Depop just unveiled the top aesthetics of 2024

For vintage enthusiasts, fashion is divided into "core." Today, a decade is not enough to describe an aesthetic because everything has become niche, categorized within the realms of online resale platforms based on keywords. Following the trends witnessed in 2023, the second-hand e-commerce company Depop has released a report dedicated to the coming year, outlining the new nicknames that we will see on our screens while shopping online. In 2023, concerns about the state of the planet, environmental emergencies, and the intensification of political conflicts influenced the formation of guiding aesthetics such as Gorpcore, Barbiecore, and Quiet Luxury. Future trends are already written in the buying habits of Depop users. Alongside the app's trend specialists, Agustina Panzoni, Category Manager of Depop, presented an intuitive guide to the fashion of the future, a kit that anticipates a desire for relaxation and hope in each of our lives.

Depop has chosen the title Dual Reality for the main theme that will guide trends in 2024, a name indicating consumers' tendency to travel through surreal aesthetics - see Mermaidcore and Aquascape - while remaining grounded, concerned about the uncertain future that awaits them. The chaos we experience every day, explains the report, will be balanced through a search for the familiar. This means that comfort and realism, previously reflected in the minimalist aesthetic of Quiet Luxury, will be tainted by a more authentic sentiment. Formal wear will be more relaxed, and romance will become more realistic, in a waltz that alternates between disorder and rules. In 2024, according to Panzoni, the Depop community will welcome Sleaze Academia, Lazy Luxe, Post Romance, and Sports Quest.

Following the success of Wednesday Addams and the geek chic aesthetic revived by Miu Miu this year, Sleaze Academia will give a whole new face to collegiate fashion. Subverting school uniforms through grunge details to add character to an otherwise impersonal look, the typically minimalist clothing of this aesthetic will be redefined by the addition of punk pins and other personality-rich accessories, such as ironic literature-related slogans. The brands leading the rise of Sleaze Academia will be Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, Coach, and Tommy Hilfiger. On the same notes, Lazy Luxe will play with the classic office suit, challenging conventions. Deconstructions and comfort will guide the style of this trend, transforming workwear into a kind of pajama uniform for the joy of all sleep lovers. The Row (for those who can), Ugg, Cos, and Skims will lead Lazy Luxe sales.

Depop's predictions for 2024 conclude with Post Romance and Sports Quest, two aesthetics at opposite ends but telling similar stories. The former originates in the revival of hyper-feminine style in fashion, reflected in 2023 in consumers' passionate love for pink, bows, and mary janes. Drawing inspiration from the romanticism of Vivienne Westwood and the imaginative spirit of collections by Sandy Liang and Simone Rocha, in 2024, this narrative will mature while remaining radically extravagant. Red will replace pink, floral patterns will become more conceptual and structured, and realism will infuse Post Romance with unprecedented concreteness. Alongside Liang and Rocha, Vagabond and Doc Martens will govern Post Romance on Depop. Away from football fields, sportswear will find a stage to have fun on runways and among young people who are no longer satisfied with Blokecore. Colliding with 2000s cyber fashion, the Sports Quest of 2024 will be "anti-utilitarian," explains Depop's report, immersing football aesthetics in a digital universe characterized by metallic shades reminiscent of the gaming world. In short, next year, we'll have to choose which player we identify with the most, although this time, a key rule applies: everyone is free.