Romance Is Back! Lace, Slip Dresses, and the New Cool of Sweet Style

Minimalism has been at the forefront of fashion for seasons with brands such as The Row setting the tone for style. With the rise of quiet luxury, pared-back separates and a neutral color palette dominated and impacted the wardrobes of the fashion set at large. We are starting to see a shift, though, as we look ahead to where fashion is headed next year. On the spring/summer 2025 runways, designers made the case for the return of romantic fashion.

Light, romantic, frothy pieces haven't been "cool" in a while, but it seems that the tide is turning for spring 2025. Florals have been reimagined in new forms, including voluminous hoop-skirt dresses at Loewe and sculptural tops and dresses at Victoria Beckham that almost appeared as if they were molded to the body. At Chloé, too, models walked the runway in diaphanous chiffon gowns in florals and solid colors that had a clear romanticism to them. Powder pink was the most dominant color of the season, replacing darker tones like burgundy and red, which were big this year. Lingerie dressing returned at Miu Miu, bow-embellished jackets appeared at Valentino, and a sense of lightness permeated the collections overall. Ahead, read more on the return of romantic fashion and the new cool of sweet style.

The fashion world is craving romance and expressing itself via soft, sheer, and flowing chiffon fabrics in ethereal shades and delicate floral patterns. At Chloé, Chemena Kamali's sophomore collection was an ode to summer and a continuation of the revamped boho aesthetic. It included lace-trimmed lingerie and a pastel palette, concluding with a procession of flowy floral dresses.

The return of lingerie dressing feels linked to the comeback of hyper-romantic style. One of the last major moments when boudoir dressing took hold of the fashion space was spring 2016, when Phoebe Philo debuted lace-trimmed slip dresses in her collection for Chloé and romance was a through line in the fashion world. For the spring 2025 collections, we are seeing that return. At Balenciaga, it was exposed bras, at Chloé, there were nightgown-like pieces, and at Miu Miu, we saw reimagined lingerie in dress form.

For 2025, a specific shade of pink is set to take over. We saw the powder-pink trend take off in New York, where brands such as Khaite, Brandon Maxwell, and Alaïa endorsed the frothy, light colorway. It was in London at Erdem and Richard Quinn and in Milan at Jil Sander and Prada. In Paris, we saw the same hue prevail at Valentino, Chanel, and Miu Miu. This also points to the shift toward romanticism we are seeing take shape for 2025—a movement away from the edgy fashion and dark palettes that have been prevalent in recent years. It's a sense of lightness.

While sheer clothing is nothing new, it was noteworthy to see just how many sheer looks took over the collections throughout fashion month. At Chanel, it appeared in the form of gauzy chiffon that cascaded down the runway and lent a sense of lightness to the looks.

Pretty embellishments hit the runways this season, including the much-anticipated Valentino show during Paris Fashion Week when Alessandro Michele released his first runway collection for the fashion house. The heavily layered looks brought back his signature aesthetic to fashion month and included beautiful embellished pieces, such as a polka-dot jacket finished with a pink bow.