Street Style 2021

 What Will Street Style Look Like In 2021?

If your New Years Eve felt anticlimactic at best and utterly depressing at worst, you aren't alone. What's the meaning of a new calendar when so little has changed? Six months ago, we were sure 2021 would be different. Surely we'd be prepping for Fashion Week by now. Unfortunately, that's still a big no for most of us.

Through the last half of 2020, we had to experience fashion shows virtually and vicariously through our friends in Paris, Milan, London, Shanghai, and Tokyo, where socially-distanced shows resumed. Once the schedules were out, the question remained: What would the street style look like? After years of multiple outfit changes and heels, what would editors and influencers wear to zig-zag around a city by foot, bicycle, or train? What feels appropriate in anxious times like these?

Aside from masks, which were the biggest visual change in our street style coverage, the trend was for easier, more casual clothing that merged pragmatism and personality. We saw a lot of great blazers and jeans—often flared or bootcut for a bit more polish—and grounded, hardworking boots and sneakers. Showgoers wore those sensible shoes with silk dresses and suits (don’t believe the “tailoring is dead!” headlines) and favored generous cuts over body-conscious ones. Our eyes skipped over the “total looks” borrowed from the runway, once a standard practice that felt forced this time around. Instead, we zoomed in on surprising details and artfully thrown-together outfits: vintage pieces mixed with new, outsize proportions, and spontaneous layers.