Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Style
    2. Shopping

    How to do the plastic trend for SS18 without looking like a Barbie girl

    Wipe clean, repeat

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 23 February 2018 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    plastic trend
    (Image credit: Shutterstock/Rex)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Wipe clean, repeat

    To quote Aqua: 'life in plastic, it's fantastic'. And it certainly is for SS18, with the PVC trend having a moment with our favourite designers (Staud, Burberry, Chanel) and high street stores (Zara, Topshop, Mango).

    At London Fashion Week, it was a hit with the street style set too, with the Chanel see-through hat, Burberry rubberised trench coat and Staud Shirley bag being the items of choice this season.

    plastic trend

    But how do you nail this tricky micro trend in your average everyday life? Well, as with most trends, it's more wearable if you're subtly nodding to it.

    You might choose to accessorise a denim jumpsuit with some PVC boots or a clear handbag. Or give a tough edge to a feminine blouse by pairing it with vinyl trousers.

    You may like
    • Christopher Esber Flip flops From Luxury Beach Resorts to London Streets, Everyone Is Wearing These Designer Flip-Flops
    • A woman wearing some of the trend-led wardrobe updates from the article 18 Trend-Led Items to Update Your Wardrobe with Minimal Effort—and Minimal Cost
    • SS27 TRENDS TO WEAR NOW Call Me Impatient, But I’m Wearing These Trends I Spotted at the Spring/Summer 27 Shows Already

    Or perhaps the perfect finishing touch to a sharp suit is a clear trench coat, which you can also layer over your favourite coat to give it an instant update.

    plastic trend

    What you do want to avoid is going the full head-to-toe look, for fear of looking like Kim Kardashian circa 2015. Or to quote Aqua again, like a Barbie girl.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Shop my top plastic picks below.

    Shop now: BURBERRY Belted rubberized PU trench coat for £1,495 from Net-A-Porter

    Shop now: VINYL TOTE WITH INTERIOR BAG for £29.99 from Zara

    What to read next
    • Open Bag Trend: ChanelFall Winter 2026, Ready to Wear I'm Baffled by the "Open Bag" Trend, But It Perfectly Captures the World the Ultra-Rich Live In
    • Autumn/Winter 2026/27 Trends  Want to Know What to Wear Tomorrow? These are 7 Key Autumn/Winter 2026 Looks Setting the Tone for the Season Ahead
    • AW Power Pieces These Autumn/Winter 2026 'Power Pieces' Are the Low-Effort Styling Hacks That Will Make Every Outfit Better

    Shop now: MR BY MAN REPELLER Crystal-embellished PVC and metallic textured-leather mules for £134 from The Outset

    Shop now: Vinyl Kick Flare Trousers for £39 from Topshop

    Shop now: Padded Pak’r Film for £85 from Eastpak

    Shop now: YEEZY Tubular clear over-the-knee boots for £390 from Mytheresa.com

    Shop now: MOSCOT LEMTOSH TT SE Opticals for £310 from MOSCOT

    Shop now: VALEXTRA Iside Medium raincoat for £115 from Matches Fashion

    Shop the latest Eastpak Accessories on the Marie Claire Edit.

    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

    She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.

    Read more
    Christopher Esber Flip flops
    Fashion From Luxury Beach Resorts to London Streets, Everyone Is Wearing These Designer Flip-Flops
    A woman wearing some of the trend-led wardrobe updates from the article
    Shopping 18 Trend-Led Items to Update Your Wardrobe with Minimal Effort—and Minimal Cost
     
     
    SS27 TRENDS TO WEAR NOW
    Fashion Trends Call Me Impatient, But I’m Wearing These Trends I Spotted at the Spring/Summer 27 Shows Already
    Open Bag Trend: ChanelFall Winter 2026, Ready to Wear
    Fashion Trends I'm Baffled by the "Open Bag" Trend, But It Perfectly Captures the World the Ultra-Rich Live In
     
     
    Latest in Shopping
    ARGYLE KNITS
    Shopping Argyle Knits Are the Easiest Way to Add Colour and Print to Your Everyday Outfits This Autumn
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
     
     
    woman wearing shift dress navy top
    Shopping I Just Got Back From Milan—This Retro-Inspired Dress Is What Italian Women Wear to Look Polished
    A woman wearing some of the trend-led wardrobe updates from the article
    Shopping 18 Trend-Led Items to Update Your Wardrobe with Minimal Effort—and Minimal Cost
     
     
    Latest in News
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
    Vogue World Robots
    Fashion AI Is Shaping the Future of Fashion—Can Creative Thought Survive?
     
     
    New Beauty Launches Romilly Wilde / Cécred / Bobbi Brown
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Cécred Comes to the UK, Romilly Wilde Returns & £22 Skincare Gets Serious
    The Beauty Digest: New Products to Know
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: A Foundation With Infinite Shades, Diptyque Does Bodycare, and the Exhibition Every Beauty Lover Should See
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.