Summer always beckons for you to escape to far-flung islands, coastal alcoves and sandy beaches. And this year, it’s taking a personal route, with the season’s biggest trends reminiscent of those you’d wear on your annual family holiday. From jelly sandals to raglan tops, these are styles you’d drip ice cream onto and accessorise with the scent of sunscreen in your youth.
And like the gaudy tops you’d pick up from some tourist trap that read, "I Went to Tenerife and All I Got Is This T-shirt” to wear on the flight home, one of the prevailing shirt trends is taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to warm weather dressing. Taking a more cerebral approach to the Y2K-era souvenir shirts that dominated in the 2000s, tastemakers are opting for graphic skirts emblazoned with the faces of iconic figures. (Or, if you’re New York-based fashion influencer and vintage dealer Natalia Spotts, a photo of you kissing your boyfriend.)
The end result is something that will have you looking like you've just taken a trip to the National Portrait Gallery. (Albeit through a more St Trinians lens.)Though this trend has been picking up since September, it firmly cemented itself as a key silhouette over the past few weeks following the release of Dario Vatale’s first and only collection for Versace hit boutique shelves.
A prominent part of the Italian maison’s spring/summer 2026 collection, the designer subverted Andy Warhol’s famous pop-art portraits, which had, in turn, already played a crucial role in Gianni Versace’s spring/summer 1991 collection, making this a true collector's piece.
Amongst the members of the style set who have been pictured in one, including Dua Lipa, who wore it during a recent trip to Italy in April, and Who What Wear UK’s own Editor in Residence Chani Ra, it’s Alexa Chung who has done the most work to campaign for this trend's mainstream appeal.
Overnight, she shared a photo of herself from a New York dive bar wearing the white Versace “face” skirt with a green cardigan and black pumps. This isn’t the first time she wore this style either, with the writer, model and socialite sporting a version from UK-based brand Hades with Tilda Swinton’s face on it.
Satirical, subversive, and a clear response to quiet luxury, this trend is a shortcut to injecting a personal sense into your summer wardrobe. Of course, the best versions are those that are individual to you, perhaps inscribed with the face of someone you love or from a designer you adore. Ahead, uncover the styles that Who What Wear are coveting for the season ahead.
Shop the Face Skirt Trend:
Debuted as part of Chanel's Métiers d'art 2026 collection, this Matthieu Blazy creation recreates the poster of the movie Tonight or Never—a nod to Gabrielle Chanel’s movie costume creations.
This skirt is one of the standout pieces from the collection. Titled the Valentine, this is a style that would certainly tug at your heartstrings.
Referring to Andy Warhol, the faces in this skirt reference iconic Black cultural figures like Grace Jones, Bianca Jagger and Whitney Houston.
For all the Virginia Woolf lovers out there.
Take an art history lesson with this style, which is inspired by the work of American artist and illustrator Robert McGinnis, who designed the movie posters of films like Breakfast at Tiffany's, Barbarella, and several James Bonds.