What’s really driving fashion & beauty this Spring/Summer 2025?
- Beauty
Spring/Summer 2025 is being defined by a quiet recalibration in fashion and beauty.
Gone are maximalist mood boards; in their place, we see ‘core’ styles built from resale basics, subtle cosmetic tweaks, and AI-backed skincare routines with zero fluff. Style prioritizes real-life wearability and platform-ready appeal over pure taste.
In our latest analysis powered by Narratives AI, we explored the public narratives driving this shift - and how consumers are setting new expectations for the season: utility over novelty, comfort over clout, and substance over aesthetics-for-aesthetic’s-sake.
Affordability = new baseline
When visualising the top narratives in fashion and beauty this season, one theme dominates across the board: affordability. But this isn’t about chasing a trend; it’s about survival, strategy, and a recalibration of values. For younger consumers navigating economic precarity and climate dread, cost-consciousness isn’t a compromise. It’s the new cultural baseline.
Practicality Over Style
Fashion has shifted from loud logos to quiet function. Identity still shows up, but it’s grounded in practicality and peer vibes. Normcore and #nonaesthetic - the clean, logo-free basics ruling TikTok and Instagram - aren’t just a mood, they’re a collective pause against digital burnout.
This style also nudges consumers toward a uniform, safe look. The emphasis is on versatile, comfortable pieces that effortlessly carry people through back-to-back meetings and afterwork hangs without wrecking style or budget. This minimalist trend is deeply rooted in fashion history but finds new life in the digital age, where quick trend cycles wear consumers down.
Beauty as Self-Care
Consumers are rejecting beauty routines that demand too much time or effort. Instead, they’re embracing a more minimalist approach that prioritizes how skincare feels as much as how it looks. It’s about self-care that’s manageable and meaningful - a way to slow down and honor yourself amid the daily grind.
Minimal doesn’t mean monotone, though.Alongside the dominant clean, natural aesthetic, consumers are seeking a quiet revival of nostalgic glam: subtle highlights, glossy textures, and understated enhancements that add a touch of personality without overwhelming. Beauty has become a personal, soulful practice rather than a performance.
AI Is the New Beauty Counter
What used to be reserved for luxury - custom advice, product matching, expert insights - is now just a few taps away. TikTok’s viral ‘AI chooses my makeup’ challenge reveals how consumers embrace AI-powered tools from brands like Sephora and L’Oréal, turning phones into on-demand beauty consultants. One user said, “It’s like having a makeup artist on call - without the awkward appointment.”
More beauty fans are loving how AI’s taking the guesswork out of their routines, making personalization faster, easier, and way more fun. (P.S. Dive into the full glow-up breakdown in our Beauty in an AI Age report here!)
Shopping Feeds > Showrooms
On TikTok Shop, Depop, and Instagram, shopping flows naturally from social interaction. Each scroll blends discovery with real-time feedback, making buying a part of a larger conversation. This creates an environment where peer influence feels personal and compelling.
Gen Z embraces these feeds as community hubs, places where sharing and reacting drive choices. “Depop is basically my new Instagram,” captures this shift perfectly.
Intention Is the New Influence
In 2025, what people wear and use is saying more than ever. Shoppers are gravitating toward secondhand finds, refillable beauty products, and pieces that last beyond the trend cycle. These choices signal more than taste - they reflect priorities.
Style isn’t just about what looks good on the grid. It’s about the values stitched into it: transparency, longevity, sustainability. People are choosing things that carry meaning, and wearing that meaning with pride. (Our de-influencing study captures this perfectly)
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