Forget utility, fashion’s celebrating the utterly impractical. Bring out the belts—only we’re not referring to those functional numbers that actually go into belt loops; in fact, they’ll go everywhere but. The past few runway seasons have seen a steady return to the era of the futile belt, but it’s one we had already begun to see when Y2K nostalgia started creeping back into our wardrobes. Think chunky, statement belts clasped over form-fitting dresses or hip-grazing skinny belts over even skinnier jeans. For the fashion-forward, the belt renaissance also underwent a more modern twist: experimentally worn by doubling them up.
If the Glastonbury, boho-chic days of Kate Moss and Sienna Miller are the images you’ve begun to conjure in your mind, then you’re on the right track. Recent days have also seen the likes of Dua Lipa and Kaia Gerber pulling out all the stops with their own renditions, with Gerber’s tastefully executed over a long-sleeved shirt for a night out. Others might also recall the adoring ways in which every manner of belt would hang off the hips of one Destiny’s Child member: the legendary Beyoncé.
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Yet the evidence has been as clear as day: it is the runway on which the chaos of the unnecessary belt has been most acutely exacted—and revived. Two cruise seasons ago, Louis Vuitton displayed a penchant for Carrie Bradshaw’s manner of belting: on naked skin. Earlier in Barcelona last month, Nicolas Ghesquière winnowed the same trick into the house’s cruise 2025 show, but piled on the belt narrative, from cross-belted pockets to the skinny belts that were pure accessory.
Isidore Montag
Courtesy of HBO
Speaking of which, Jonathan Anderson’s trompe l’oeil belt dresses and shirts have also carved out its own name in the game; the former recently worn by Olivia Cooke for her House of the Dragon press tour. Meanwhile at Junya Watanabe, the more is more mindset certainly stuck, as its fall/winter 2024 show was a cacophony of belt silhouettes and designs, playfully-adorned and devoid of the accessory’s function completely.
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Umberto Fratini
So as the chaos of unnecessary belts ensues, we’ve opted to lean into the fun of it all. Between throwing on some supersized belts, rocking up to a concert in belts galore or simply inducing your own mayhem with a DIY belt, here are a myriad of celebrity-approved ways to woman up and buckle up.
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Chunky belts: Kaia Gerber
Thick, bold and statement-making. Once splattered over every Y2K moodboard, Kaia Gerber is throwing it back to the chunky belt era of the noughties, where every A-lister’s off-duty style consisted of a fitted dress worn over jeans, elevated with the accessory and then some. Lean towards pizzazz; studs, large buckles or any sort of asymmetry.
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Chunky belts: Dua Lipa
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Chunky belts: Elsa Hosk
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Jewellery belts: Chanel cruise 2025 show
Nothing like the vintage charm of a bejewelled chain around your waist. Cue Chanel’s array of options, many also spotted in a multitude of variations during the Met Gala 2023 afterparty—in tribute of Karl Lagerfeld’s legacy. In the K-pop sphere, the feminine-coded belt style is often layered over one another to accentuate the waist, and take their outfits up a notch. Case in point? (G)I-DLE Yuqi’s recent saccharine-sweet stage outfit.
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Jewellery belts: Yuqi of (G)I-DLE
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Jewellery belts: Olivia Rodrigo
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Not a belt: Saoirse Ronan
If there’s a face-off for the most nugatory of belt styles, then the trompe l’oeil manner of designing belts into various silhouettes—from dresses to entire corset tops—just might win the lot. The universe of where the belt can go has only expanded; see Saoirse Ronan’s chest-belt dress at Louis Vuitton and Olivia Cooke’s recent Ferragamo turn where the belt doubled up as a high collar instead.
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Not a belt: Loewe fall/winter 2024 show
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Not a belt: Olivia Cooke
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Louis Vuitton belt detail dress, $8,650
Available at Louis Vuitton.
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Skinny belts: Louis Vuitton cruise 2025 show
For a more chic, minimalist way to incorporate the belt into your outfit, lean towards a sleek and skinny option. For the bold and daring, consider switching up a classic jean look by wearing your belt on your torso—the skin-baring style once popularised by Carrie Bradshaw and recently adopted by Louis Vuitton. Otherwise, the double belting trend is still par for the course. Up the ante by diagonally layering it over one another à la Dahyun from Twice.
@dahhyunnee
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Skinny belts: Dahyun of Twice
Courtesy of Max Mara
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Skinny belts: Max Mara fall/winter 2024 show
@jennierubyjane
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DIY belts: Jennie Kim
Even the most casual of outfits can welcome a slight of chaos. Just as the K-pop stars are wearing it, a DIY belt made of shoelaces or colourful ribbon ties will add eclectic flair to your ensemble. Take a leaf out of Jennie and Miyeon’s playbook and hang a few keyrings or charms off it before securing it to a belt loop or safety pin so it doesn’t droop down.
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