My Friends Keep Asking Me What to Wear During Party Season—6 Expert-Backed Trends I’m Telling Them About

The dates have been set, the venues have been booked, and the dress code has been announced—all that’s left to do is decide what to wear to all the cocktail soirées and holiday festivities on the horizon. Thankfully, this isn’t a task that must be done in isolation, with the key party fashion trends of 2025 here to guide you through your holiday-themed shopping and styling endeavours.

“This season feels unapologetically bold,” explains David Koma, a London-based fashion designer revered for his partywear. The founder of his own namesake label and the current creative director of beloved Italian label Blumarine, Koma’s decadent evening dresses and flirty going-out looks have been worn by some of the world’s most influential women during their lavish celebrations, including Kendall Jenner, Dua Lipa, Suki Waterhouse and Taylor Swift.

“People want impact: colour, shine, texture, and silhouettes that make you feel empowered the moment you walk into a room,” he adds. “There’s a renewed desire for glamour, but with a modern, playful edge.” After all, if there’s any time of year that invites you to dress up and don your best apparel, it’s now.

As they say, fortune favours the bold, and it appears so does the fashion set, with the prominent party fashion trends of 2025 ones that encourage you to explore a more glamorous side of yourself that lies dormant until this moment of shine. “Party dressing is about escapism,” Korma says, acknowledging that elements like sequins, feathers and embellishments “let you step into a more expressive version of yourself.”

Of course, there’s more than just glitter details or crystal embellishments when it comes to party dressing. Though the occasion itself certainly is an opportunity to wear these motifs, it doesn’t have to be the case that you reach for a chintzy mini or plunging maxi when it’s time for going out. “This year’s party dressing is all about glamour and piling on the sparkle,” adds Jennifer Behr, the New York-based accessories designer behind the eponymous brand. Her work has been loved and adorned by the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Jennifer Lawrence and Hailey Bieber, to name a few, proving that there’s more than just your outfit to consider when putting together a party look. “It feels like people are finally moving past the whole 'quiet luxury' moment and getting back into fun, unexpected fashion,” she continues.

“The holidays are always a great excuse to shine, but this year especially feels like a moment for jewellery —when clothing is more streamlined and about solid colours and shapes, it’s the perfect backdrop for interesting accessories.”

In this way, the biggest party fashion trends of 2025 prioritise timeless shapes and considered details. These are looks that prove a coup of champagne always looks best with a timeless silhouette and that high-octane drama must always be balanced out with more practical features. So, irrespective of whether you’re planning on dancing all the way into the new year or are just looking for that incredible piece that pulls a trusted favourite together in a new way, keep scrolling through for the 6 crucial party fashion trends of 2025.

The 6 Key Party Fashion Trends of 2025

1. Sharp Tailoring

Style Notes: According to Koma, his partywear essentials include a “sculptural black mini dress” and “a great tailored blazer to throw over anything”. These must-haves are part of a wider shift toward conscious fits in favour of magpie-like pieces dripping in ornamental embroidery. “Cut is everything!” he says. “Sharp tailoring, strategic slits, sculptural draping, or a strong shoulder can elevate a look instantly. Sometimes, the most dramatic detail is the silhouette itself.”

Shop the Trend:

2. Fur-ocious Coats

Style Notes: Gustave Flaubert says that pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory. Applying this to the year’s most major party fashion trends, it’s clear that the French novelist would be in full support of the way tasteful dressers aren’t just considering the dress or set they wear to the function, but also their overall look. In this way, the coat you choose to wear for your commute has become equally important. This is the style you wrap yourself in on the way to the party, so if making an entrance is important, take cues from the style set in reach for a faux fur iteration. This fuzzy style has already made an appearance on Miu Miu’s autumn/winter 2025 collection, 16Arlington’s recent collaboration with M&S and Mango’s new in section, meaning that it’s bound to be everywhere.

Shop the Trend:

3. Pendant Necklaces

Style Notes: “Jewellery and accessories really make an outfit feel like you, but I think people overlook them because the clothes are the first thing you see — they take up the most space!” says Behr. “Jewellery is what actually makes an outfit interesting. You can totally change the mood of a black dress by changing jewellery — from delicate crystals to dramatic tassels, any one of those can take a simple dress and transform it,” she adds. “If you’re wearing a simple dress, adding something like our pendant necklace instantly gives it a little extra drama and makes the look feel special.”

Shop the Trend:

4. Feather Weight

Style Notes: They say birds of a feather flock together, and there’s no better way to embrace the fluttery motif than by gathering your girlfriends and dressing to the nines in a piece made entirely of plumage. No need to feel like a walking aviary, however. “Feathers are a fail-safe for party dressing because they instantly transform you,” says Koma. “Feathers add movement and make the look come to life whilst making you feel different from the everyday, too.”

Shop the Trend:

5. A Touch of Texture

Style Notes: As both Behr and Koma have attested to, the overall mood this year isn’t about decorative add-ons, but the overall silhouette. Shapes are considerably more restrained, which leaves room for the fabric of your chosen style to really steal the spotlight. Sheer overlays, satin touches and even velvet have come to the forefront, which is a helpful trend for anyone who feels that sequin fatigue has already set in. To get more life out of these more daring pieces, however, Koma advises considering pairing these pieces with “an oversized blazer or a chunky knit to tone it down for dinner or even daytime.”

Shop the Trend:

6. Molten Silhouettes

Style Notes: Material really is one of the simplest ways to elevate an outfit. Molten silhouettes refer to a trend being adopted by designers in which pieces appear incredibly fluid. From draped little black dresses that look like the surface of the ocean at midnight to liquid fabrics that catch and reflect the light, these are styles suited to after-dark settings. Reach for styles like Mode Mischief’s It girl-approved Melt Panel midi to Reformation’s slinky silk slips.

Shop the Trend: