Ankle socks or no-show socks? As the Gen Z vs millennials debate rages on, stars from Kendall Jenner to Hailey Bieber, and brands such as Chanel and Prada, are having fun experimenting
Miu Miu, Fendi and Simone Rocha have sheer socks and leg warmers, while Versace and Balenciaga have coloured tights recalling the 60s heyday of Twiggy and Mary Quant
The internet loves nothing more than an intergenerational debate. One of the most divisive of 2024? Socks. Or, more precisely, the length of your socks.
According to Gen Z, it is blatantly, unbearably millennial to wear ankle socks (or, shudder, no-show socks). Instead, as evidenced by the queens of today, models Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber, socks should be crew length – minimum.
A quick scan of the street-style set outside fashion runways over the past few seasons shows the sock wars are in full swing, worn with everything from loafers to platform sandals. As with many trends, Miuccia Prada was ahead of the curve: in recent shows Prada has paired black crew socks with shiny black brogues and printed silk midi-skirts, and at sister brand Miu Miu in Paris last season, footless leg warmers with aquamarine pumps.
Elsewhere this season at Simone Rocha, there were socks embellished with carnations and, at Fendi, ethereal sheer socks worn scrunched down and beaded with crystals. The point being, when it comes to socks, anything goes.
The same can be said for statement tights. It hasn’t been such a boom time for them since London in the swinging 60s when the likes of Mary Quant paired colourful opaque tights with signature minis, and British model Twiggy, style icon of the era, came out with her own line of colourful tights.
For the Chanel couture show in January, models wore sheeny white opaque tights with almost every look, while this season’s knockout hosiery moments included the kinky little lacy white stay-ups worn with lingerie-like looks at Balenciaga, and Gigi Hadid sashaying elegantly down the runway at Versace in sheer red tights paired with a one-shouldered blue and brown floral dress.
Another major tights moment came during London Fashion Week at Nensi Dojaka, where the designer’s signature delicately sensual yet empowering designs included sheer black tights threaded through with a wilting rose. For Dojaka, tights have long been important to her aesthetic, a through line from her sheer, fragile designs.
“Since the first catwalk collection – autumn/winter 2020 – tights have become an important part of [the] brand’s DNA. I think it started off as a way to complete a look involving a minidress while still keeping it light and delicate,” she says.