9 Fashion Trends Style Tastemakers Can’t Stop Talking About

As another season of style kicks off, fashion enthusiasts are musing over what trends will and won’t dominate 2023. There’s chatter about the cartoonification of fashion (see: MSCHF’s viral boots and Loewe’s balloon-like heels), peplum tops and the return of 2010s trends, burgeoning aesthetics like mermaidcore, and, with a looming recession in mind, a potential return to minimalism. Translation: Anything is game in fashion right now.

It’s worth looking to some of the industry’s most fashionable professionals on what trends have the potential to stick this year. Whether it's stylists, editors, or designers, the insider crowd always seems to have a pulse on which styles are worth pursuing (though it’s worth mentioning that trends inevitably cycle through, and the best way to shop is looking through your own closet first).

If you're ready to try something new, though, look no further. Ahead, fashion tastemakers share the nine trends they're loving this year.

Bold Shoes

If you’re looking to create an especially visually interesting outfit, stylist Jared Eng has a number of tips to offer up. One of his favorite tips for “pushing a look past the finish line” is a strong shoe—think bold, chunky styles with thick soles. “When wearing a very feminine dress [for example],” Eng says, “you can really balance the look with a masculine shoe.”

Suiting

The trend conversation has long focused on Y2K-adjacent styles, but celebrity stylist Kat Gosik tells Byrdie more tailored options have been her go-to as of late. “I think it’s so sexy when a woman can wear a suit and a tie and not show a lot of skin, but still have an edge and sex appeal,” Gosik says. “I always find a girl in a suit mysterious—I want to know more.” Try a bright-colored set for a cocktail party, or an all-black ensemble with side cut outs for a date night.

Quality Denim

Stylist Amanda Murray tells Byrdie that solid denim finds are at the top of her list. “After living in my pajamas and hoodies for the past few years, I’m ready for earnest clothing that makes me feel pulled together,” she says. Luckily, denim has been at the center of the trend cycle for a couple of seasons now, so there’s no shortage of classic and more interesting silhouettes on the market.

Large Totes

It feels like just yesterday when mini handbags were the final touch to every outfit posted to Instagram—which, as impractical as the styles were, made slightly more sense at a time when nearly all office jobs had resorted to work-from-home. Now with many back in the office, or otherwise back to busy lives, it comes as no surprise to see larger styles dethroning their miniature counterparts. Fashion editor Naomi Elizee is fully on board. “I keep reaching for my extra large tote bags these days, and haven't touched my itsy bitsy bags in so long,” she tells Byrdie. “I'm tired of being a bag lady, and prefer the function of having more space than the look of only carrying an extra small bag around.”

Baggy Trousers

As our perspectives on dressing for work and dressing for comfort continue to shift, personal shopper Gab Waller is embracing merging the two together. “I've also been opting for a lot more relaxed, casual looks since my semi-recent move to Los Angeles,” the Australia native says. “Baggy trousers are my new go-to, and I've started to wear a lot more denim since moving here.” Californian cool girls have proven there are endless ways to wear the relaxed look, from pairing baggy trousers with an oversized blazer to styling them with a leather corset or biker jacket.

Low-Rise Pants

Whether or not to embrace the return of low-rise jeans remains a debated topic on fashion TikTok and beyond, but Mary Furtas, the designer and founder behind celeb-loved fashion brand Cult Naked, is in favor of braving the 2000s-inspired style. “There’s plenty of options, but I opt for wide-leg, low-rise jeans too often these days,” she says. While you may remember the nostalgic style to be frequently paired with blinged-out party tops in the early aughts, Furtas' styling approach is more modern. “I think they go pretty well with men's shirts, as well as overly cropped tops.”

Maxi Skirts

Even as trends come and go faster than we’ve ever seen (in translation: the TikTok effect), Jenee' Naylor has her pulse on one that seems to be here to stay: Maxi skirts. “Specifically, dark wash denim and black wool versions,” Naylor says. “They feel less casual than light washed denim.” Like cargo pants, maxi skirts are a mega trend with the power to be a versatile classic, too. For example, Naylor says a wool maxi skirt can create a polished “tuxedo vibe” for a dinner night, and can just as easily be styled for a casual occasion with sandals and a tank.

Architectural Silhouettes

If you’re one of Mandy Lee's over 400,000 followers, you know the trend forecaster’s closet is one of funky, niche pieces such as chunky, bird-print platforms, poodle tops, and puffy, metallic dresses, but the novelty-enthusiast says she’s gravitating toward all black and architectural silhouettes at the moment. “Lately, I've been really inspired by Japanese designers, and feel that pull to tone it down and play with shape and texture versus color and print,” Lee says. The fashion-forward take on wearing black calls for keeping an eye out for structural pieces such as a jacket with broad, sharp shoulders or a dramatic, bell-sleeved top.

Sequins

Similarly to her peers, stylist Liv Schreiber has added styles such as baggy trousers, looser-fitting jeans, and chunky platforms to her wardrobe rotation. Anything sequined is another style earning repeat-wear in the stylist’s closet these days. On Schreiber’s shopping list are styles such as shimmer and metallic pants, sequined blazers, and sequined sets. This time around, sequins have been reimagined for more casual outings as well, and you may opt to try a sequined tube top with jeans, or a sequined mini skirt with a white tank.