by It happened in Paris on a gray February day.
Sienna Miller was in an oversized black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and stunning clumpy wedges. Around her, women wore crochet skirts, some were capacious and wore leather sack bags while many were bundled up in beige suede. No, this wasn’t in February 2005 but earlier this year, when the boho-chic army had a reunion outside the Chloé show.
Inside, their new creative director Chemena Kamali struck the hippy gong. Backed by Cloudbusting Kate Bush, her debut collection was a wave of off-the-shoulder, floaty and frilly chiffon dresses in icy blues and brown iterations. They were paired with clanging gold pendants, cashmere capes, over the knee leather boots, an array of white lace and Jane Birkin flared jeans.
He flew. WGSN’s trend forecaster discovered that “Kamali’s debut for Chloé cemented the boho commercial result”. He managed to set off a chain reaction (belt) that saw Miller, Kate Moss and the Olsen twins going to the Noughties (as pins from pins Anita Pallenberg, Stevie Nicks et al) were revived from their dress up festival. coffin box – and repackaged as the most influential trend this season.
Miller followed suit over the summer, repurposing some of Chloé Kamali’s looks that she flaunted during her Horizon: An American Saga press tour for a Haight-Ashbury-adjacent M&S in June. “I think everyone looks great there,” she told the press at the time. “This [new] a boho take on the kind of thing that was naff back then. Some of the nineties, early 2000s designer coordinates and small glasses. I think people look beautiful in floaty things, I really don’t care.”
There was no shortage of celebrity endorsements, either. Daisy Edgar-Jones’ stylish outing on Twisters had a handful of boho moments engineered by Chloé, joining fellow fans Jennifer Lopez, Greta Gerwig, Suki Waterhouse and – at the Democratic National Convention – even Kamala Harris. OK, she was wearing a dress: but it belonged to Kamali and, by the end of August, the brand and the boho had started to feel as synonymous as they had when Phoebe Philo was at the helm (the heady days between 2001 and 2006).
Then came the royal approval. The Princess of Wales released her sepia-toned short film exploring forests in floaty frocks as she told the world she was cancer free. One linen printed dress Veronica beard especially hit the mood. A spokesperson at Lyst confirmed that the trend saw a “significant boost” after the film’s release this month. Searches for “Veronica Beard dresses” are up 63 percent, while those for boho are up 86 percent this quarter.
How to withdraw it
To wear the look – historically a spring/summer favorite – in autumn, it’s not a stretch to think of the typical staples and then add a few layers. “It’s in the manufacturing and the accessories,” says Kate Benson, buying director at Net-A-Porter. “Leather jackets, knitwear and knee-high boots pair back to the whimsical chiffon dress you wore in the summer, while a ruffled blouse works as well with jeans and a flared wool jacket as it does with denim shorts. For autumn/winter, complete your look with a suede finish, and focus on rich seasonal colors such as chocolate brown and burgundy.”
You should have no trouble finding the ingredients across the high street. The John Lewis offer, in particular, has halved. Its design director, Queralt Ferrer, explains: “We are at the forefront of forecasting upcoming trends here at John Lewis so it was essential to include ruffles and floaty fabrics that embodied the effortless boho look within our AW24 collections.” One such ruffle dress in peach, which is out in mid-October, is a sure seller, and Ferrer recommends checking out her new suede selection which ranges from a fringe jacket, £249, to a trench, £399, and a midi skirt, £199 .
M&S has a moss green Per Una frock, £89, out in October; and Free People, which refers to itself as “a destination for bohemian fashion and one-of-a-kind clothing”, has everything from chunky cardigans to year-round white tiered linen skirts to a pair of cowboy boots now with a heavy buckle. biker boots when the ice inevitably comes. Mango has an exhaustive selection of poet blouses (one is snake-print eyelash, £109) and Charlotte Simone is West London, Portobello Market-goers’ first stop for shaggy Mongolian lambswool coats as worn by Lila Moss, Charli XCX and Dua Lipa.
For many of Gen Z who aren’t old enough to remember the mid-Noughties, the buzz sent them back to the fashion history books. On TikTok there are more than 200,000 videos tagged #bohostyle, and influencer Parisa Louvel (@badkidhq on Instagram, where she has 203K followers) has increased interest in her mix and match outfits. “Boho chic is back and people have rediscovered Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who were the leaders of the early 2000s,” she says. “Everyone is buying pre-loved items and boho is easy for that.” On her style tips: “The better it looks like you’ve tried it. Also lots of bangles and rings – you want to look like a band when you make your entrance. Big glasses are a must, and so is undone hair.”
Those in their teens and early twenties sifting through the archives will have discovered Matthew Williamson’s era-defining shows, helping pioneer bohemian luxe for Moss and Miller back in the day.
Now an interior designer, he reflects, “It’s been a long time since the Noughties to feel fresh again.” He agrees that for anyone trying to achieve the look, “vintage would be a good place to start. Think hard and soft together, like leather and lace, or classic textures like sheepskin and leopard print.” As for its appeal, he explains, “Bohemian dressing brings back a very seductive attitude and way of life – my friend Sienna Miller has always had this approach to dressing and I’m not surprised she’s rocked the look.”
What else? Jessica Seddon, senior strategist at WGSN, thinks that “the boho trend will change and become darker and grungy. We’re already seeing witchy and goth trends coming through, and the aesthetics are rooted in boho.” The ghost of Sienna? It’s Halloween, after all.
