2020 Womens Spring Fashion

2020 Women’s Spring Fashion: Nostalgic Yet Forward-Thinking
2020 has been an unprecedented year in human history. Just as human beings have been changing their lives as a result of the global pandemic, they have also been changing the ways they dress. They have less cause to go to the office than ever before, and are more apt to be spending time at home. Of course, fashion collections are assembled far before such newsworthy trends can have an impact upon fashion in the stores. But even in 2019, there was a new evident influence in fashion emphasizing casualness and a shying away from overt sexuality. The years 2019-2020 were showing early evidence of looking back to 1990s grunge and deploying more relaxed, unconstructed silhouettes in women’s fashions. Fashion was looking backward, to a simpler, less complicated pre-Internet time, but also ahead to a less gendered view of how women should dress.
TheTrendSpotter noted in its list of “12 Standout Trends That Ruled the Spring 2020 Runways,” that some of the most notable new trends in collections included puffy Victorian-style sleeves worn with more casual wear and chunky shoes worn with feminine dresses, another popular 90s trend (Feiam). These trends indicate a shying away from the sexuality of women’s fashions that became increasingly common in recent years. Instead, there was new nostalgia for previous, more recent gender-flexible eras such as the 90s grunge aesthetic common the pre-Internet era, as well as even more long-ago eras like the 19th century (Feiam).
On one hand, the looking backward, particularly to the Victorians, could be seen as a desire for more traditional gender roles. On the other hand, it could also be seen to reflect women’s growing economic power, as they are now able to dress for themselves, not merely the male gaze at home and work. Some other TrendSpotter trends such as wearing pants over shoes and boots, reflect the practicality of city life and the desire not to have long, dangling pants get caught in subway doors or wet in mud puddles (Feiam).
The 70s, according to Harper’s Bazaar, were also back in the form of crochet, disco collars, and bright, artificial neon shades (Pieri and Fisher). But once again, this also reflects the influence of the ‘90s, since the 90s actually showed a great deal of nostalgic ‘70s influence, as exemplified in That ‘70s Show, mood rings, and a cursory glance of the dELiA*s catalog popular in the ‘90s. While some of the trends highlighted by Vogue were more sexualized than those highlighted by Harper’s Bazaar like hot pants and bra tops, they were relatively modest versus revealing (Pieri and Fisher). They were relatively unconstructed, and more vintage in appearance than designed to look like lingerie. Again, 90s wistfulness, particularly for an era many consumers are able to reflect anxiety about the future and to dress with an eye upon comfort rather than to be darling. The “new modes of styling, like the rise of lingerie as outerwear…or rethinking shorts as party clothes” show a willingness to question conventional norms about formality as well as to embrace past styles (Yotka).
Thus, the trend to casualness may have even predated the pajama aesthetic of the coronavirus and reflects a larger trend about questioning what goes with what. Women are exercising greater discretion over how the marketplace markets to them and markets the feminine image. Finally, there was a trend to social consciousness in using more environmentally-friendly fabrics and cruelty-free products such as faux fur in high fashion (Feiam). Given that young women are often more passionate about animal rights and saving the environment, reflecting a more liberal social consciousness. Designers are beginning to listen to women, in other words, and although the industry may be negatively impacted by the shying away from social occasions necessitated by the current environment, there appears to be some positive trends in regards to responsiveness to the target female consumer and her practical needs and political concerns.
Works Cited
Feiam, Ally. “10 Coolest Fashion Trends in Spring/Summer 2020.” Web. TheTrendSpotter.
22 November 2020. https://www.thetrendspotter.net/fashion-trends-from-spring-summer- 2019-fashion- weeks/
Pieri, Kerry and Fisher, Lauren Alexis. “12 Standout Trends That Ruled the Spring 2020
Runways.” Harper’s Bazaar. 8 January 2020. Web. 22 November 2020. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g28969877/spring- 2020-fashion-trends/
Yotka, Stephen. “The 9 Most Important Trends From the Spring 2020 Season.” Vogue.
19 October 2021. Web. 22 November 2020. https://www.vogue.com/article/spring-2020-womens-fashion-runway-trend-report