Robert Armstrong made a good point a few weeks ago in the FT. “Intentional underdressing [normcore et al] has become ubiquitous and so lost its power. It’s less fun for the mogul to wear a hoodie when his toadies do too; this explains why dressing up is, slowly but surely, coming back in”.
With the long-awaited arrival of NikeSKIMSthis suggests we’ve reached the apex of casual underdressing. It only recently dawned on me why athleisure was so popular for the last five years. Firstly, it’s easy to wear – pull on and go. Its fashionable ubiquity allowed for an abundance of styles, colours, fabrications of the comfiest things to wear; tees, sweats, hoodies, leggings. It’s also cheap to produce since there’s no tailoring, fit or fastenings to speak of. And it’s size inclusive; you just buy one size and it will stretch to accommodate weight loss or gain.
Never before has there been a time when a non size-zero person can look as fashionable as their more slender sister simply by building a wardrobe of different athleisure-adjacent pieces (footwear included). With the biggest fashion influencers of the day – Kim, Kanye, Rihanna, the Jenners, the Biebers – advocating for sweats, leggings and sneakers, it gave a seal of approval to anyone who wanted to look sporty and rich (even if lazy and poor).
But. What happens when everyone is sporting Balenciaga, SKIMS, Nike, Fear of God, Alo or their Shein dupes? The early adopters start wanting to differentiate themselves. Hence the delightful and delighted reception this past fashion month of much dressier day clothes from Loewe, Celine, DiorDries, Jil and Alaïa.
Colours are pure and energetic; complementary primaries – green layered with red, Klein blue popping against yellow. (If you don’t want to wear them on your body, consider a bag*, bag charm* or small leathergood*.) Silhouettes are at the conceptual end of wearable – structured silver leather pencil skirts at Jil Sandersculpted leather at Alaïa and Loewemind-bending tailoring at Dior – but passed through a high street filter will make sense to everyday dressing in due course.
These elevated looks demand a more considered shoe than the ubiquitous ASICS Gel-1130 or New Balance 530 dad trainer. Sports shoe sales are slowing (Nike footwear revenue is down 12%) so walkable Manolos, versatile loafers or low profile jazz shoes are on standby to take their place. (Personally, I love the look of the G.H Bass Venetian loafer*.)
We’ve needed this for a long time to shake us out of our post-Covid comfort rut. Surely, we’ve all amassed enough sweats, crocs and ‘Rowdent’ understated oatmeal cashmere? As Rachel Tashjian said earlier this year, “the “cool girl” in her oversize blazer and baseball cap, with her quiet luxury dreams and her pricey smoothies, has been so popular for so long that she’s starting to seem like a menace.” I keep saying 2025 is the real beginning of the decade and this feels like the reset dress-up wheels might finally be in motion.
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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Dries van Noten SS26/Morgane Maurice; Hailey Beiber x 2; Loewe SS26 x 2; Celine SS26; Dries van Noten SS26/Morgane Maurice; Celine SS26 x 2; Loewe SS26
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.
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