The Biggest Fashion and Style Moments of 2024
By Lauren CochraneHow to sum up 2024 in style and culture? A quick scroll through your frequently-used group chat should do it. But in case even that is too much for a tired and addled December brain, we’re here to help. Here are 12 moments you might have sent an emoji about in 2024.
The future comes with a past: Zendaya goes robot
Zendaya is one for method red carpet dressing – see tennis-themed shoes for Challengers premieres. But it was her outfit for Dune: Part 2’s premiere in February that really broke the internet: a vintage Thierry Mugler outfit from 1995, turning this modern fashion plate into the most fashion kind of cyborg. AI could never.
New in Vogue: Chioma Nnadi’s era begins
The first Black woman to edit Vogue started March, with FKA Twigs on her first cover. Other moments have also brought a new perspective to glossy publishing: from SZA on the cover in November, to a much-shared interview with Molly-Mae Hague in the same month.
Bottoms up: JW Anderson x Guinness
Gen Z’s favourite drink got a boost in June, when Northern Irish designer JW Anderson put jumpers with Guinness logos on the catwalk. No wonder pubs were – apparently – running out of the stuff by December.
Slime green, with no bra: Brat fever
In June, Charli XCX gave us a colour of the summer and an entire culture shift, one which brought hedonism back to the conversation, and celebrated hot mess style. Kamala was even Brat, not that it made a difference in the end.
Right on target: Kim Ye-Ji owns the Olympics
The South Korean shooter instantly became an online reference in June, thanks to her Fila tracksuit, bag charm toy belonging to her daughter and nonchalant hands-in-pockets stance. Vibe goals.
Software update: Mark Zuckerberg’s glowup
The Meta overlord has long been mocked for his ultra-boring grey T-shirt style. That changed this year, with a new look unveiled in July on a video call: Gen Z-coded curly hair, oversized T-shirt, panda eyes, and gold chain. The upshot? Those items now come with added ick.
Word salad, with garnish: very demure, very mindful
TikTok star Jools Lebron surely wasn’t aware in August that a video describing her makeup as ‘very demure, very mindful’ would go viral in a matter of hours. Demure was even named dictionary.com‘s word of the year.
Sue and Elisabeth: The Substance
Angry, gross and hilarious in equal measure, The Substance dominated a lot of discussions when it arrived in September. It also looked great – from the aerobic style of Sue to Elisabeth’s meme’d yellow coat (a dupe is inevitably now available online).
Bring out the Hellman’s: Chopova Lowena’s mayo bag
Condiments need to be in fashion more. London brand Chopova Lowena got the memo – its collaboration with Hellman’s for the SS25 show in September saw a bag with a mayonnaise jar holder. Want.
Get in line: Rhode pop-up
Hailey Bieber’s role as the queen of Gen Z shows no sign of abating. See people queuing for seven hours (you read that right, seven!) for the pop-up of her brand Rhode in October.
Big and baggy: default jeans go XL
The amount of material on your lower half directly showcased how fashionable you were. Jeans also once again became the site of a generational war in November when a photo of young women in baggy jeans went viral, along with a comment that they “don’t know how to dress.” Pick a cut, and pick a side.
A modern (anti?) hero: Luigi Mangione’s fanbase grows
The alleged shooter of a health insurance exec became a cult hero in December, thanks to what some saw as a move against the tyranny of the system – and also his apparently ‘heart throb’ style looks. Cue ironic/divisive merch.
Lauren Cochrane is Senior Fashion Writer of The Guardian and contributes to publications including The Face, ELLE, Service95, Konfekt and Mr Porter. Based in London, she writes about everything from catwalk shows to footballers’ style and the linguistics of Love Island. She is author of The Ten: The Stories Behind the Fashion Classics. You can read all of Lauren’s writing on Something Curated here.
Header image: composite design by Something Curated.