Junior Lucy Baxter sports in-trend florals. Photo by Jonathan Wang. 

AVA WATSON | STAFF REPORTER | acwatson1@butler.edu 

As 2024 begins and the spring season is on the horizon, people are beginning to wonder what trends will greet them in the new year. To prepare for the spring weather to melt away both the snow and your winter wardrobes, The Butler Collegian has compiled a list of fashion trend predictions for students to adopt in 2024. 

Florals 

Florals have been a dominant print in fashion for ages, typically coming back in spring and summer as flowers are in bloom. This trend will not stop in 2024. 

Printed florals appeared all over runways during the spring season, with roses being the most prominent flower. 

A new addition to the floral repertoire is the 3D flower applique. Sported on dresses, blazers and neckties, the 3D flower added texture and romanticism to each garment it adorned on runways this season. 

The new year will most likely see florals, both printed and in 3D, on all manner of clothes and accessories. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, wearing trendy florals could be a fun way to spice up celebratory outfits. 

The preppy, academic look 

Preppy fashion offers an academic, upscale look to those who style it. Polos appeared on Gucci, Miu Miu and Vivienne Westwood models on the runway. They were often accompanied by blazers varying in pattern and fit to diversify each look. 

Rachel Medina, a junior marketing major and the 2024 student ambassador of Butler’s National Retail Federation Student Association, connected the up-and-coming preppy trend with the restoration of normalcy after COVID-19. 

“Post-COVID, people are starting to go into the office [or] even want to feel more dressed up going to class,” Medina said. “So, I know that preppy is becoming a thing.” 

Waistline extremes 

Before 2023, high-rise jeans reigned supreme for years. However, the massive popularity of the Y2K aesthetic reintroduced low-rise jeans to the trend cycle. The onset of 2024 follows the low-rise trend by experimenting with elongated torsos. 

Runways featured drop waists that exaggerated the length of the torso, whether through long shirts or long connecting fabric between the bust and the hips of a garment. This could translate to lengthened shirts or larger gaps between shirts and pants in everyday fashion. 

Despite the popularity of low-rise pants, high-waisted pants were also prominent on runways this season. Trousers nearly reached the chest on pieces from Louis Vuitton, Hermés and Saint Laurent. The appearance of ultra-high-rise pants on the runway is reassuring that high-rise pants will persist in 2024. 

Skirts over pants 

Nanichi Signore-Flores, a first-year philosophy and religious studies double major, reflected on the nostalgia of the 2010s and hopes 2024 will bring back the decade’s most iconic styles. 

“[I want to see] early 2010s, Pretty Little Liars [and] iCarly — how they wore jeans with a skirt and mismatched colors,” Signore-Flores said. “I want that to come back.” 

Her wish may come true, as several runways featured the subversive styling of skirts over pants. Mini skirts, midi skirts and long skirts were all layered over trousers and jeans, creating individualized silhouettes for each combination. 

If there was a time to revisit the iconic style of skirts over pants from the 2020s, it would be now. 

Sustainability and the capsule wardrobe 

2024 is the year to start building up a sustainable closet. 

Junior marketing major Kaylee Frey works under personal stylist Nicole Cripe, keeping her well-informed about the most recent trends. Frey’s biggest trend prediction was the capsule wardrobe, a closet where each piece is a basic item that can be paired with anything to create new and unique outfits. 

“When you switch over to having [the] mindset of ‘I want something that’s gonna last, and I want something to be ethically correct,’ then you’re like, ‘Oh, I can find that in a capsule closet because I know these items will last,’” Frey said. 

Frey also commented that spending more for less clothes to promote sustainability and increase the lifespan of a wardrobe is trending. 

“Going on with capsules, people spending more money on nice, good quality items [promotes sustainability],” Frey said. “Whether that’s to eliminate fast fashion, or just to have better quality [clothes] that last a long time.” 

Less clothes can be more. Practicing sustainability and being cognizant of overconsumption are the perfect methods to stay trendy and environmentally friendly in the new year. 

Following unique trends can be intimidating, but 2024 could be the year to explore the styling possibilities of adopting them. According to Frey, seeing others take part in trends could be just the push needed for people to begin expressing themselves more freely. 

“It’s sometimes hard for people to break out of their shell,” Frey said. “So, when they see somebody else do it, it’s comforting to be like, ‘Hey, if they can do it, I can do it too.’”