6 Spring 2023 Runway Trends Everyone Is Wearing Right Now
There is something uniquely electric about the moment when runway looks trickle down into everyday life. The clothes stop being art objects suspended in the controlled atmosphere of a fashion week venue and become part of the real, messy, beautiful world — worn on coffee runs and dinner dates and long Sunday walks. Spring 2023 was one of those seasons where the runway sent out signals so clear, so wearable, and so genuinely exciting that the streets caught up faster than usual. If you have been paying attention to what people are actually reaching for in boutiques, scrolling past on Instagram, or spotting in your favorite café, you will recognize every single one of these directions immediately. Here are the six trends that defined the Spring 2023 collections and that everyone, it seems, is wearing right now.
1. Sheer Layers and the Art of Visible Dressing
Transparency has been circling the edges of fashion for a few seasons, but Spring 2023 was the moment it fully arrived. Designers from Valentino to Acne Studios to Simone Rocha sent looks down the runway that played with sheerness not as a provocation but as a genuine design philosophy. The idea was layering — placing delicate, gauzy fabrics over slips, bodysuits, or even tailored pieces to create depth and dimension. What felt bold in the context of a runway show translated into something surprisingly accessible once people started wearing it in real life.
The appeal is easy to understand. Sheer fabrics — organza, chiffon, tulle, voile — catch light in a way that virtually no other textile does. They move differently, they layer in unexpected ways, and they lend an ethereal quality to even the most straightforward silhouette. A sheer blouse worn over a simple white tank becomes an entirely different proposition than either garment worn alone. A long skirt in translucent fabric layered over a slip creates a sense of movement and occasion that feels entirely modern.
What makes this trend so wearable right now is the range of ways people are interpreting it. Some lean into full romance — sheer maxi dresses in soft blush tones, ruffled blouses that feel like something out of a pre-Raphaelite painting. Others are taking a more architectural approach, pairing structured sheer tops with tailored trousers for an outfit that feels simultaneously polished and unexpected. Street style stars have been photographed pairing entirely sheer skirts with chunky loafers and simple ribbed tank tops, grounding the floatiness of the fabric with something deliberately down-to-earth.
If you are new to the trend, the easiest entry point is a sheer long-sleeve blouse worn over a bandeau or bralette in a complementary tone. From there, the layering possibilities are genuinely endless.
2. Butter Yellow and the Return of Warm Neutrals
Color forecasters have been talking about the shift away from the cooler, more muted palette that dominated the early 2020s, and Spring 2023 delivered that shift in a very specific shade: butter yellow. It appeared everywhere — on the runways of Fendi, Jacquemus, and Bottega Veneta, in various iterations from pale cream-adjacent lemon to a deeper, richer goldenrod that pushed almost into amber territory. The unifying quality was warmth. These were yellows that felt lived-in and inviting rather than sharp or acidic.
The reason butter yellow has resonated so widely is that it functions, surprisingly, almost like a neutral. It pairs naturally with white and cream, creating a tonal, sun-bleached look that feels effortlessly summer-ready. It works beautifully alongside earthy browns and terracottas, anchoring itself to the warm neutral family. It even holds its own next to denim in a way that few colors manage without looking costumey.
The silhouettes in which yellow appeared on the Spring 2023 runways were telling. Jacquemus, whose design sensibility has enormous cultural reach right now, showed relaxed linen trousers and slouchy shirting in buttery shades that felt immediately realistic — like clothes a person would actually want to live in. Bottega Veneta offered polished leather pieces and fluid dresses that elevated the color into something more glamorous. Both interpretations have found their audiences on the street.
Right now, people are wearing butter yellow in a few distinct ways. The minimalist approach — a single butter yellow piece, perhaps wide-leg trousers or a simple slip dress, paired with bare skin and simple sandals — has been particularly popular. More maximalist dressers are doing head-to-toe tonal dressing in different values of yellow, which sounds risky but in practice reads as very chic. Even accessories — butter yellow bags, shoes, or scarves — have become a way to participate in the trend without overhauling an entire wardrobe.
3. Denim Reimagined: Dark Washes, Wide Legs, and the Suit
Denim is always present in fashion in one form or another, but Spring 2023 saw designers return to it with fresh energy and a clear point of view. The direction was emphatically away from the skinny silhouettes and lighter washes that dominated the 2010s and toward something with more visual weight and intention. Dark indigo washes appeared across collections at Stella McCartney, Chloé, and Blumarine, often cut into wide-leg or barrel-leg shapes that felt rooted in the 1970s but entirely contemporary in their proportions.
Perhaps the most interesting development in the denim conversation this season was the denim suit — matching jacket and trousers (or jacket and skirt) in coordinating washes that function as an actual suiting alternative. This is not a new concept, but the Spring 2023 version felt sharper and more deliberate than previous iterations. These were not the casual matching denim sets of the early 2000s. They were thought-out, properly tailored pieces that worked in professional contexts, at dinner, and everywhere in between.
The wide-leg silhouette deserves its own mention because it has genuinely displaced the skinny jean as the dominant denim shape for the first time in well over a decade. Barrel jeans — with a curved, slightly tapered leg that is widest at the thigh and knee before narrowing slightly at the ankle — have been particularly visible on the street, partly because they hit a sweet spot between the ease of a wide leg and the definition of a more fitted cut. Dark wash barrel jeans worn with a fitted white tee and a pointed-toe mule is, right now, one of the most-replicated combinations in real-world dressing.
The denim trend is also about finishing and detail in a way that feels refreshed. Raw hems, visible seaming, and tonal stitching have all appeared as ways to make the fabric feel intentional rather than default. Denim is no longer just the thing you reach for when you cannot think of anything else — this season, it is a considered choice.
4. Soft Tailoring and the Relaxed Blazer
Tailoring has been evolving for several seasons, moving steadily away from the sharp, constructed silhouette of traditional suiting toward something softer, more unstructured, and more personal. Spring 2023 was perhaps the clearest expression yet of what that evolution looks like at full flower. Collections at Loro Piana, The Row, and Toteme showed jackets and trousers in lightweight fabrics — linen, cotton canvas, lightweight wool — that draped and moved with the body rather than holding it in place. The effect was polished without feeling stiff, professional without feeling corporate.
The relaxed blazer is the central piece of this trend, and its current ubiquity in the wild is remarkable. You can spot it in every major city right now — oversized, often unlined, sometimes with slightly dropped shoulders, worn open over a simple tee or tucked-in blouse. The fabric is key: a beautifully weighted linen or a fine cotton hopsack gives this kind of blazer a casual authority that a stiffer fabric simply cannot replicate. Earth tones — sand, camel, warm taupe, pale olive — have been particularly popular choices, extending the warm neutral direction seen elsewhere this season.
What has made soft tailoring so dominant in real-world dressing is its versatility. The same relaxed linen blazer that goes to a client meeting works perfectly over a sundress for a garden lunch or thrown on top of jeans and sneakers for a smart-casual weekend look. For anyone trying to simplify their wardrobe without sacrificing personal style, a beautifully made, softly constructed blazer is possibly the single most useful garment of the season.
Trousers in the soft tailoring family have followed suit — flowing, wide, often cropped to show a hint of ankle, in the same light fabrics and muted tones. Full matching sets have been among the most discussed looks of the season, with designers and consumers alike recognizing that a matching soft-tailored suit in a warm linen tone is one of the most effortlessly put-together outfits a person can wear.
5. Crochet and Handcraft at Every Level
There was a moment a few seasons ago when crochet appeared on runways primarily as a nostalgic reference — a nod to the 1970s boho aesthetic that fashion periodically returns to. But the Spring 2023 treatment of crochet felt genuinely different. Designers including Valentino, Chloé, and Gabriela Hearst showed crochet pieces that were fine, intricate, and clearly the product of serious craftsmanship, removing the craft entirely from its kitschy associations and placing it firmly in the context of luxury.
The range of what crochet looked like on the Spring 2023 runways was extraordinary. At one end, there were delicate open-weave pieces in natural cotton or linen that cast beautiful shadow patterns on the skin beneath. At the other, there were densely worked, almost tapestry-like garments in multiple colors that functioned as wearable art. In between, the options were essentially infinite: crochet cardigans, crochet dresses, crochet bags, crochet trousers, crochet waistcoats, crochet swimsuit cover-ups.
In real-world dressing, the crochet trend has hit particularly hard in the accessories category. Crochet bags — bucket bags, tote bags, crossbody bags in natural raffia or dyed cotton — have been everywhere, offering an alternative to the smooth leather or nylon accessories that have dominated recent seasons. They bring texture and warmth to even a simple outfit, and they work equally well on the beach or in the city in a way that few bag shapes manage.
Beyond the practical appeal, the popularity of crochet at this particular cultural moment connects to a broader interest in handmade goods and artisanal production. There is an increasing appetite for fashion that shows its making — that carries evidence of human hands and time invested in its creation. Crochet is one of the most visible expressions of that appetite, and the fact that it photographs beautifully has not hurt its spread across social media.
6. Ballet Influence: Ribbons, Wraps, and the Satin Flat
The last of the major Spring 2023 trends is one that has been building for a couple of seasons but reached a kind of critical mass this spring: the ballet aesthetic. This is not about tutus or theatrical costume — it is about the specific visual language of ballet as a discipline and a lifestyle, translated into everyday dressing with a light, knowing hand.
The key elements are fairly specific. Ribbon-tied flats — satin or leather shoes with long ties that wrap around the ankle in echo of a ballet slipper — appeared across collections including Miu Miu, Jacquemus, and Simone Rocha. Wrap skirts in fluid satin or silk jersey, cut to suggest a dancer’s warmup attire, were another recurring motif. Crossbody bags with long ribbon straps, soft knitted leg warmers worn over trousers, and delicate cardigans in thin cashmere or cotton all contributed to the overall direction.
What has made the ballet trend particularly fascinating to watch in real life is how people have incorporated its vocabulary into otherwise very different personal aesthetics. On one end of the spectrum, there are those who have leaned into a full ballet-core look — a soft wrap top, a flowing midi skirt, ribbon-tied flats, a tiny bag, hair pulled back. On the other, people who dress primarily in structured, androgynous, or streetwear-influenced styles have introduced a single ballet-coded element — a ribbon flat, a wrap detail on a top — as a point of contrast that gives their usual look a new and interesting dimension.
The satin flat in particular has become one of the breakout footwear choices of the season. After years in which chunky soles, platform loafers, and combat boots dominated, the return to a delicate, close-to-the-ground silhouette feels genuinely refreshing. The ribbon tie adds a design element that elevates the basic ballet flat into something with more narrative and intention, and the variety of colors available — dusty pink, ivory, pale blue, rich burgundy, basic black — means there is a version that works with almost any wardrobe.
Putting It All Together
One of the most interesting things about this particular set of trends is how well they coexist. The soft tailoring and the sheer layers speak to each other — both are interested in fabric that moves, in clothes that do not impose a rigid structure. The butter yellow and the warm neutrals of relaxed suiting share a color philosophy. The crochet craft aesthetic and the ballet influence both draw from a sensibility that values beauty, intentionality, and pleasure in dressing. Worn together or separately, these are not trends that feel like separate, disconnected directions — they feel like a coherent vision of what modern dressing looks like right now.
The spring season always carries a particular hopefulness, a sense of possibility that comes with longer days and lighter clothes. Spring 2023 channeled that feeling directly into its clothes: there is a warmth, a softness, and a genuine wearability to the biggest trends of the season that makes them feel less like fashion mandates and more like invitations. The best way to engage with any of these directions is not to adopt them wholesale but to find the specific element that resonates with your own sense of style and let it find its place in what you already wear. That, ultimately, is how runway trends become your own.
