It started, as these things often do, with a girl at a festival. Or rather, girls—plural—at festivals. Festival season (And therefore, festival clothes) may only just be warming up, but already there’s one act that always seems to make the lineup: the boho maxi skirt.
The trend has been quietly simmering for a while—Google Trends reports a 110% surge in searches—but it was Kate Moss’ Glastonbury-inspired capsule collection for Zara that launched boho skirts into the stratosphere.
Kate Moss wearing a white boho maxi skirt from her Glastonbury-inspired festival collection for Zara
Lately, on my daily trudge through Broadway Market, I’ve been spotting them everywhere: long, floaty, tiered skirts that feel distinctly 2006. Only now, they’re styled with leather jackets (and in this weather), moody makeup, and boots that look like they’ve seen some things.
Boho skirts are back, but not in the “Coachella and feather earrings” way (heaven forbid). Not even necessarily in the “Sienna Miller in a crochet top at Glastonbury” way—though that particular festival dress is ripe for a resurface. This new boho is moodier. If I had to describe it (which I do), I’d say it’s Stevie Nicks meets Wednesday Addams, stopping off at a Miu Miu sample sale, or the Sofia Coppola-directed Western The Beguiled.
Long, swishy skirts have always been a festival staple, thanks in no small part to their ability to conceal a multitude of sins—a hip flask, say. Plus, unlike so many trends, they’re actually comfortable, and then there’s that Almost Famous energy which never really goes out of style.
Sienna Miller at the height of her boho era in 2003
On Depop, searches for “boho skirt” are up 60%. Over on Instagram, it’s the ‘throwing fits’ girls leading the charge: think diaphanous skirts styled with Puma Speedcats and baggy sports shirts.
Designers have taken notice, too. Chloé—who essentially wrote the book on boho—has subtly revived its 2000s DNA under the directorship of Chemena Kamali, layering silk maxis with rumpled shirting and riding boots. At Isabel Marant, there are ruffles, floral prints, and low-slung belts.
Of course, Chemena is probably the driving force behind the boho revival. But beyond trend theory or nostalgia, I think it’s also just nice to wear clothes you can move in. This is precisely the justification I gave my boyfriend when I insisted he hauled vacuum bag after vacuum bag out of the attic as I rifled through for my own archive of (questionable) boho fashion. The boho girl has grown up — but she still wants to twirl.
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