‘Swiftonomics’ and the Chloé girl: Fashion that led the way in John Lewis’ trend report

As 2024 wraps up, the year’s slew of trend reports have begun rolling in, giving us an idea of what was “hot” and what was “not” in the realm of fashion. Adding to this is the trend report of British department store John Lewis, which published its 11th edition of ‘How we shop, live and look’, giving insight into both what shoppers were buying and how they behaved over the year.

At the crux of the shopping landscape, however, were certain themes that either drove people to the high street, or kept them firmly planted at home. Soggy weather, retro 80s trends, preppy attire, “Brat Girl” fashion and the return of travel were cited by John Lewis as being among the biggest influences on shopping habits for the year, and thus played into the overarching results of its report.

Preppy rules the roost: Rugby shirts and barrel leg jeans were in

Among the slew of trends that held influence over consumer wardrobes, ‘preppy’ was among the most notable, according to John Lewis, which said such a shift had been reflected in a 30 percent increase in rugby shirt sales over the past 12 months, both in womenswear and menswear. The silhouette’s resurgence can be attributed to the release of Amazon Prime’s Saltburn film last year, which promoted an “Oxford student look” of cricket jumpers and loafers.

Chemena Kamali’s debut at the Parisian fashion house Chloé was also a driver for one of the key aesthetics for 2024, sparking a demand for ultra-feminine ruffles, tiered tops and flared pantaloons. As such, more affordable iterations of the wildly in-demand runway looks were popular at Mango and Mint Velvet. Ruffle maxi dresses came out on top, however, with searches for these garments doubling over the last year.

In terms of specific items, barrel leg jeans enjoyed notable momentum throughout 2024, with searches up 60 percent for the relaxed denim silhouette, making it the best selling jean shape of the year. Leopard print blouses also shone through, seeing searches up 173 percent on the previous 12 months, reflecting what had become known as ‘Brat Girl Summer’, a trend sparked by the release of Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ album. However, it was sequin dresses that really held their own this year. With searches up 357 percent, sparkly attire became the cornerstone of wardrobes in the wake of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour landing in the UK in June.

How are people shopping?

In regards to how people were shopping this year, there was much emphasis on a need for in-person experiences, John Lewis stated, with 79 percent of the 1,996 customers surveyed by the retailer stating that they wanted to “touch and feel the products”. Next to this, 61 percent further agreed that they wanted to try on clothes or test beauty products, reflected in a 35 percent uptick in personal styling appointments at the retailer’s locations. A huge majority of customers also saw shopping as a social activity, with 97 percent saying they enjoyed shopping with friends or family, and many saying they had done so more this year than the last. This was particularly prominent among younger groups between 18 to 44, 59 percent of which said they enjoyed shopping as a means to bond.

Executive director at John Lewis, Peter Ruis, doubled down on this, reaffirming: “We've seen a record number of app visits this year, but the enjoyment of shopping in person and expert face-to-face advice is here to stay. What’s more, whether it’s advice for new parents or personal styling sessions, we’re seeing huge demand for our in-store services, as well as a significant rise in people turning their shopping trips into a bigger social event and enjoying our restaurants as part of their visit.”