Now TikTok has overtaken Instagram as the social media site to be seen on, it seems like every week there’s a new trend blowing up, with influencers declaring a certain hairstyle, fashion aesthetic or make-up look as the next big thing.
Garnering millions of views and a wave of copycat videos, sometimes these style and beauty trends are chic and tasteful. Other times, they’re just plain weird, and yet people have gone head over heels for a variety of questionable looks in 2022.
Confused? So were we. From TV-inspired fashion to celebrity skin, these are the trends we’re ready to say goodbye to in 2023…
Regency fashion
Season two of Bridgerton arrived in spring, sparking another slew of #Regencycore posts on social media, as fashion fans did their best to emulate the opulent gowns and jewel-encrusted hairstyles they saw on screen.
The problem with Regency era-inspired fashion is hardly anyone actually gets it right. Throwing on a frou-frou babydoll dress, puff-sleeved blouse or a few pearl hair clips is not enough, but if you do go the whole hog you look like you’re on the way to a fancy dress party.
Either way, let’s just leave it to the Bridgerton cast when season three lands next year, shall we?
Fairycore
Spanning fashion and beauty, fairycore (because every trend has to have ‘core’ at the end of it these days) is all about floaty tulle dresses, cascading locks, flushed cheeks and any colour – as long as it’s pink or purple.
The ethereal look was embraced by celebrities like model Bella Hadid and pop star Olivia Rodrigo, who brought fairy-luxe to the Met Gala red carpet in May with her sparkling lavender gown and butterfly hair clips.
It’s all well and good if you’re an A-lister with a glam squad to hand, but when mere mortal attempt the fairy treatment, they often end up looking like toddlers playing dress-up.
Micro minis
From the Miu Miu catwalk to the cover of Vanity Fair (slung on the hips of Nicole Kidman), this teeny tiny skirt caused a stir this year, sparking a mini revolution.
While other elements of the preppy trend (button down shirts, bomber jackets, backpacks) are timelessly cool, these opinion-dividing micro minis are beyond impractical – but maybe that’s the point.
Brushed-up brows
The antithesis of the pencil-thin styles of the Nineties, brushed-up brows came about following the advent of brow lamination – a treatment which sets the fluffy shape in place.
While this trend has one advantage over skinny brows – it means you won’t risk plucking your hair to the point of no return – it’s going to another extreme, and we can pretty much guarantee fans will look back and cringe when they see photos of the swept-up style in future.
Extreme cut-outs
A peek-a-boo hole here or a subtle slash there, fair enough. But the kind of huge cut-outs favoured by model Emily Ratajkowski and actor and Instagram phenomenon Julia Fox? We just don’t get it. Don’t they get cold?
Animal hair cuts
First there was the octopus. Then the wolf. Then the jellyfish. No, we’re not talking about endangered species – these are haircut trends that blew up on TikTok in 2022.
They are all, in fact, variations on the shag haircut, a 1970s throwback adopted by Miley Cyrus a couple of years ago. Now even Cyrus has ditched her shag, isn’t it time we gave these animalistic interpretations the chop?
Barbiecore
A craze that exploded when Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were pictured on the set of Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming Barbie movie, this trend saw grown women donning head-to-toe pink in an attempt to look like the iconic blonde doll.
At the same time, celebs went bonkers for Valentino’s almost entirely fuchsia autumn/winter collection, meaning hot pink was the hottest colour of the year, and has been done to death on the red carpet.
Glazed doughnut skin
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Not content with having merely hydrated or dewy skin, this year Gen Z wanted skin so luminous it resembled the icing on a doughnut – just like their idol’s, model turned beauty brand founder Hailey Bieber.
While Bieber’s skin is undoubtedly envious, it’s hard not to wonder if having Hollywood’s finest aestheticians on speed dial helps with her glow.
