In Response To A Rise In AI Fashion Champions The Real, The Raw And The All Natural

While “florals for spring” is not necessarily a groundbreaking piece of original reporting or overtly insightful trend forecasting—something the fictitious Miranda Priestly reiterated to her Runway magazine subordinates in the 2006 film, The Devil Wears Prada—it is relevant when decoding the fashion industry’s recent shift towards the physical properties of the natural world.

With a sudden and aggressive alignment to nature—including earthy colorways splashed throughout advertising campaigns, floral motifs adorned to actual garments and gritty replications of outdoor elements pasted onto the runway—fashion is feeding into consumers desire for environmental synchronization one blade of grass at a time.

“I’ve definitely noticed a shift. I feel like these themes often come up season after season, but this season it felt more obvious. There was an undeniable leaning towards [nature] or taking nature as a direct inspiration,” said Charisse Kenion, a video journalist and host of The Charisse Report podcast and Substack newsletter.

Struck by the numerous ways in which the industry—specifically fashion’s luxury sector—opted for more organic aesthetics in place of highly editorialized perfection or polish, Kenion noticed this already emerging trend begin to gain rapid traction following the most recent global fashion month.

From Chanel’s diamond-encrusted birdcage earrings and Schiaparelli’s playful yet literal take on the kitten heel silhouette, to Gucci’s floral-printed shift dresses and Dior’s bright green strappy sandals ornamented with large lily pads, many physical garments incorporated nods to plants and animals in the form of crafty apparel and accessory design.

Additionally, several designer runway shows—from brands such as Chanel, Valentino and Hermès—were detailed with faux mushrooms, grass, moss and trees reminiscent of tranquil woods and untouched land.

So why is there an overwhelming propensity towards Mother Earth and what is it about the serenity of nature and the innocence of animals that is enticing modern consumers as they seek out their next purchase?

While, at first blush, this shift towards earthly elements may seem random, Madé Lapuerta, the online creator behind the popular fashion analytics Instagram account @databutmakeitfashion, attributes the trend towards a brewing rise in romanticism among all pillars of popular culture.

According to research done by Lapuerta who recently shared her findings in a post on social media, an analysis of Google and Pinterest search traffic found that searches for florals have grown, on average, around 36% higher when compared to spring of last year.

This, she goes on to explain, is a result of romance’s recent dominance in music, television, literature and film—citing an additional piece of Google search term data that reveals the phrase “romance” reached a five-year-high only a few months previous.

“Romance… has been showing up in culture all around us,” Lapuerta wrote. “Like in Olivia Rodrigo’s music video for her latest single, drop dead, which features the singer dancing around the Palace of Versailles wearing a pastel-colored Chloé top and bloomers. Or how Bruno Mars recently released a new album, quite literally titled The Romantic. Or, of course, how romantic storylines have been seen in abundance across media from ‘Wuthering Heights’ to Bridgerton to Heated Rivalry.”

However, while Lapuerta attributes this alignment to nature to a rise in romanticism, Kenion tends to agree with the theory that the shift is in response to an overwhelm of technological advancement and a severe rejection of artificial intelligence—with the focus on nature acting as a counterpoint or grounding force against the increasing reliance on digital tools.

“The reason consumers are drawn to them is because fundamentally nature reminds us that we are living, breathing humans,” she explained. “At a time when our phones are a portal to devastation and global trauma, anything that reminds us of the here and now, particularly when created with a sense of humour or dare I say it, whimsy, we can have a visceral reaction that simply makes us feel good.”

Strengthening this argument is the less literal interpretations of nature Kenion spotted during fashion month, with brands instead adhering to imperfect presentations of their designs—quite like the natural world’s random, sporadic and unrefined layout and structure.

“With shows such as Marc Jacobs, there were these glitches—shoes not matching, makeup not matching—that were there to remind us we are human and we make mistakes,” she described. “Unlike AI, which of course promises smooth, flawless perfection.”

However, despite the popularity of this newfound nature-adhering trend, does the unshakable irony in the popularization of man-made natural aesthetics delegitimize the movement? And are there any positives that come from this mass-alignment to natures’ colors, textures and aesthetics that don’t involve a fresh-looking, yet conventional drive towards blind consumerism?

Despite these unanswered questions keeping the trend from delevering a culture-shocking level of change, Kenion shared a hopeful perspective on why the shift may just be the simple, soothing new distraction consumers are looking for.

“If anything I’m just hopeful they will inspire people to actually get outside and smell the air, touch the grass and remember that life goes on, even when it feels especially trying,” she said.