To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
Trends are over, long live the trends! On the runway, designers are looking to create a sense of ease in the act of dressing, while in real life (or ok, TikTok) everyone is keen to discover and distill their own sense of personal style. Which means that when it comes to spring 2024 accessories, anything goes; just as long as you carry them with panache. Truck Suspension Bracket
But underneath this nothing is a trend/everything is a trend feeling, we still managed to identify quite a few common threads running through the collections. Owing perhaps to the online discovery that men think about the Roman Empire all the time, gladiator sandals were surely the star of the season. And while metallic gold and silver were ready-to-wear’s surprise shades of the season, it’s curious that when it comes to shoes, the go-to hue was green.
Perhaps the most unexpected arrival of the runway the season was that of the flip flop, a shoe whose status as a “real shoe” has been questioned for decades, not unlike the way we used to debate whether leggings were real pants. The most obvious proof that designers are thinking about the real world is perhaps the fact that the micro-bag trend is thankfully over, and now it’s all about bags big enough to fit your essentials: from an envelope clutch for your night-out essentials, to a proper structured “lady” handbag like the one your nan used to carry, with space for your wallet, phone, and even a handful of Werther’s caramel candies. Read through to find out the 12 most important spring 2024 accessories trends.
It doesn’t matter if you never think about the Roman Empire, gladiator sandals are making a comeback for spring. What’s cool is that this time around they can be as complicated or as minimal as you’d like—do you want to revisit an aughts-style gladiator to wear with little boho chic dresses? Check out the metallic offerings at Rabanne. Want something that says you’re a romantic despite your many fatalistic tendencies? Rick Owens has you covered.
It’s possible that many designers were thinking about Jane Birkin, who passed away earlier this summer, while they were putting together their collections. The many distinct takes on a natural woven bag made from raffia or straw (or from leather made to resemble either one of those things) are strong contenders for the bags of the season. The versions we saw on the runway incorporated unexpected details. At Maison Margiela the bags were covered in paint and carried in fit-to-size plastic bags, while at JW Anderson, the designer kept the leather “bumper” trim for some playful juxtaposition. Meanwhile at Sacai, Chitose Abe turned the rattan basket inspiration into a bracelet pouch.
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons brought back a diminutive effigy that decorated one of the earliest Prada handbags, designed by her own grandfather Mario back when he and his brother began the Italian label in 1913, and he quickly became a stand-in for the general mood. The old-school hinged frame bag style further adds to the “this is possibly haunted” spirit of it all; and in fact many designers opted for this style. For others, it was a structured proper lady bag, with a short handle and a flap that comes around the top and fastens securely with an elegant buckle; the kind of bag that Queen Elizabeth was famous for carrying. To make the styles more 21st century, consider a version made from acid washed denim like at Ralph Lauren, or in see-through plastic as at Tory Burch.
Maybe because thick-framed glasses, formerly the purview of nerds, no longer carry that connotation, designers looked for a new way to declare themselves studious and uninterested in looking cool. Which of course makes them look cool immediately. Next season’s glasses borrow from both lab goggles and ski-goggles. The trick to wearing glasses that take up half your face is to choose a pair that’s mostly clear—or even better with subtle colored lenses like at Etro or Missoni.
While the ready-to-wear trends emphasized a “safe” black and white (with splashes of metallics) color palette, designers took a wild spin of the color wheel when it came for shoes; landing on the lucky color green. Almost every single shade of green showed up on the runways. At Gucci it was that 1970s kitchen green on flatform croc-embossed loafers; at Balmain it was grass green suede on square pumps with thin, flared heels; at Saint Laurent it was very sexy patent leather slingbacks in a creamy olive green; and at Bottega Veneta, banana leaf-green was the color du jour, seen on pointy-toed slingbacks made to resemble, you guessed it, banana leaves. Oh Matthieu!
Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood
But also, if you do not like any green shoes, you don’t need to worry about it. Instead of a color, you can lean into a silhouette with endless possibilities: a pointy-toed mule. They could be babouches, like the denim pair at Balenciaga; “wrapped” in Saran Wrap as at Givenchy, or studiously sexy like Victoria Beckham’s scholarly oxfords (and, yes, you can still wear socks with them).
Remember when you were a teenager and you drew all over your bookbag with Sharpies and White-Out or decorated your bag with buttons from your favorite band, or lanyards, or whatever else you figured out how to attach? Well, designers definitely remember, and for spring they took that same anarchic spirit and applied it to their nicest bags. Coach’s Stuart Vevers covered his teeny leather bowling bags in kisses, Stella McCartney and Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry covered theirs in knick knacks, and Dolce & Gabbana and Balmain dripped their styles out in molto bijoux. Quiet luxury is okay for clothes, but your bags simply have to scream “I’m rich.”
The jury is still out on whether or not it’s appropriate to wear flip flops on the streets of New York City, but when Virginie Viard sends out a pair emblazoned with tiny Chanel logos, what else do you need? The minimal style made an appearance at almost every show—and in every heel height. Flat versions appeared at Miu Miu (in camp-ready colors) and Michael Kors (in minimalist beige), while thoughtful slingbacks turned up at Proenza Schouler and Coperni. Burberry’s Daniel Lee did his in an opulent lizard print.
In Earnest by Byron Lars
Consider the circle. Infinity. Now, what if you carried infinity with you wherever you went? What if you stored your essentials in infinity? Witness Louis Vuitton’s hand-held circle bag, or the hobos at Hermès and Polo that look like the moon during a partial eclipse. Ok so these shapes may not be perfect circles—but they suggest it! And that’s the feeling you carry with you. Something else you can carry with you is Cormio’s soccer-er-futbol ball-shaped bag. Now that’s a score.
For all the real rebels, spring brings a collection of shoes that scoff at old-fashioned notions of what a shoe should be. At Y/Project, a bunch of scrunched and folded down leather, with little concern for the shape of the foot underneath, became a “boot”; while designers like Erdem Moralioglu, Roksanda Ilincic, and Chopova Lowena’s Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena-Irons added extra floppy bows, fringe galore, and balloon-esque shapes that might do a little double-duty as Swiffer-like objets around your house.
Rear Spring Shackles The least offensive part of the early aughts hipster revival is the low-slung belt stolen from the 1980s. The ideal version is as wide as a mini-skirt and worn low on the hips over a tunic or a simple pair of jeans, but designers also opted for something a little lighter and more ’70s inspired. Whatever you do, don’t put your belt through your belt loops (unless you are wearing the specially made Vuitton jeans with the extra-wide, extra-low belt loops to perfectly hold your belt in place).