READY, SET, SHOW

For FASHION month, DESIGNERS on GLOBAL runways showed a season that was filled with ANTICIPATION and EXCITEMENT, but also fail-safe CREATIVITY and future-proof WARDROBES.

- AKANKSHA KAMATH

While climate change may be causing delayed summers and fluctuating weather, fashion is still soldiering on. Fashion catwalks around the world’s key cities turned into forecasters— giving us a six-month preview of what is to come. This fashion month in particular carried heavy hearts (Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen said goodbye after 25 years of working for the brand) and new beginnings (Sabato De Sarno started his first day on the job at Gucci and with it showed us his vision for the Italian luxury house). And in keeping with the world’s changing temperatures gave us drop-waist hemlines, leather for summer, black and white as the reigning palate, and a whole spectrum of shiny objects to catch the light. Here’s a breakdown of what we saw for spring/summer 2024.

SHEER 

The most prominent designer to show-off the transparent trend this season was Miuccia Prada and her army of sheath dresses. In varying colours of sky-light blue, cakeicing pink, mint-leaf green and a bride’s-veil white, models walked fast and with purpose as their gazar dresses whisked in the wind. Several designers looked to sheer as a trend to evoke lightness and comfort. Undercover’s Jun Takahashi created viral moments for Instagram with his glow-in-the-dark sheer dresses, while Simone Rocha inserted hers with roses.

EARTH TONES 

Marsala and shades of sand, soil and muddy browns, as well as nudes and fuss-free flesh pinks, made up a large chunk of the colour wheel this season, especially at Saint Laurent and Maximilian Davis’s Ferragamo. Neutral territory is what designers were aiming for—alluding, perhaps, to a collective world mood for peace.

SUMMER LEATHER