By Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse

After so many months of layering, abandoning fabulous fits in favour of practical warmth, and dressing with the knowledge our outerwear would cover our outfits, transitioning into a Spring wardrobe can be daunting. 

While the Northern hemisphere waits till March 20th to step into spring, the fashion calendar has already moved on and completed collections for Fall/Winter by this time. We’ve looked back through the previous Spring/Summer 2022 collections to refresh your memory and highlight the staples sure to dominate fashionable bodies through the warmer months.

Spring/Summer 2022 was a chaotic yet creative mix of trends and timelessness. Without question, the Y2K revival will continue apace through spring. The trend can hardly be called a trend anymore; we’ve been donning early-aughts styles for longer than anyone could have imagined, and there are no signs we’re going to stop any time soon – the revival continues to be prevalent even in the 2022 Fall shows.

One item set to become a staple is the micro mini skirt. The teeny-tiny silhouette rose in popularity during the late 60s and 70s and defied societal norms at the time. Since then, we’ve seen the barely-there look become almost invisible as hemlines continue to rise, much to the dismay of conservative parents. In 2022, 90’s and Y2K takes on the micro mini skirt will be our main muses; tweeds, fuzzy fabrics, pleated tennis-skirt styles, velour, tartans, and deconstructed suit-esque mini’s. Any style and any fabric go as long as the skirt is practically a strip that just about covers your underwear and you wear the belt-thick item as low on the hips as humanly possible. 

It’s not just mini skirts that should be low-waisted. After the lengthy online debate of low-rise vs high-rise waistlines failed to reach a definitive conclusion, fashion houses decided for us. Et voila, the low-slung waist makes its way back. Just like with the mini skirt, any style of bottoms goes as long as the waistline is dipping way below the belly button; flared jeans, baggy cargos, bodycon midi-skirts, wide-leg sweats, leather hot pants – you get the point. This style is all about bearing the midriff. Pair your low-rise bottoms with a crop top for full-on noughties drama. 

In stark contrast to the micro-mini skirt, the Spring/Summer 2022 runways saw many collections inspired by Parisian ballet and clowncore. These looks leaned into an alternative hyper-feminine ideal, utilising mounds of mesh and tussles of tule, exaggerated silhouettes, super sheer fabrics and a mixture of pastel and bold colour palettes. With muted hues, neutral tones and androgyny gaining traction season after season, it’s been a while since traditionally feminine, ‘pretty’ pieces had their moment outside of the short-lived venture of cottagecore into the mainstream. However, flouncing fabrics and pretty pink hues will add to the fairytale essence of oversized, ballooned silhouettes and puff sleeves in the coming season. Bridgerton season two will undoubtedly fuel this ‘regency re-imagined trend, and many will rekindle their love of corsets, pearls, satin gloves, and prim florals that so dominated the end of 2020.

Sheer fabrics were not just spotted on princess dresses. Spring/Summer 2022 saw a lot of super sheer fabric and subsequently a lot of flesh. The key to unleashing your nipples this spring? Look to the runway for inspiration and invest in a comfortable pair of cotton pants and some statement sandals – and perhaps listen to some confidence-boosting affirmations before stepping outside.  

With your sheer outfit on, you’ve now got a lot of bare leg to play with. While we are all wishing for those lovely, warm spring days, we have to face the fact that we live in a somewhat unpredictable climate. One way designers have attempted to create some sort of fashionable temperature regulation for the change in seasons this year is through a variety of different leg accessories. Sure, you could throw on your regular black tights, but in 2022 we have so many more creative ways to keep our limbs warm while not overheating. A simple switch to colourful tights or stockings will create a monochrome continuation of your outfit, inspired by Versace’s incredibly popular Medusa aevitas platform pumps. Or consider patterned tights that allow your legs to be a standout moment on their own and give a boost to your outfit. 

But there are more creative ways to adorn your legs for both fashionable and practical reasons. Thigh-high boots with thick, chunky soles are never going to be sneered upon and what better time to pair a sheer mini skirt with big, stomping boots than as we transition into slightly warmer days? Pair your boots with some thigh high stockings, maybe with a feathered trim or a satirical kid-core print. Lace leggings and embroidered hosiery took centre stage on the runway, but over on TikTok, leg warmers, as well as arm warmers, are growing in popularity to tie in with the phenomenon of the knitted balaclava. 

It’s the season for showing off flesh. If low-rise waistlines and sheer fabric aren’t enough for you, then fashion brings another offering – cutouts. Get ready to feel a chill. Now, cutouts are not new news; we’ve seen many takes on them across the years; we’ve gone backless, we’ve seen the awful fast-fashion takes on cutout jeans, and we’ve considered whether we could pull off Mean Girl Regina George’s revenge-gone-wrong-bra-revealing cutouts. The look is proving to be far more long-term than any of us initially thought possible. This spring, many cutouts are taking inspiration from co-ord sets, showing off waistlines and mid-drifts and creating interesting necklines that allow you to participate in the cutout trend without revealing too much. 

Not fully committing to the promise of a beautiful summer sun beating down this season, leather biker jackets dominated the Spring/Summer 2022 runways. Like so many other styles seen on the runway, the biker jacket came in a variety of styles—some with lapels, some more streamlined, some oversized and some fitted. There were a variety of tones, black, brown, beige and burnt orange being the most frequent. Some designers went for puff sleeves, while others favoured a more grungy feel with chains and fringing. Some jackets were cropped, some were longline, some were floor-length – the options really are endless. 

Going into spring means we can, in theory, ditch those fit-covering jackets and dress for fun rather than practicality. Still, the runways offered some alternative takes on warmth inducing spring designs that we can begin to implement and test out before the big season switch. Though it is often hard to imagine a runway outfit adorning your own body as you stroll down the street, picking apart an extravagant look allows you to see the thought behind its creation and then implement that in your way to your wardrobe. 

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