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana went provocative with sultry takes on hold-up stockings; and Prada opted for a rainbow of opaque styles.
“Statement hosiery,” once reserved for avant-garde runways, has now infiltrated everyday style,” says Cami Téllez, executive creative director of L’Eggs, a 55-year-old legacy brand that’s been experiencing a revamp.” According to the brand’s customer research data, 45 percent of women plan to wear more colorful and patterned tights this year. Téllez calls it “the red lipstick of the category.” Another view comes from the founder of a brand that you’ve likely seen on Beyoncé. Destiney Bleu of d.bleu.dazzled. “Tights are like eyelashes,” Bleu says. “They give the appearance of a little extra effort.”
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/2011024767.jpg]
CHARM OFFENSIVE
These days, you can’t swing a purse without rattling your bag charms. Fendi, Coach, and Stella McCartney capitalized on the trend for spring, offering an array of charms and mini bags-on-bags. “This personalization is great for your feed,” says Ryan Kleman, director of non-apparel and fine jewelry for Moda Operandi. “Before the internet dominated fashion, we called these ‘conversation starters.’” (He cites Jane Birkin and her charm-covered namesake Hermès bag as an example of the trend’s endurance.)
Bonbonwhims founder and designer Clare Ngai-Howard recently hosted a conversation of her own, going viral for posting a Louis Vuitton bag decked out with charms and chains from her own brand and travels. She chalks it up to “this collective appetite for revisiting past fashion trends. Growing up in Hong Kong, it was a given to personalize my flip phone's case and layer key chains and Tamagotchis on my school backpack.” Today, everything from hats to hair clips has become a canvas for personalization. Shoppers have an “ongoing desire for individuality,” notes Silvia Merati, CEO Americas of Golden Goose. The brand dedicates an entire station, called Co-Creation, to luxury customization of its bags and sneakers, helping shoppers feel connected to the design process. With so many combinations of monograms, birthstones, zodiac signs, and trinkets, it’s nearly impossible to look exactly like everyone else. The only question left: Is there any frontier left uncharmed?
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/0477247243.jpg]
ODD SQUAD
There’s no denying that fashion has gotten kooky lately. And spring 2025 brought an avalanche of novelty accessories, from Coach’s Teddy bear clutches to Tory Burch’s Pierced bags. For Viv Chen, who writes The Molehill newsletter on Substack, the absurdity is indicative of something larger: an ever-growing struggle for uniqueness. “With the influx of microtrends and the homogeneity of style online, it's getting harder and harder to stand out,” she says.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/7137047414.jpg]
Opposite, from left: Statement hosiery at Balenciaga and Prada spring 2025. This page, from left: A charm-heavy handbag on the Fendi runway; Bottega Veneta's whimsical purse.
And then there's the social element. “You don’t bring out a life-size plush dog bag without expecting to be approached,” Chen says. So is it a sartorial Trojan horse intended for political subversion? A social crutch for a digitally native generation? Is it just plain fun? It’s a bag shaped like a bear; it’s whatever you want it to be. So much for minimalism and quiet luxury. For spring 2025, Bottega Veneta, Prada, and McQueen used headwear to offer a window into a future where bold accessories reign supreme. Ornamented with diamonds, fringe, and playful motifs, these pieces are more like wearable sculptures, offering an avant-garde approach to styling.
> "The future of fashion should be unpredictable.joyful, and capricious." -ASHANTÉA AUSTIN
Prada’s co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons were particularly intentional, and timely, with their depiction of a world beyond two-dimensional dressing—one that featured leather goggle hats with circular cutouts that looked almost like astronaut gear, and a raffia fringe headpiece that hung over the eyes. In his sophomore season leading McQueen, Seán McGirr experimented with knitted “skull masks” that were both functional and extravagant. One particularly glamorous iteration came complete with crystal embellishments and chains that extended all the way down to the waist.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1357654597/1740570214/articles/d7A5T3QFp1740637698086/6732364140.jpg]
DOUBLE-BAGGED
Why carry one bag when you can make it two? In true city-girl fashion, this season is about multitasking—whether it’s a high-fashion take on the shopping bag paired with a luxury handbag, as seen at Bottega Veneta, or a smaller purse affixed to its larger counterpart, à la Chanel and Stella McCartney.
According to Madé Lapuerta, who runs the digital platform and Instagram account Data, But Make It Fashion, this trend is an accessible way to experiment with style. “When trend cycles change quicker than ever—sometimes in just a matter of weeks—double bagging resonates with people tired of feeling like they need to constantly purchase new products,” she says. “Instead, what if I just wore my old Balenciaga City bag with my mini Moynat… at the same time?”
It can also be a more attainable entry point for those who want to invest in luxury fashion, as it offers more functionality than the smaller mini-bags while also being a more interesting ...
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ELLE (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2025