8 Fashion and Shoe Trends For Summer 2022 – Footwear News

Summer 2022 has already been deemed tepid vax summer and you could say its trends are following suit. The season seems to be dominated by one idea: party time. Gone are the tie-dye hoodies, sweatpants and shorts paired with slippers. In are the Y2K-tinged looks that offer a more dressed up point of view but with a side of slick sportif and a healthy dose of irreverent, look-at-me styling (think halter necks with minis and Western boots, cargo pants and corset tops, platform sandals and mini skirt sets).

The season still offers a slice of sleepiness, however, with the nap dress carrying over to its third summer (its smocked bodices and puffy sleeves being features that many of its ardent fans refuse to give up just yet plus the allure of cottagecore remains strong). And Birkenstocks two-strap Arizona sandal (and all of its knockoffs) remains a quiet must-have for any and everyone. Its followed up by its cousin, the more evergreen Boston clog, and a whole market of sensible clogs that continue to receive a glow up from fashion brands looking to strike a balance between style and a newfound sense of comfort that even die-hard trend followers dont want to give up.

Life may be back to a tentative sense of normal this summer and people are definitely getting dressed and dressed up again. But most are still trying to figure out what their post-pandemic personal style really is. Should they lean into the Y2K revival, with all of its chaotic trends (which are also defining some of the years bad fashion)? Or step out in something ultra sexy, with cutouts, glitz and platforms galore? Or play it safe with quieter trends that allude to a sense of hesitation in the push for normalcy (or perhaps just make more sense in a work-from-home environment)?

Whatever the reason, this summer plays into an overall duality of hedonism and caution that is defining life in 2022. Herewith, a look at eight of of the top fashion and footwear trends set to dominate the summer 22 season.

Yes, this is the summer of the cutout. For spring 22 collections, designers (including LaQuan Smith, the trends ruler) werent just dreaming of freedom from pandemic living. They were dreaming of a sense of sexuality on display, bound up in a trend that aims to free the body by restricting it with bands of fabric and strategic strips of flesh.

Cutouts at Paris Fashion Week in September 2021.

CREDIT: Kuba Dabrowski for WWD

Blame it on those Versaces. The Italian fashion houses Medusa Aevitas ankle strap platforms, done in a series of saturated, vibrant satins for fall 21 and now spring 22, have given way to a whole slew of like-minded heels, done in a slip-on mule style for summer ease and a pedestal or fluted heel for extra drama.

Versaces Medusa platforms on the street during Paris Fashion Week in October 2021. The style has morphed into a platform mule trend for summer 2022.

CREDIT: Kuba Dabrowski for WWD

Here comes the Y2K, full force. This slow-burning trend may have started with Buzzfeed-style jokes about the Abercrombie & Fitch styles worn in the early aughts. But a series of street style snaps of Hailey Bieber in her own low-rise, baggy cargos mean that everyone probably has a pair of these pants in their carts right now.

Bieber in Brooklyn on June 3, wearing a pair of low-rise, baggy cargo pants that are becoming a defining trend of summer 22 that is sure to continue into the fall.

CREDIT: WavyPeter / SplashNews.com

The living is supposed to be easy in the summer, as the famous lyric goes. Which is probably why no one wants to give up the nap dress just yet. Its smocked bodice and loose shape is brilliantly designed to hide sweat and general discomfort from the heat, while a puffed sleeve or ruffler shoulder gives just a hint of flair. The OG Nap Dress comes from Hill House Home, but plenty of brands have riffed on a similar idea of breeziness, from Ganni and Cecilie Bahnsen in Copenhagen to Batshevas Laura Ashley collaboration. The best part about the trend? No one really cares if its a few seasons old.

A puff-sleeved dress from Ganni at Copenhagen Fashion Week 2021. The romantic, relaxed fit of the dress is reminiscent of the nap dress trend, which continues into summer 2022.

CREDIT: Kuba Dabrowski for WWD

Another Y2K piece (whose origins go back much further), the corsets currency depends on its styling. The garment can act as a layering piece or be worn alone, but peak summer 22 is pairing it with those low-rise, baggy cargo pants, a look that Versace perfected on the runway for its fall 21 collection. Expect to see more of it on the red carpet this fall.

A corset layered on top of a dress at Ulla Johnson spring 22. The corset has become a key top silhouette for summer 22.

CREDIT: Rodin Banica.-2020

What goes around comes around, again and again, and the Western boot will likely always find a space in the fashion cycle. This time its less about the early aughts (when the boot found its niche with tiered, eyelet mini skirts, denim cutoffs and low-slung hip belts for a country-lite look a l Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears and Carrie Underwood). Instead, theres an 80s edge to the trend, paired with leather, stirrup leggings, sleeker minis and blazers.

Western boots with leather trousers at Milan Fashion Week in September 2021.

CREDIT: WWD

A holdover from the pandemic knitwear trend, crochet is the cozy sweaters wild-child cousin, its loose weave destined to make a statement by revealing more skin than its silhouette or hemline suggests. This summer, its done in everything from full-on midi and maxi dresses that evoke beachwear to mini and midi skirts (with or without panels underneath) and vintage-style crop tops. Expect crochet to carry over to next year, as resort collections such as Moschinos are already highlighting the knitwear.

Street style crochet at Copenhagen Fashion Week in August 2021.

CREDIT: Kuba Dabrowski for WWD

Like the platform heel, the coordinated set is a long-running trend that has come to define the era. Its details and silhouettes have shifted each season, from the pantsuit to the pajama set and everything in between. This spring and summer, its the mini skirt set no doubt inspired by a summer 21 photo opp from Olivia Rodrigo in a vintage Chanel suit (complete with those towering Versace Medusas). The mini comes with a matching bra top or cropped tank and a cardigan-style jacket thats all proof of the enduring influence of Cher Horowitz from Clueless.

Olivia Rodrigo at the White House in July 2021 wearing a vintage Chanel skirt suit (with platforms) that has kept the coordinated mini set trend going through this summer.

CREDIT: AP

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8 Fashion and Shoe Trends For Summer 2022 - Footwear News