This Is How the Coolest Minimalists Are Dressing Now

Now more than ever, the fashion industry is defined by binaries. On the one hand, you have the throw-everything-at-it maximalists, many of whom only exist on our Instagram feeds or are immortalised on the pavements of fashion week. This look is spearheaded by the likes of Alessandro Michele at Gucci and Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga. On the other hand, you have a fashion tribe who are rejecting the noise and clamour of clashing prints and accessory overload and instead embracing a more contemplative approach to dressing. Yes, this is minimalism, but perhaps not as you know it. 

An aesthetic that has simmered beneath the cultural surface for decades, minimalism has occasionally bubbled up and made its presence felt, but it never really disappeared entirely. It has presented itself in a variety of guises. Think Coco Chanel’s sporty separates, Calvin Klein’s ’90s greyscale and Phoebe Philo’s austere post-financial-crash stylings at Celine. It’s one of the few fashion movements that has transcended multiple generations. 

Next up, the biggest autumn/winter 2021 fashion trends to know.

This piece was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.