The comeback of the metallics

Traveling from the 1930s Hollywood to the 1970s disco era, the metallics fashion trend landed itself in the collections for Spring/Summer 2024. Fabrics resembling silver and gold, are used to create everything from casual to evening wear. In any color, starting with the basics, all the way to red and purple, metallics made a comeback for the Summer season, posing both as extravagant eveningwear or as a part of a casual look, if paired accordingly.

The metallics have been around for a while. They first appeared in 1930s Hollywood, as a way for celebrities to look extraordinary and stand out. It directly reflects the shine and glamour of Hollywood. Since then it has kept coming back into the fashion world, for example in the 1970s. This was amid bright-colored bodysuits, and the metallics just supported the extravagant aesthetic.

Being also mentioned as a trend for Fall/Winter 2023, the metallics made a second, and an even stronger comeback, in the Spring/Summer 2024 season. So what prompted the comeback of the metallics? Experts say it gives us a glimpse into the future and technology. It resembles how much social media and digital life are taking over our world. This trend was also brought back to 2024 by celebrities, who decided to endorse this choice of style on the Oscars 2024 red carpet.

Margot Robbie in vintage Mugler at the 2024 Oscars red carpet, retrieved from Vogue.

Margot Robbie graced the audience with golden vintage Mugler, showcasing a patterned and rhinestoned bodysuit, with a coat on top, in a darker shade of gold. This created a sophisticated and magnificent look. The gold colour of the garments reflects her seriousness and maturity, while still attracting attention.

Dominique Fishback in Bach Mai at the Oscars 2024 red carpet, retrieved from Vogue

Dominique Fishback showed up in Bach Mai. The black, low-cut dress was spiced up with a silver-coloured metallic skirt, freely falling onto the ground. This transforms a classic black dress into something more extravagant and creative, as well as making the whole look more entertaining and less overly serious.

These and other celebrities brought the trend back, by showing that it can be a great balance between looking extravagant yet classy.

Luxury brands such as Ralph Lauren, Nina Ricci, and Versace have showcased this trend in their SS 2024 shows. Employing classic gold and silver colours as well as a trendy light pastel green, they produced sleek and sophisticated-looking garments—an off-shoulder dress, a pant suit, and a tight spaghetti-strap dress.

Metallic garments from various SS24 shows: Ralph Lauren, Nina Ricci, and Versace

At the same time, for the ones of us keeping our shopping in the clothing retail stores, fast fashion brands such as H&M also are not deprived of everything-metallic, with simple-cut dresses and shimmery topics hanging in the women’s section.

Outfits including metallic pieces from H&M: dress, heels, handbag, shirt, jeans, backpack, sneakers.

Metallic clothing items are worthy to have in your closet. A bronze-coloured dress can be a simple yet exquisite option for a party when pairing it with metallic accessories such as heels and a bag. Otherwise, it could also make a simplistic yet effective outfit when paired with solid black or white accessories. A silver shirt can elevate a casual work-day fit when worn with blue or black jeans and white sneakers, and a black backpack, maybe even throwing a black leather jacket on top. So if you’re not willing to go for Heute Couture or luxury high-end brands, you can always realize this trend by passing through some department stores in a nearby mall, and making exquisite outfits.

It’s very obvious that the comeback of the metallics has made an impact in the fashion world, and graced Heute Couture collections as well as celebrities’ wardrobes and department stores. Coming to us from the previous century, metallics clothing is an effective piece to have in your closet, and there are plenty of outfits to create.