Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

The Best Street Style Looks of Spring 2022 Were Creative, Confident, and Highly Personal

The Best Street Style Looks of Spring 2022 Were Creative, Confident, and Highly Personal

From color-blocking and clashing prints to dresses layered over pants, this season’s street style felt newly experimental. See the best trends here.

In a season that was more about spectacle than clothes, our big questions about how the pandemic changed the way we dress were answered on the street, not the runway. Those of us who love style-not just fashion-might have picked up on the haphazard, thrown-together sensibility outside the shows in Milan and Paris; the embrace of odd layering and dresses-over-pants in London and New York; and, in every city, a marked evolution in “gender fluid” style, to the point where it’s no longer novel to see people of every identity in skirts or heels. It’s all just clothes!

The shift to more creative, authentic style was in motion throughout the pandemic, but as Fashion Week snapped back to the chaos of the Before Times, it was fair to assume the street style scene would resume its excesses, too. There were still plenty of branded looks and over-curated ensembles, but it was the eclectic, highly personal outfits that felt relevant to our times.

To this viewer, the big themes-clashing prints, vivid color-blocking, strange layers, tailored vests-reflected our year at home, surrounded by our stuff and a desire to get more use out of it all. Why accumulate more clothes when you can find new ways to mix up your favorite things and revisit the items you’d forgotten about? (In case you weren’t aware of the link between overconsumption and climate change, Extinction Rebellion staged a protest to spell it out: overconsumption = extinction).

Below, we’ve distilled eight of the season’s most pervasive and surprising street style trends. If you’re craving more inspo, come back for our coverage of Shanghai and Taipei street style in the coming days.

Prints of Many Colors


Conventional wisdom has it that we should choose one print, then balance it with quiet neutrals and solids. Many show-goers took the opposite tack: wearing all of their brightest, boldest, most beloved prints at once. It reads like equal parts defiance and exuberance-shirking the rules and piling on your happiest, most joy-sparking garments.



Block Party


Two days into 2021, my colleague Steff Yotka identified a timely return to the color-blocking trend of 2011: Raf Simons, Valentino, Brandon Maxwell, and other designers were teaming big swaths of crimson and sky, fuchsia and burgundy, citron and olive in their new collections. The formula trickled down to the streets for spring 2022 with color-blocked neons and primary brights. It’s an easy way to get dressed without resorting to basics, and can help reframe the stuff in your closet: Instead of wearing your favorite pink sweater with jeans for the hundredth time, try it with a green trouser or yellow skirt.



Can’t Decide Between a Dress or Pants? Wear Both


If there’s one idea that rejects the precise full looks of the Before Times, it’s a dress or skirt over pants. The mix has a sense of humor to it, an intentional clash of things that don’t make any sense. Chopova Lowena’s carabiner skirts were popular over baggy jeans, while Gaia Repossi-typically a more minimalist dresser-styled her denim under a silvery draped dress.



What’s Gender Got to to Do With It?


People across the gender spectrum were wearing dresses, skirts, heels, ruffles, and puffed sleeves this season. We’ve reached the point where “gender fluid” almost feels like an outdated term, and that’s something to celebrate-especially when the rest of the world is still catching up (lest you forget the overblown controversy around Harry Styles’s December Vogue cover). Fashion is moving away from gender on the runways and in retail, too, but the movement is being led by people on the street. The industry’s next hurdle will be to figure out Fashion Week, which remains uncomfortably split between “men’s” and “women’s” collections.



Jacket Optional


“Is the suit dead?” All the dramatic headlines about the pandemic’s impact on tailoring were obviously wrong. Suits aren’t over, but they’re getting more casual, more comfortable, and less corporate. The tailored vest-as-top was popular in every city this season, from classic pinstripes to leather and fringe.



Tiny Skirts and Massive Boots


Sex, skin, and body positivity were a key takeaway of spring 2022, partly a result of our lives in lockdown and partly due to fashion’s cyclical nature (Y2K is back, baby!). Hemlines are shrinking and waists are lowering; Miu Miu’s itty-bitty khaki skirts are sure to inspire hundreds of knock-offs next spring. This month, the definitive way to wear a mini was with heavy, punk-ish boots, from Rick Owens’s lucite waders to classic Dr. Martens.



No Shirt, No Problem


If minis aren’t your thing but you’re ready to shed some clothing, consider the bra tops (or just straight-up, actual bras) styled with vintage skirts, leather pants, and jeans this season. It was a particularly big trend on the streets of New York, where the 90-degree heat, stifling humidity, and outdoor venues made “real clothes” tricky to navigate.



Non-precious Cargo


For all the wild prints and unlikely combinations, there were just as many low-key, relaxed looks this month. Several women traded their jeans for baggy cargos and ripstop pants, often pairing them with a simple white tank or tee. It’s a look that transcends trends, genders, seasons, and occasions, depending on how you accessorize: Pernille Teisbaek dressed up her cargos with satin heels, while Camille Charrière wore clunky loafers and an Hermès Kelly.


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
×