Fashion predictions: Fresh trends to watch on campus this fall

Fall fashion will forever be a mixed bag. Will it be cold enough to pull out those statement knits and leather boots? Or will it be much too hot to wear anything past the knee? 

The answer is usually yes to both.

Fortunately, that makes fall the perfect season for displaying your fashion range. The fall wardrobe always has a distinct variety and color palette, and this upcoming season will be no exception. 

Here are some trends sure to dominate campus this fall semester.

Messy perfection

The fall 2023 fashion season contained show after show of loose, slouchy and almost messy looks — intentional wrinkles at Marc Jacobs, mussed up hair at Miu Miu, raw hems at Acne Studios. 

Clothes were "accidentally" perfect, as if shrugged over the body with minimal effort. It was just a lucky coincidence to end up with wrinkles and sags in all the right places.

The polished “clean girl” trend of late is still widely popular; however it’s not hard to believe that more and more young people are beginning to move away from it. The constant upkeep of this clean style can be unsustainable for people who are as busy and overwhelmed as students can be.

The casually undone look is sure to pop up across campus, whether intentional or not.

Baggy silhouettes

In this upcoming fall season, bigger is better. Expect clothes to become as oversized, loose, baggy or slouchy as possible.   

Kaya Jordann Smith-Burgess, a member of College Fashionista, a global online community for fashion-focused college students, said she’s noticed larger silhouettes pop up in the trends recently.

“I've just been seeing a lot of baggy clothing,” she said. “I've been following New York fashion a little bit, and what I've been seeing is like, really kind of strange combinations of clothes, but it's really interesting. I've seen a lot of baggy looks.”

Smith-Burgess said she’s looking forward to playing around with oversized pieces in her own wardrobe this fall.

“I'm definitely going to do the oversized – oversized t-shirt, oversized pants, but I’m more looking for a vintage look,” she said.

Long, low and loose denim

Denim pieces are hot items every fall season, but each new year brings new shapes and silhouettes.

Alena Bradley, student designer and editor-in-chief of Xpressions, predicted that low-waisted and solid denim will make a return.

“I feel like we’re also moving away from ripped jeans,” she said. “So definitely there may be like bell bottoms, but I think low-waisted, solid denim is really cute.”

Long denim skirts are another trend growing in popularity. Marie Claire, Editorialist and StyleCaster all highlighted midi or maxi length denim skirts in their lists for top fall denim trends of 2023, and Chapel Hill residents seem to already be taking note. 

“I think we might have already sold out of them,” Ellie Mayer, a sales associate at Uniquities on Franklin Street, said of the long denim skirts.

Unconventional pairings

Whether it be combining unique colors, patterns or textures, this fall season will bring a growing emphasis on the unconventional in everyday fashion.

“I think color theory is going to be huge,” Bradley said. “I think people are going to be mixing and matching different shades that typically aren't thought to go together, but are very complementary. I think a lot of patterns are going to be popular, like corduroy, plaid, stuff like that.”

Unconventional and unique looks can be refreshing in an age when trends quickly become so widespread.

“Honestly, across campus, when I see people just fitted up in an outfit that you're like, ‘Okay, that is that person's personality,’ that's kind of what I look for,” Bradley said. “Even if it's not completely in line with the current fashion rules or whatever, I just like it when someone's all in, 110 percent.”

@sydneybrainard

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