I really tried to keep my ear to the ground on what was trending in the world of fashion in 2022, I saw things I loved and plenty of things I really couldn't get behind. Here's a few things I loved:

• Minimalism/Simplicity

I find the movement away from large logo's and graphic designs to be incredibly refreshing. Inspired by sustainability and the popularity of secondhand clothing, the move towards simple and clean spell-out designs as well as blank clothing is accessible and easy for anyone to pull off. It also tends to look more mature and has even been deemed a major proponent of "grown-up streetwear". This is a trend with a lot of active participants, whether they realize it's a trend or not and you could lump the continued popularity of workwear into this category as well.

• Gorpcore

Probable my favorite trend of 2022, "gorpcore" (Good Ole Raisins and Peanuts is a play-on trail mix, the popular hiking snack) and the rise of technical wear has been meteoric. Spearheaded by brands like Arctery'x, Engineered Garments, Salomon, and more; you can find anyone from Frank Ocean to your local Trader Joe's employee (maybe that's a stretch) rocking technical wear. Who would have thought that a rain jacket would be such a statement piece? While not very easy to integrate with other clothing styles, I think Technical wear is not only purposeful but also good looking.

• Blokecore

While Not an active participant of this trend, I really favor the casualness of the Soccer themed fit that is all too familiar in the United Kingdom. I think soccer kits are a lot easier to rock than most other sport jerseys, maybe because most of them feature a collar. There's something about this look that I'm drawn to, It doesn't look like a costume like a lot of popular trends. Shoes are the highlight piece of this movement. I love the Adidas Samba and even Adidas Gazelle and they have been very hot as of late. A year ago the samba was a shoe that sat on the shelves of many stores but are in high demand today, even receiving collabs with Wales Bonner, Jonah Hill and an upcoming JJJJound Release.

• The Wide Leg Pant

Much more of a macrotrend (is that a word?) then some of the other trends I've mentioned, the movement towards baggier clothing (predominantly pants) is incredibly prevalent and featured in many fashion movements from workwear to Y2K. While many have been wearing wide leg pants for years, there hasn't been much of a mainstream movement of it before 2022. When large brick and mortars like J.Crew are producing (and selling out of) wide leg pants, you know that a style is bonafide. J.crew released their "Giant" Chinos in early 2022 and they were a massive hit, causing many other brands to follow suit. You can easily find wide leg pants at your favorite Vintage store ;), but many brands are producing wide pants as well.

• New Balance

New Balance has had one of the biggest brand resurgences in recent fashion history. While never fading into obscurity, it's safe to say that New Balance had not been entirely fashion forward before the start of this decade. NB has always been known for being a classic "Dad Shoe" brand that hung it's hat on comfort and their Made In USA and UK lines, but recently there has been a large shift. New Balance has received widespread success with bringing the 550/650 back into production as well as the 2002R and 1906R and their widespread collaborations with designer brands ALD, JJJJound, Salehe Bembery, Teddy Santis, thisisneverthat, and more. New Balance had been trending up for some time now, but became the hottest brand in footwear in 2022.

Written by:

Jonathan Thomas