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TRENDS AND ANTI-TRENDS IN WINTER LOOKS
Learn how to choose clothes that really work for your look: from trends to anti-trends, from form to style. Short pairs of “trend → anti-trend” will help you navigate modern fashion and create a wardrobe that looks fresh, structured, and confident.
Fashion moves cyclically, but not chaotically. It always reflects general global trends and processes taking place in society. Unlike previous decades, fashion is no longer so critical and demanding: it does not dictate rules or impose restrictions, but merely highlights the optimal route to feel in tune with the world. Therefore, anti-trends are not a “prohibition” but an indicator of what has changed in the perception of form.
Let's examine a few pairs of trends and anti-trends to see where the fashion world is headed: which colors and shapes are currently in vogue and how to choose details to make your look modern and timely.
Pair #1: Baggy, shapeless pants → Structured slim/cigarette pants
We have been hiding for too long in voluminous clothes without clear lines that conceal the body. There are reasons for this — the desire for comfort, coziness, relative safety, and the creation of a safe space for ourselves with clothing. On the one hand, this desire is still relevant, but shapelessness has ceased to give us energy. The times call for active action and movement, and therefore the silhouette needs to change — to become more collected and dynamic. Historical experience shows that in turbulent times, clothing has increasingly moved towards narrow and clear lines that repeat the shapes of the body rather than inventing new ones. This cut emphasizes maturity and composure, allowing you to build a slender vertical line and set the rhythm of the image.
Pair #2: Turn-down collar → Vertical/stand-up
Bulky turn-down collars no longer work because they look like visual baggage. Combined with baggy bottoms, they create an oversized effect without shape — characteristic of trends from past decades. A vertical collar gives the look structure and clean lines, and such clean geometry looks modern even in basic models. The focus of modern clothing is shifting from width to lines.
Pair #3: Oversized biker jacket → Plain black jacket
Oversized biker jackets with lots of decorative details (belts, buttons, inserts) are now seen as “noisy” tops: the volume distracts from the silhouette and adds heaviness. It doesn't look so fresh for a modern street style wardrobe: comfortable, but not structured. A black basic jacket with a clear shoulder line and clean cut emphasizes the shape. The minimalism of the details allows you to play with proportions and accessories, suitable for any look — from casual to elegant. It gives you room to play with textures and colors in other elements of your look.
Pair #4: Giant blanket scarves → Narrow and textured accent scarves
Large scarves blur the image, absorb proportions, and kill accents. A narrow or textured scarf, on the contrary, is compact but interesting in texture, shape, or color. It works as a graphic element, bringing the image together into a single design and serving as a focal point.
Pair #5: “Decorative femininity” → Polka dots as a new graphic base
Dresses, skirts, and shirts with small floral elements have long been perceived as an element of femininity. But women are changing, and with them, the nature of things is changing too. Prints with detailed flowers or chaotic elements often add age and look theatrical in a modern city because they no longer move at the same pace.
- Polka dots in modern styles are not retro, but a working tool of the wardrobe:
- Clear form, rhythm, graphic language.
- Restrained emotionality without kitsch.
- Easily integrated into modern silhouettes.
Pair #6: Neon colors → Earthy tones
Neon colors entered our wardrobe along with cultural interest in technology and science fiction. They had ambitions to become timeless accents, but now they look garish and are losing their place, giving way to earthy tones. Earthy colors—coffee, olive, terracotta, sand—make the image complete and soft to the eye. They create a sense of texture and depth even in basic items, are easy to combine with each other and with classic bases: white, black, denim, natural fabrics.
How to work with trends and anti-trends
When reviewing pairs of trends and anti-trends, you can notice common characteristics that overlap between items. This is good news: by highlighting them, we can easily navigate when choosing the next item, even without knowing for sure which group it belongs to.
Let's set a few markers to check relevance:
- Does the item give shape or take it away?
- Is the silhouette graphic or does it resemble “visual noise”?
- Does the silhouette enhance the item or blur it?
- Does it look fresh or just comfortable?
Answering these questions, we can conclude that trends are not about fashion, but about the feeling of form. Currently, it is structure, graphics, and meaning. They change not because they “have to,” but because of changes in visual language and the perception of things and the world in general.
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