Gab Waller on fashion trends for 2024

It’s all very well to want a new you in the new year, but what exactly is that going to entail for this year in particular? Instagram’s favourite fashion sourcer Gab Waller gives Zaneta Cheng insight into what will make it into 2024

In a world where trends continue to move at hyper speed, we want to sift through the winners and the newcomers as we step into the new year. Which trends will carry over? What items are the ones to save up pennies for and what new styles are emerging as we speak?

One of the more important questions within this topic would probably be: will quiet luxury make it into 2024? The answer, according to Instagram’s favourite fashion sourcer, Gab Waller, is decidedly yes and a little bit of a no. The term, Waller says, may fizzle out. “It’s become so highly saturated – everyone was talking about quiet luxury,” she says. “But I think, to me, this is just a new shopping concept that the consumer has realised is how you shop if you want to make investments that last. Investing in those quiet luxury pieces are the way to go.

“Even when I was seeing the explosion of the quiet luxury trend and reading up on it, a lot of feedback I was reading was that so many people were saying that they’ve been shopping like this for years and they just never had a label for it. So I think it’s just kind of finally come to the forefront and perhaps some of the brands that were flying under the radar for some time were finally getting their moment.”

One of these brands is Khaite, which has seen incredible success since the rise of quiet luxury. In
the spring/summer 2024 trends presentation from Net-a-Porter, Libby Page, market director of the online retailer, notes that an initiative offering customers early access in August to six looks from the American brand’s runway collection drove an uplift of 437% in sales for the brand versus the previous week.

Of course, quiet luxury cannot be mentioned without pointing to brands such as Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli, which have long been producing high-quality investment items that have seen new popularity with the trend.

Another brand that’s seen stratospheric success the year prior is The Row. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s brand has been around since 2006 and while it has “always been a top-performing brand among EIPs”, says Page of the performance of the brand with the e-tailer, “The Row has taken the top spot this past season at Net-a-Porter globally.”

According to Waller, The Row’s Margaux bag is currently skyrocketing in demand. “I’ve only started to see this demand within the end of December and into January. It’s not a new style, but since Jennifer Lawrence was seen wearing it, it’s really started to gain traction,” she observes.

Celebrity influence in fashion is back and stronger than ever. Waller points to Hailey Bieber as one of the key influences of style today. “It depends on the celebrity,” she says. “Hailey Bieber is a big one and she has great influence over what is coming through in my requests. I think it’s because Hailey caters to such a wide market. She has the younger generation because her style speaks to that but then she can dress very sophisticated and chic, and she would very easily wear The Row and brands like that so the older generation can also envision themselves in her looks.”

A more recent breakout style star is Sofia Richie Grainge, whose wedding style, which she worked on with personal stylist Liat Baruch, broke TikTok, with its Chanel gowns, Proenza Schouler wedding weekend look and more.

In other trend news, Barbiecore is making way for Corpcore come 2024. Stylish workwear was seen all over the runways from Hugo Boss’s alternate reality to Ferragamo. “It kind of leans back into that quiet luxury where it’s understated pieces that aren’t logo heavy and I definitely see that continuing into the new year,” says Waller.

Page pays particular attention to a trend labelled “Chic Sportif”, which is code for the Net-a-Porter “customers’ weekend wardrobe for spring – but elevated.” The Row is cited for its refined take on wellness-inspired attire from drawstring lounge trousers, oversized tank dresses or a terry-cashmere robe. Another brand that’s leaned into this aesthetic is Belgian brand Dries Van Noten. “Dries Van Noten showed us a masterclass in high-low dressing with rugby-striped pants paired with couture-like coats,” the report states. In response to the brand’s popularity, Net-a-Porter has grown its buy by 12% across all categories and will be stocking the trainers shown on the runway in all four colourways. The e-tailer also notes huge demand for trainers, citing Adidas Originals’ Samba shoe as one of its best performers requiring multiple reorders.

On the subject of colour, red has made a splashy comeback with accents being brought into more toned- down outfits in the form of a scarf, a jumper, socks or a hat. “Red was everywhere but I’m starting to see a small shift into burgundy,” Waller says when asked about the colour trend. She cites Saint Laurent and the handbags in Phoebe Philo’s new eponymous brand as examples.

Other instances of the colour include the spring/ summer 2024 runway of Sabato De Sarno’s first collection for Gucci. “If I were to say one brand that’s going to trend and blow up this year for a whole new consumer, it has to be Gucci,” says Waller. “I’m starting to see the requests and I’m starting to see the interest in the campaign and everyone really likes it.

I think it’s interesting because the Gucci customer of the recent past may not be too happy about it, but I do think it’s going to open up a massive new market for Gucci.” Similarly, Net-a-Porter pins the Italian brand as having “placed the codes of the iconic luxury house at the forefront, presenting clothes that we’re eager to wear (which we’d have loved to see in action on the streets of Brera).”

Romanticism is here to stay. Searches for pastel dresses have increased by 125% since Fashion Week in September, according to Page, and organza, lace, ruffles and 3D florals are all bringing ethereality back with modern refinement. For Waller, it’s bows. “I’m sure you’ve seen the explosion of the bows everywhere,” the sourcing sorceress says. “I do feel they will continue into the new year and I don’t see them dwindling down anytime soon.”

One item that took the world by storm last year was Pieter Mulier’s fishnet ballet flat at Alaïa. Sales of flat shoes at Net-a-Porter are up by nearly 20% versus the year before, driven by new brand Le Monde Béryl and Alaïa’s ballet flat. “Those shoes are my highest-selling item throughout 2023. It’s amazing to see it just absolutely go off,” says Waller. “I have a pair – they’re so comfortable – so I can understand why they’re so popular but I think perhaps if we were having this conversation last year, at this time, Alaïa’s fishnet shoes would not have been on my radar. It’s amazing to see an item that’s absolutely popped off and trend in every country, every region.”

Also see: Year of the Dragon fashion accessories