Gen Z Is Taking Over Fashion—Here's How They're Dressing for Spring

Like so many Millennials, I'm constantly looking to Gen Z for their approach to fashion. One thing's for sure: The next generation is really not afraid to try dramatic trends or wear bold looks, especially when it comes to color. One Gen Zer whose style I'm particularly into right now is Tanya Ravichandran. I'm one of her 1.1 million (yes, million) followers on TikTok, where she shares colorful outfit ideas, sustainable shopping tips, and lots of good vibes.

She describes her personal style as a mix of '70s- and '90s-inspired fashion. "Some key components include lots of denim-on-denim and monochromatic looks," she told me when we met in West Hollywood to style this shoot. It's fitting, then, that Ravichandran is just as excited as I am about the launch of the Levi's® Fresh line, which features a range of colorful pieces from denim to T-shirts, all created with natural, botanical dyes made from plants and minerals. The collection suits Ravichandran's playful yet elevated aesthetic and passion for sustainability, so I was so eager to see her mix and match her favorite colorful pieces for spring and summer.

As a devoted denim girl, I had a feeling Ravichandran would gravitate toward jeans and other denim pieces first. (Spoiler: I was correct.) "I think denim was one of the first materials of clothing I got comfortable styling," she told me. "I find joy in styling unique denim pieces together to make one singular outfit." She did just that in this first look with a soft-yellow denim work shirt and matching straight-leg jeans.

"Something that helps me add color to my wardrobe is playing with monochrome," she explained. I like how she put her own slightly edgy spin on these pieces by wearing the shirt unbuttoned and cutting a raw hem on the Levi's® Fresh jeans in this perfect, buttery hue. This look feels totally unique—and more importantly, totally her—with the addition of a matching beaded mini bag and green acrylic heels. "I love the angularity of the look and the simplicity of combining monochromatic pieces with analogous colors to transform it into a dressier vibe."

For something a little more casual, Ravichandran decided to dress up those adorable mint sweatshorts by styling them with a muted-pink men's short-sleeve button-down worn open over a tank. Note: I am very much here for the pink-and-green trend this season. "It's the easy-to-style Levi's® Fresh accessories that bring this look to life," Ravichandran said. Personally, her addition of the oversize tote, cotton bucket hat, and sporty sandals paired with long white socks gave me all kinds of vacation vibes. But Ravichandran brought me back to reality. "This can also be a morning brunch look after finishing a stroll at the farmer's market," she said. Fine.

When Ravichandran mentioned how incredibly soft all of the naturally dyed Levi's® Fresh apparel is (especially these sweatshorts), I was reminded of how far we've come in the world of sustainable fashion. She regularly creates content on the topic of mindful shopping with her number-one tip being to "buy clothing items with the intention of wearing them for a lifetime." She's also big on gifting friends with anything that no longer sparks joy.

Since she loves a denim-on-denim moment so much, Ravichandran styled one more for good measure in this punchy purple. In case you were wondering, this is my favorite hue in the entire Levi's® Fresh collection, so you can imagine my reaction when I found out that the collection has a pair of extremely cute denim shorts in this wash as well. While the denim bottoms and puff-shoulder jacket can be worn individually, wearing them together feels very intentional and makes much more of a statement. It almost feels like a fresh take on spring suiting.

This outfit is giving me "Gen Z pop princess" vibes thanks to all those fun accessories: the crystal choker, cate-eye frames, and chunky white boots. "I love the fit of the Levi's® denim in this look. It was fun to experiment with the cuffing of the jeans to expose more of the boots," Ravichandran said. "The simplicity of the Levi's® pieces with the eclectic jewelry really alludes to my personal style."

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