Your guide to all the major Spring/Summer 22 fashion trends

We may still be in the middle of winter but now's the time to plan ahead and invest in some summer fashion trends, so your new season wardrobe is waiting for you when the warm weather hits.

As usual, we're taking our inspiration straight from the catwalk. Designers at New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks showed us we can expect some joyful clothes for SS22. Here's the lowdown on the summer fashion trends you can start wearing now.

Bright and beautiful

The future is bright, bold and beautiful. Lovers of colour, rejoice, for SS22, designers such as Roksanda, Proenza Schouler, Molly Goddard, Versace and Valentino are encouraging us to ditch black in favour of bold shades of tangerine, bright pinks, sky blues and apple greens. Whether you're wearing the same hue head-to-toe, or mixing and matching (orange with pink is hot right now), the only rule is: go big or go home.

Muted neutrals

For the colour-averse, here is the solution: muted neutrals. We're talking layered whites, the palest of greens and yellows as well as beiges, to add texture to your outfit and give you a refreshing change from blacks and greys. White suits in particular are a key look for this season, seen at Erdem and Jil Sander, as well as silky palazzo trousers and shirts, as seen as Peter Do.

Statement minis

A huge trend for AW21, the mini skirt is going absolutely nowhere for SS22. If anything, it's getting even shorter and bolder. From textured tweeds to shimmering metallics and bright hues, they're even better paired with oversized blazers and a crop top. Look to Moschino, Prada and Dior for some great examples.

The return of the maxi

On the other end of the sartorial spectrum, you have the maxi skirt. Extreme lengths are impossibly chic when in the form of a column skirt (Givenchy, Nanushka, Vuitton), paired with a simple white shirt or crop top. For a touch of the bohemian, go for a textured maxi skirt as seen at Khaite.

Y2K fashion

We had millennial pink, now we have Y2K fashion. Nostalgia strikes again with designers giving some of our favourite late 90s and early 00s fashion trends a 2022 update. These include, but are not limited to: butterfly details, low-slung waistlines, handkerchief tops, chainmail and sequins.

Revealing details

Less is more when it comes to coverage this season. Be it bras on show (Rejina Pyo, Fendi), cropped cardigans (Prabal Gurung, Michael Kors) or strappy details (Elleme, Supriya Lee).

Hippie chic

Someone call Sienna Miller, because the boho trend is back, in a BIG way. Crochet, tie dye, patchworks, tassels tropical prints and colourful knits... all the key elements to the bohemian trend we loved back in the 00s are back, but with an upgrade naturally. I particularly loved Givenchy, Gabriela Hearst and Altuzarra's takes on the trend.

It's most definitely a look, so if you want to make it more wearable for you, try adding a tie dye halterneck to a linen suit, or a sarong skirt and men's shirt combo.

Stripes

Turns out florals for spring are a bit ludicrous. Well, for this season at least. If you're looking for a print refresh this season, let me steer you towards stripes, but not the Breton iteration as you know it. Carolina Herrera brought us an elevated take on Beetlejuice's monochrome look in the form of a strapless ballgown.

Meanwhile, at Molly Goddard and Jil Sander, it was all about colourful stripes, head-t0-toe or layered over more muted separates.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.