Hello, Open Thread. Happy end of 2025. Honestly, after last weekend, with the tragic shootings in Australia and at Brown University, and the killings of Rob and Michele Reiner, I will not be sad to see it go. This will be my last newsletter of the year. I am heading off to my usual holiday respite in the Canadian woods to hang out with the wild turkeys. Before I go, however, I want to take a moment to look back on some of the big fashion themes of 2025. Starting, of course, with the Big Shake-Up. This year, more than 20 fashion houses changed designers, a dozen of them last season alone. Though there was a lot of talk of a big reset, the moves felt more like a generational shift, one that wasn’t expressed in an abrupt change in silhouette but a change in mind-set. Indeed, I’d call this the start of fashion’s third age. If the first one was marked with moguls buying up heritage brands and installing hot new designers to shake things up — hello, Bernard Arnault, François-Henri Pinault, Tom Ford, John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, etc. — and the second was characterized by obsessive attention to “DNA” and “brand codes,” the third is defined by a new relationship between designer and brand, one that is a lot more playful. Put simply, the best of the new gang of designers — Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Michael Rider at Celine — seem less interested in bending the knee than in messing around. And honestly, it’s a lot more fun to watch. What else?
Think about that. Then discover the man charged with making Crocs cool, meet the breakout modeling star of Chanel’s latest show, and consider the strategy behind Luigi Mangione’s new suits. And if you are searching for a last-minute Christmas gift, let me recommend “The Encyclopedia of Ugly Fashion” by Karolina Zebrowska. If you ever look at old pictures of yourself and wonder, What was I thinking?, this tour through some truly terrible design decisions will put everything in much-needed perspective. It has been a pleasure sharing fashion news, thoughts and stories with you throughout the year, and I look forward to more in 2026. In the meantime, please keep the dressing questions coming; have a wonderful, restorative holiday with loved ones; and rest up. We are probably all going to need our strength in 2026. This newsletter will resume on Jan. 9. Talk to you then!
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Your Style Questions, AnsweredEvery week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or X. Questions are edited and condensed.
I feel like my old, very “1999” party look — black, with a sprinkling of fun vintage dresses — is out of date, but I can’t afford to buy whole new outfits right now. Is there a way to introduce new pieces without looking like a pastiche of don’ts? — Suzanne, SeattleFirst of all, as you might have noticed, the 1990s are pretty much the most au courant past moment of the moment. And Prince never really goes out of style. Apple Martin, the daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin and nepo baby extraordinaire, just wore her mother’s 1996 Calvin Klein black halter-neck dress to the New York premiere of “Marty Supreme,” reproducing her look from toe to updo. Demna’s just-dropped pre-fall Gucci collection was a quasi homage to the 1990s Gucci of Tom Ford. And Matthieu Blazy put some very grunge-y plaid shirts on his |
