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After four years of fashion school, followed by several more years of recapping fashion shows from the not-quite-front row, I thought I was done with trends and their fickleness.
Oh, how wrong I was.
As it turns out, I was not immune to my FYP algorithms, where I was sold fantasies of how I, too, could look like these famous and supposedly well-dressed tastemakers if I bought into what they (and their sponsors) were selling.
Since finding your personal style is a journey - and not something you can shortcut by clicking “add to cart” on everything an internet rando recommends - it’s worth saying upfront: your mileage may vary on whether any of the trends below work for you.
With that out of the way, here are some trends I enjoyed, and others that taught me a lesson in blind trust.
Absolute trend-pilled
Most of the trends in this category are either things I already subscribe to or ones that pleasantly surprised me after a fitting-room reckoning. Either way, my wardrobe holds space for them.
As someone who regularly lugs around ludicrously capacious handbags, this felt like vindication - in Italian calfskin and French je ne sais quoi.
Dubbed Big Ass Bag (BAB) by TikTok, the movement toward one ginormous purse, rather than distributing your belongings across multiple bags - felt like collective enlightenment.
Whether it’s a Longchamp Le Pliage Cuir for blending in with commuters, a Phoebe Philo-era Céline Phantom for brunch or a 20-year-old YSL Muse for when Y2K nostalgia strikes, I always rely on a bag organizer. No one enjoys fishing for a cardholder while holding up the Indomaret lunch rush.
Men carrying tote bags isn’t new, but apparently many young men are only now warming to alternatives beyond pockets or toddler-sized backpacks.
Working in media means I’m perpetually surrounded by free cloth totes from press events, while my Gen Z sister only steals the museum and gallery ones.
They’re not luxe, they’re practical - especially when it rains. Shielding yourself with a Proenza Schouler satchel is generally ill-advised.
While my BABs can handle an emergency grocery run short of a 5-kilogram sack of rice, sometimes a tote bag is simply forward-thinking. Being clocked as a performative male is the price you pay for convenience.
Large-and-in-charge, wide-leg trousers staging a comeback has been a welcome release from the skinny-jean chokehold of my teenage years.
Since my body doesn't resemble a runway model’s, balance is key: a fitted top with wide pants, or an oversized sweater with slightly bootcut jeans for shape.
Opt for genuinely wide silhouettes in structured fabrics - the flare looks intentional rather than helpless. Color matters, too, as I learned the hard way with a Zara pair that made me look like a delinquent high schooler mid-identity crisis.
Do not fall for the propaganda
I tried these trends. They either didn’t suit me or my lifestyle. Perhaps in another city, in a different timeline.
I love the idea of Jane Birkin-ing my very-not-Birkin bag as much as the next fashion victim. But I take public transportation, and dangling trinkets have a habit of catching on strangers’ windbreakers.
Exceptions can be made if those dangly bits are secure enough, but I’d rather not post a public plea after losing something sentimental.
My sister learned this the hard way when a K-pop photocard fell victim to the MRT-KRL commute. Somewhere between Bendungan Hilir and Sudirman, the ball chain loosened. The supposedly rare photocard disappeared into a sea of dead-eyed office workers, never to be recovered, despite her online pleas.
At least it’s not a tumbler, I suppose.
Quiet luxury allegedly died, harked my FYP page. Next in succession line: maximalism, clashing prints, loud colors and logo-heavy looks that double as free advertising.
This isn’t new, but I couldn’t pull it off this time around. In fashion school, maximalism practically guarantees street-style attention. Outside that bubble, it started feeling like wearing a costume.
Maybe I lack the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to pull the style off. But my main takeaway: If you’re going loud, anchor it with one statement piece. Ideally one strong enough to theoretically distract people from the fact that you’re wearing four slightly different shades of black.
In what The Guardian dubbed “thigh guy summer”, rising hemlines came for men everywhere - a boon for those suffering from the tropical heat.
This, too, is a me-problem. Despite Jakarta’s humidity, I’ve never been able to pull off shorts at any length. I flirted with the idea after an IPL hair-removal session, but one trip to the fitting room shut it down quickly.
I did, however, find peace in Uniqlo culottes: breezy enough for city movement, cropped enough to avoid mysterious Palmerah puddles and long enough to show off my shoes. The best part? An elastic waistband at the back.
