As the fashion industry pivots to include more sustainable practices, consumers are following suit—and it’s not just their everyday style that’s changing. Wedding attire is starting to look evolve as a result of the changing times. Couples are opting for more casual, financially prudent and environmentally responsible options they can wear after the day ends, global fashion search platform Lyst says in a new report.
The platform highlighted key trends in wedding and guest attire pulled from more than 100 million shoppers a month searching across 12,000 designers and stores online. It found themes such as ‘70s nostalgia, resale and vintage, and travel playing an outsize role in influencing modern matrimonial moments.
‘70s nostalgia
The bohemian aesthetic influencing fashion is showing up in wedding attire, too. According to Lyst, puffed sleeves are likely to be a popular choice for brides, as searches for the style jumped 38 percent year-on-year. The “Little Women effect,” as Lyst calls it, was especially prevalent in ‘70s fashion. The platform also predicts mid-length bridal dresses—another trend influenced by the beloved novel and film—will make a big impact on weddings, as the platform saw 27 percent more searches for this silhouette year-on-year.
Guests are also getting in on the trend, with queries for fringed dresses and bags—a staple of ‘70s fashion—up 25 percent and 138 percent, respectively.
Resale and vintage
The sustainable movement is encouraging consumers to turn to resale and vintage items such as jeans, footwear, handbags—and wedding attire. According to Lyst, online searches for “vintage,” “second hand,” or “pre-owned” wedding dresses are collectively up 38 percent year-on-year, averaging close to 19,000 queries each month.
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Vintage-inspired pieces are also on trend, with guests looking for for retro necklines—28 percent searched for off-the-shoulder, 23 percent for square, and 25 percent for sweetheart necklines. Accessories from the past are also popular, with knotted, crystal-embellished and silk headbands picking up speed.
Travel
As unconventional weddings become the norm, many couples are opting for more intimate destination events to celebrate their day—and wedding attire is getting an update. Grooms are trading their formal coats for linen shirts (there was a 14 percent spike in searches)‚ and dress shoes give way to beach-appropriate espadrilles (up 10 percent in recent months, year-on-year).
Destination weddings are also drawing bridal interest in adjacent apparel categories. Swimwear and sleepwear are just some of the categories seeing a spike in wedding-related searches: there’s been a 39 percent increase in searches year-on-year for white swimsuits, and a 95 percent increase in searches for white pajamas over the past six months.
Color
Grooms’ suiting is about to get more colorful, with olive green, purple and steel blue suits searches increasing by a collective 69 percent over the past few months.
Similarly, guests are choosing bold floral prints and leaving their softer palettes for another occasion. But it’s not all bright colors, other data showed. “Sophisticated” colors such as black and mauve—up 39 percent month-to-month and 52 percent year to date, respectively—are on the rise.
Celebrities
As with most fashion trends, celebrities are leading the charge with their trendsetting wedding styles. One of the biggest bridal trends of the year revives the two-piece wedding dress—made popular by singer Ellie Goulding—that incorporates practical and casual elements.
Model and influencer Hailey Bieber also caused a stir with her custom-made Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh gown that featured an off-the-shoulder neckline and lace and pearl accents. Searches for Off-White wedding dresses spiked 156 percent in October, despite the designer not offering a bridal collection.