Pillbox! Soft Caps! 2024 Is Set to Be the Year of the Hat

We’ve been deep in discussions about how we have entered a new age of elegant fashion. Silhouettes are shifting with the onset of A-line shapes, cigarette pants, and nipped-in jackets. The popularity of pieces like evening coats and tailored skirt sets is starting to make fashion feel more mature and grown-up. Accessories, too, are taking on more refined forms with the arrival of sophisticated bags, long leather gloves, and satin heels. Designers and fashion insiders alike are also endorsing hats in such a significant way that we are predicting 2024 will be the year of the hat.

What is noteworthy about the hats on the runways and the street style scene is how different they feel from everyday styles like baseball caps. Designers, instead, are making the case for silhouettes that practically feel like they’re plucked from another era entirely. They recall a time when pillbox hats were de rigueur, milliners were on speed dial, and there was a sense of formality about getting dressed up before leaving the house. Speaking with Net-a-Porter buying manager, Lydia Zacharis, during London Fashion Week, she made the case that hats are also bringing personality pieces back to our wardrobes and I happen to agree. With all of the conversations about quiet luxury in the past year and the influx of pared-back minimalism in our closets, it’s about time to add some personality back to our wardrobes! Hats may just be the starting point.

In the spring/summer 2024 collections, Pieter Muller sent models down the Alaïa runway in flat, boxy hats that rested on top of their heads. The Row endorsed soft, sculpted driver-style hats in shades of white and onyx. Prada—always a barometer of what is next—dressed all 47 models on the runway in wide, wrapped headband-style caps.

Soft, sculpted wool hats are a key buy—endorsed by The Row and on the street style scene.

Structured shapes like this flat-top hat from Alaïa are set to dominate in 2024.

Jumping forward to the fall/winter 2024 collections, Altuzarra made the case for pillbox hats while Prada introduced styles designed with sculpted velvet and colorful feathers. Schiaparelli brought back a new version of the brand’s surrealist shoe-hat and Chloé made the case for pillowy headbands. Fforme doubled-down on soft knit caps and Chanel brought dramatic straw hats with turned-back rims to the runway.

You may already have beanies in your closet, but we’re seeing the soft hats styled more like a swim cap.

Perhaps one of the most interesting observations about the hats we’re seeing on the runways is how they are translating to looks on social media feeds and the street style scene. Fashion insiders have adopted hats into their wardrobes in ways that range from casual and low-key to sophisticated and nostalgic. The message is clear that no matter how they’re styled, these personality pieces are set to define fashion in 2024.