2024 has been a year of contrasts: we have seen the resurgence of demure dressing alongside ultra sheer style where everything is on display. There has also been a lot of nostalgic dressing, driven by the burgeoning popularity of second-hand style and the re-sale market.
The gloomier global affairs appeared, the more we craved tactile re-assurance from our clothes. Brushed cashmere, corduroy, suede and scarf necklines all symbolised our desire to be cocooned from the division dominating news cycles.
As we look ahead to 2025, here we highlight the most memorable fashion moments in a crazy, chaotic and often conflicted year.
Irish designers making an international impact
In 2024 Irish fashion made a splash on the international fashion stage with the resurgence of ‘Celtic Cool’.
In December two of the top prizes at the British Fashion Awards were won by Irish designers: Jonathan Anderson (40) born in Derry, won the Designer of the Year while Simone Rocha (38) born in Dublin, won the British Womenswear Designer.
Michael Stewart of Standing Ground was also the recipient of a major fashion prize this year, winning the Savoir-Faire Prize at the 2024 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers in September.
Another Dublin designer, Sean McGirr is the Creative Director at Alexander McQueen since 2023 and recently joined The Business of Fashion Class of 500 for 2024, the definitive index of people shaping the global fashion industry.
Simone Rocha steps up
2024 was Simone Rocha’s year: she received rapturous reviews for her collection as guest designer at Jean Paul Gaultier’ Haute Couture show in January and ended the year by winning the British Womenswear Designer award in London.
The Dublin-born designer has done all this while staying true to her vision and celebrating her mixed Irish and Chinese heritage with clothes that are beautiful yet also explore ideas of femininity and identity.
Brat Summer
Charli XCX won the summer of 2024 with her Brat album and aesthetic. The video for her hit ‘360’ parodied the Internet’s obsession with It Girls with a cast of cool girls including Julia Fox, Chloe Sevigny and Rachel Sennott.
Brat went viral as slimy acid green, vests tops sans bras, short skirts and a brash ‘Don’t give a f**k’ attitude celebrated being free, messy and party-ready.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter look
Queen Bey’s Cowboy Carter album saw the singer tap her inner Texan cowgirl with a wardrobe of Stetsons, cowboy boots, fringing, rhinestone, leather chaps and denim.
The album which re-imagined American Country through the prism of Black Americans went to number one in the Top Country Albums Chart – a first for a Black woman.
Cowboy chic spilled over into fashion with Pharrell Willams Black cowboy show for Louis Vuitton and the proliferation of cowboy boots and chore jackets on the High Street.
Chloé’s revival of Boho
Chemena Kamali’s Autumn Winter 2024 show brought back Boho in all its romantic, ruffled glory. When a designer shows a look that reflects the moment, women collectively recognise it.
As those Chloé capes, maxi dresses, headbands, and slouchy bags strode out in February the audience sat up. The feeling that Kamali had identified, ‘what women want to wear now’ was immediate.
Sienna Miller on the Chloé frow only added to the sense of ‘déja vu’. After the show, searches for Chloé and Boho surged by 38%.
Paul Mescal’s short shorts
During Covid Paul Mescal went viral in a pair of O’Neill GAA shorts and this year his legs almost broke the Internet again when he attended the Gucci Spring Summer 2025 show in a pair of very short shorts.
Opinion was divided – some thought Mescal had forgotten his trousers while others were delighted by the exposure of his perfect pins. More of Mescal’s gorgeous gams were on view in Gladiator 2 which hit screens in November.
The most stylish Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics were the event’s most fashionable ever. With luxury conglomerate LVMH sponsoring the Games to the tune of €150 Million (for both the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games) with a highly visible presence during the competition courtesy of the Moët champagne poured to celebrate a win and the custom trunks that Louis Vuitton created for medal ceremonies, fashion permeated the Games.
The athletes were stylish too with Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Coco Gauff and Kim Yeji all looking stellar.
The slump in luxury sales
With the ongoing cost of living crisis, the luxury goods sector suffered. Louis Vuitton missed its second-quarter sales and revenue goals, and the wider luxury sector faltered with depressed global demand, due to increased financial instability, shrinking interest from “aspirational” consumers and a pricing policy that has seen luxury brands over-price their products.
Burberry, Mulberry and Kering all lost share value as luxury’s lustre became tarnished by lower quality paired with higher prices.
Jools Le Bron’s Very Demure, Very Mindful
When Jools Le Bron posted their Very Demure TikTok reel they could never have visualised that their ironic style advice would go viral and make them a star.
Le Bron, who is a transgender woman, said that she hoped to finance the rest of her transition thanks to her TikTok fame. Her phrase became an inescapable catch-all capturing a moment of joyful silliness in an anxious year.
Nicola Coughlan’s Bridgerton press tour
Coughlan was the star of the new Bridgerton series which explored the romance between her character Penelope and Colin, (Luke Newton).
She wore a dazzling list of designers (Valentino, Fendi, Stella McCartney, Richard Quinn and Versace) promoting the Netflix series, but the highlight was when she and Newton walked the red carpet for the West of Ireland Bridgerton premiere, in knits by Galway designer, Colin Burke.
Coughlan’s hand-crocheted bodice with signature puff sleeves and silk ribbon detail was a perfect blend of old and new, complimented by Luke’s Aran style sweater.
Nineties style now
Nostalgia for the Nineties reached saturation point this year. Slip dresses, parkas, oversized knits, kitten heels, maxi coats, bomber jackets, Samba trainers, duffle coats, boyish suits, oversized leather jackets, velvet tailoring, baggy jeans, suede jackets, biker boots, bum bags – there wasn’t an item from the era that wasn’t revived.
Gen Z and Millennials embraced the decade’s look with gusto and used the Supermodels, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Kate Moss, Miuccia Prada, Calvin Klein, Winona Ryder and Friends as inspiration.
Dries Van Noten’s farewell fashion show
After a 38-year career, the Belgian fashion designer retired. Know for his beautiful fabrics and bohemian style, Van Noten presented a star-studded final show.
A long, straight catwalk covered in silver leaves which reflected light onto the models hosted his trademark creations, including metallic pieces in gold and silver, elegant suits with perfect tailoring and artfully combined prints and textures. It was beautiful yet bittersweet farewell and many attendees were in tears at the end.
The return of the Victoria’s Secret Angels
After a hiatus of six years the Victoria’s Secret show returned. Many starry names returned including Kate Moss, Tyra Banks, Alessandra Ambrosio and Candice Swanepoel alongside Irina Shayk, Doutzen Kroes, Taylor Hill and Josephine Skriver.
However, the response was muted with many criticising the show’s format for looking dated and dull, and the lingerie for looking like it came from Temu and Shein.
Barry Keoghan’s digital Vanity Fair streak
Barry Keoghan’s nude Vanity Fair appearance in February flashing his pert posterior was quite the moment. The actor covered the annual Hollywood edition with Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Jenni Ortega, Pedro Pascal, and Jodi Comer.
In print the glossy featured Keoghan as the final figure in the stellar line-up fully clothed, but in a video, he reprised the nudity of the closing scene in Saltburn. That daring dance went viral, inspiring newspaper pieces, TikTok parodies and multiple memes while elevating Keoghan into an unconventional icon.
Brown Thomas Celebrates a Big Birthday
Dublin’s Grande Dame department store celebrated 175 years as Ireland’s temple of style. Since opening in 1849 as Brown and Thomas, a general draper and haberdasher, it has moved premises, survived numerous recessions, changed ownership and served Irish consumer’s craving for finery.
Formerly owned by Galen and Hilary Weston, in August 2022 it was bought by the Cambridge Retail Group as part of a £4 billion deal. A retrospective exhibition in the Grafton Street store recalled famous names who had visited the store including Christian Dior, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, Liz Hurley, Pamela Anderson, Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and Trinny Woodall.
Leopard print goes big
The feline print was the cat’s pyjamas for Autumn Winter 2024.and became the essence of cool. The AW collections from Isabel Marant, Zimmermann, Dolce & Gabbana and Miachael Kors all celebrated leopard while Ganni, Rixo, Sézanne, H&M and M&S also featured the big cat. Bet Lynch would be delighted.
Mocha brown goes mainstream
Once seen as drab and dull, brown became the most fashionable colour of 2024, a trend that will continue next year, when Mocha Mousse is the Pantone Colour of 2025. Brown was everywhere: coats, suede jackets, knitwear, large suede bags, long boots and even evening wear.
The chocolate hue featured in collections from Bottega Veneta, Miu Miu, Prada, Ferragamo, Saint Laurent and Fendi and was worn on the red carpet by Jennifer Lawrence, Emily Ratajkowski, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Chastain.
The Bob
Many celebrities cropped their hair into bobs in 2024 including Selma Gomez, Lily Collins, Sydney Sweeney, Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber and Rihanna, as the bob still represents a spirit of freedom and independence.
At the height of the bob craze in the 1920s, more than 20,000 women were cutting their hair every week – the figures may not be quite so high now but a century on it is once again the style that speaks to women’s busy modern lives.
Zendaya wins the red carpet
Zendaya was the best dressed celebrity in 2024. She wore a Thierry Mugler cyborg metal body suit to the London premiere of Dune Part 2.
Then in May she both opened and closed the Met Gala red carpet, first wearing a custom Martin Margiela by John Galliano and later a John Galliano archive look from his Spring Summer 1996 Haute Couture collection for Givenchy.
She also aced her Challengers press tour with looks from Alai, Erdem, Vivienne Wetwood, LOEWE, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs. Game, set and match, Zendaya.
John Galliano’s viral Maison Margiela fashion show
The most talked about fashion show of 2024 was Galliano’s Margiela Artisanal fashion show staged in Paris in January 2024 on the last night of Couture Week. It was pure Galliano – romantic, surreal and sublime.
A cast of models including the actor Gwendoline Christie acted out a mini drama wearing porcelain doll style makeup, teetering heels, extreme corsets and latex gowns. Galliano called it ‘a walk through the underbelly of Paris’ and Pat McGrath’s theatrical glassy make-up was amazing.
In mid-December Galliano announced his departure from Margiela after ten years in situ. What he does in 2025, is highly anticipated.
