Cult trends and “It” pieces are nothing new. Season after season we gasp when, materialised on our screens we see that thing has actually become a THING. Need me to jog your memory? Think Anna Della Russo dressed head-to-toe in Moschino’s iconographic McDonald’s collection. 

Timing is everything with cult pieces. Wait too long and you can look more fashion victim than plate (YSL Tribute shoe anyone?). It’s all about identifying the cult before the entire world is onto it. So what is the catalyst that elevates an item to cult status? Elements of perversity and humour are the key cult-triggers – inject a touch of pop culture or mass market and you’ve got yourself some serious fire credentials.

“It can be the buzz behind something totally unexpected or irreverent, as Vetements achieved with the DHL top,” says Eva Galambos, director and buyer of internationally renowned luxury boutique, Parlour X, where you can find some of the world’s most coveted fashion pieces in Sydney. “However, enduring cult status, as witnessed with the Valentino Rockstud shoe or bag, can come from turning convention on its head. When Valentino – a feminine-focused brand famous for its embroidery, elegance and softness incorporated the hard edge stud, it heralded an exciting change of perception that quickly earned cult status.”

Here, some of our most loved (and loathed) cult trends of the season

1. THE IRONIC HOODIE. Or, as I like to call it: “I fled a Rebel Sport change room half-dressed during an emergency”. A long-held style staple of sporty types, marauding youths and computer geeks, the ironic hoodie is now, thanks in no small part to Vetements, firmly entrenched in the high fashion psyche. (Ideally, plastered with playfully rebellious slogans and paired with a chic skirt.)

Vetements A/W 16

 

A photo posted by Chiara Ferragni (@chiaraferragni) on Feb 22, 2016 at 6:06am PST