A Conversation with Gen Z's Most Fashionable Woman
Savannah Eden Bradley chats with me about her favorite and least favorite aesthetics, what to expect in Summer 2024, and indie designers to discover
I spoke with Savannah Eden Bradley, the 24-year-old (“Capricorn Sun / Libra Moon / Gemini Rising,” she adds) editor-in-chief of Haloscope and creative consultant. I’d been a personal fan of hers for a while now, and always loved her fashion takes because she combines critical analysis of high-end runway designers with the regular, everyday trends and brands that people are wearing in real life. She’s super talented, funny, and of course, stylish. I hope you enjoy this conversation!
What is your all-time favorite and least fashion aesthetic?
I’m dumb for Boho Chic, but it has to be evinced, studied, mastered. You stray too far from center field and end up in Mormon Mommy Blogger territory (bad) or Zumiez du jour turf (even worse). I adore shaggy fur coats, beat-up pocketbooks, knee-high leather boots, worn-in denim, rumpled linen kaftans, razzles of gold jewelry. Very old-school Olsen Twins. Always delicious.
My least favorite? Y2K. Irony is never creatively sustainable — every local Goodwill, now, has at least one Juicy Couture-inspired Shein velvet tracksuit on its racks. People are slowly realizing why we abandoned low-rise jeans 20 years ago. I’d like to bribe the undertaker on this one.
If Pantone's color of the year was completely up to you, what would it be? If you have a Pantone code that's even better :)
If I’m being diplomatic, it’s probably Brat Green, right (2292 XGC)? Leandra Medine Cohen predicted that Slime green is the new red! a couple of months ago; I didn’t agree with it then, but now I guess I’m publicly eating crow. I don’t like it at all, really. That particular shade of green tickles a far-back, gummy recess in my brain, like when you know you’re going to throw up in the back of an Uber or when you realize a childhood friend is balding.
If I got to decide and everyone had to listen to me, the Color of the Year would be PMS 14-3912 TPG, AKA Zen Blue. Peaceful and full of possibilities. We’re in a denim renaissance and I think it also speaks to what middle America is still wearing — the Coastal Cowgirl of it all. The last great color year was when Pantone chose the similar Serenity Blue and Rose Quartz as a pair (2016).
What do you see as the main trends, aesthetics, etc, for Summer 2024?
We are on the crest of mass Carrie Bradshaw psychosis. I mostly blame TikTok for this. Everyone wants to wear outré outfits, drown themselves in leopard print, and buy Canal Street Fendi baguettes. I’m thinking of when Jemima Kirke said that most people are thinking about themselves too much. Main Character Syndrome is very real and affects millions of Americans every year. More and more people are going to be dressing like randomized Sims this summer because they want to be trendsetters, which takes vision, work, and — most importantly — thoughtful engagement with fashion. You’re never going to be Carrie Bradshaw if you’re shopping at Zara. I’m going to take a cue from Kylie Brakeman and also call this Normcore Pagliacci.
I think we’re also going to get a second coming of Rockstar Girlfriend, if not for the moto jackets and the trucker hats and the tiny bloomer shorts and that one picture of Kate Moss at Glastonbury on everybody’s mood boards. It’s born from the same primordial sludge as Normcore Pagliacci — dressing to be envied.
Item-wise (as reported by Rachel Tashjian Wise in Opulent Tips), all the UES older women are wearing weird straw hats, tall and upturned at the brim. Jacquemus for people who remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. I don’t know if this’ll trickle down to the young folks, but I like it.
What about Fall/Winter 2024?
We’re overdue for a Sexy Après-Ski moment. We almost got there last year, thanks to the no-pants-thick-tights tick and that one ‘60s-inspired Skims winter campaign. I’m imagining a second wave of the Loewe puffer, leather gloves, ushankas, snowy eyeshadows, lots of sheer textures in the freezing cold. If 2024 has taught us anything, it’s that luxury experiences are more desirable than garments (from The Row’s no-phones FW24 show to everyone online suddenly summering in Europe). The idea that me, someone who can’t ride a bike, let alone ski, could fly to Aspen at any moment? How divine.
ALSO: remember that ghastly moment in 2019 when people wore bike shorts with blazers? We’re going to get that again, too. Long coats, boring baseball hats, trenches over sweatsuits, tiny little sunglasses, coffee-as-accessory, “earscapes.” The Prodigal Girlboss cannot die… she is simply reborn.
What supposedly "dated" trend or item will you never stop loving?
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