The Spring 2022 Shopping Guide: Where to Buy the 9 Biggest Trends of the Season

For spring 2022, designers brought fun and optimistic fashion to the runways. Spring is where joyful, mood-boosting fashion lies, and after the long winter months and an even longer pandemic, the season offers up a chance to peel off the layers and inject some dopamine dressing into your wardrobe.

On the runways, we got everything from highlighter shades at Valentino to micro skirts at Miu Miu to barely there "naked” pieces from Nensi Dojaka, who continues to reign as the queen of all things skimpy. Meanwhile, both Blumarine and Versace left no question that the Y2K reboot has arrived. In another sense, this feeling of optimism about where fashion is headed is changing the way we shop as well. There’s an uptick in demand for understated luxury items and cool, everyday pieces that we’ll have in our closets forever with brands like Jil Sander and Peter Do perfecting low-key investment staples, albeit in modern proportions.

Here, we’re highlighting the nine biggest trends of the season. To investigate our top S/S 22 trends further, we enlisted some of the most trusted fashion insiders to weigh in on what is in store. No matter how you slice it, spring 2022 will be a great season for shopping. No sweatsuits, nothing dull. The vibe shift has arrived. Ready for the newness that lies ahead?

Nostalgia is in full force for spring, with designers reimagining iconic looks from the early aughts—a time when fashion was defined by flashy yet delightful style. Most importantly, Y2K fashion was all about fun, which is what getting dressed should look like right now. "The Y2K trend is huge,” Tiffany Hsu, MyTheresa vice president of womenswear and kidswear fashion buying, explains. "We are seeing miniskirts, body-cons, minimalism but in a much sexier way, crop tops, and cutouts!” For spring, designers have tweaked ’00s styles with new proportions and silhouettes, making them feel a bit more elevated and wearable. Low-rise pants are slouchier and sit a little higher on the hips and sheer pieces come in every possible variation, but miniskirts and dresses have shrunk to even more micro hemlines, if you dare. Love it or hate it, the reboot is here.

By now, you’ve probably seen all of the memes about the viral Miu Miu pleated-skirt look that has taken the fashion world by storm, which goes to show exactly how big of an impact it has had for spring. Preppy fashion is back—this time around, though, with a bit of rebellion at hand. "The modernization of this trend comes via dramatic proportion play,” Moda Operandi buyer Jana Hofheimer explains. "Be it super-oversize cable-knit sweaters or micro-pleated miniskirts, the new take on fits and hemlines is what moves this trend on from its past iteration and into present-day compatibility.” The school uniform has been turned on its head with midriff-baring looks, completely bare legs, and new proportions—the rule books are changing.

Forget neutrals, demure pastels, and soft shades. Fashion’s new take on color involves bold, vibrant hues. At Valentino, shocking greens and yellows punctuated the runway. Ditto at Dior, Saint Laurent, and Versace, where models were covered in hot Crayola colors. "Twenty twenty-two is undoubtedly about exploring new territory where getting dressed is concerned,” explains Farfetch senior fashion editor Celenie Seidel. "After having to be risk-averse, we are collectively embracing risk, open to discovering new possibilities within ourselves.” Yet another example of the dopamine-infused fashion on the horizon—this is the time to commit to anything but boring shades.

If you’re already plotting your next vacation, you’re not alone. Designers had the same mindset for their S/S 22 collections, where escapist, suitcase-ready pieces were in heavy supply. As Seidel explains, this taps into the "mood for adventure and risk-taking after having been so limited in our choices for the last couple of years.” Nostalgic, ’90s-inspired swimwear debuted at Chanel. Beachy crochets appeared at Anna Sui. And it was Maryam Nassir Zadeh that made a case for swimwear beyond the beach, showing a bikini top paired with tailored pants and strappy heels. Whether you have a plane ticket booked or not, why wait to enter vacation mode?

Just when we think we’ve seen everything when it comes to "naked” fashion, designers unload newer, more naked takes on the trend. This spring, skin-baring pieces have arrived in many forms—major cutouts at The Attico, "floss” pieces at Nensi Dojaka, micro miniskirts at Missoni, and completely sheer looks at Ludovic de Saint Sernin. The risk-taking fashion items are also resonating with shoppers and carving themselves out as mega-hot buys. "Christopher Esber, Magda Butrym, and The Attico are achieving up to 400% sales growth with Moda Operandi season-to-date versus last year, so the proof is in the performance,” explains Hofheimer. Skin is in!

A quieter take on forward-thinking fashion arrived on the runways with low-key, luxe looks built around perfectly cut staples with a few modern twists. Victoria Beckham pumped up the proportions on shirting and tailored trousers, while Altuzarra and Jil Sander made the case for elegant, easy knitwear. "Although we have seen an increase in demand for more statement fashion pieces recently,” explains MatchesFashion.com head of womenswear Liane Wiggins, "our customers continue to engage strongly with knitwear, outerwear, denim, and modern wardrobing with a relaxed aesthetic in luxurious fabrications.” With so many thoughtful, modern takes on wardrobe staples, it’s the best time to order some investment pieces. No boring basics here!

If you need proof that big leather jackets will be major this spring, just look to the Prada runway, where eight out of 39 looks highlighted the piece. They’re already appearing on the celeb set, with Hailey Bieber recently stepping out in the trend, only further proof that the piece will be huge this season. As Hsu explains, "This is an extended trend on oversize outerwear” that was dominant for the spring season, and she suggests looking for pieces that lean into ’90s grunge or ’80s power dressing. Yet another moment to work some nostalgic fashion into your closet.

Never have accessories been such in-demand buys. Specifically, the clickbait accessories that are in focus for spring. We’re talking about conversation-starting pieces that demand a bit more attention than your standard staples, the cult collaborations everyone is talking about like the Miu Miu x New Balance sneakers that debuted on the runways, and the impossible-to-find bags and shoes that already have a mile-long waiting list or require a personal shopper to hunt them down. Hsu explains that the MyTheresa buy includes "holiday totes, glitter shoes, fun sandals, and platforms.” Basically, anything joyful goes, as long as it makes a statement.

Introducing the silhouette of the season: maxi hemlines. A stark contrast to the micro minis and skin-baring pieces that are in full force for spring, maxis offer up a shape that feels fresh and sophisticated. Peter Do and Saint Laurent proved that long skirts will be cult buys, and Loewe introduced some of the most-talked-about maxi dresses of the season, with artsy, sculptural shapes that have already landed on the cover of Vogue. As Wiggins shared, Matches is buying into both polished evening gowns as well as midriff-baring co-ord sets, so the maxi silhouette fits in everywhere from black-tie to vacation. Hemlines that touch the floor are spring MVPs.