The Best (and Most Polarizing) Fashion Developments of 2025

This week, we’re looking back on the best art, music, food, movies and more from the year. See our entire Best of 2025 guide here.

Trends ebb and flow faster than ever now. In 2025, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion cycle moved so quickly that when a new trend emerged, you were tasked with immediately deciding if you loved it or hated it, lest you be left out of the loop altogether.

From avant-garde footwear to plush collectibles, the most talked-about trends of the year were both polarizing and coveted in equal measure. Here are five fashion developments from 2025 that just might have had you feeling conflicted.

Tabi shoes: Good hoof or bad hoof?

Tabi footwear has long occupied the space between cultural influence and contemporary high-fashion experimentation, with designers like Maison Mergiela bringing the style into the mainstream. A bold reinterpretation for 2025, the split-toe leather shoe is inspired by traditional Japanese tabi socks often worn with thonged footwear like zori or geta sandals.

At a quick glance, the shoe’s silhouette is unassuming, but it’s the details that matter. Just like the shoe, consumers are split down the middle on this hoof-like design.

Athleisure + the barre = ballet flat sneakers

Fashion enthusiasts aren’t strangers to the “broquette” style, which blends a sporty aesthetic with a feminine coquette twist. Think jerseys, soccer shorts, bows and kitten heels paired with striped sporty socks. It was probably inevitable that the sneaker and ballet flat would fuse into a “sneakerina” shoe, offering a ballerina-inspired feel with the benefit of comfort.

Brands like Puma, Onitsuka Tiger and Miu Miu all have variations of the coveted ballet sneaker, though you can universally expect a rubber sole and some kind of securing strap or lace. Bella Hadid, whose divisive style sparks discourse about what fashion-forward really looks like, has been spotted with the statement sneaker on, sparking the debate on whether or not the sneakerina is actually chic or just a shameless addition to your wardrobe.

OK, fine, let’s talk Labubus

Labubus, Crybabys, Skull Pandas and other small stuffed key chains adorned purse straps, backpack zippers and belt loops worldwide in 2025. The argument for these tiny toys: There’s nothing wrong with engaging in a little childlike whimsy. They’re a conversation starter, a form of self-expression. So why have they been so polarizing?

Much of the debate stems from how fans of this trend are acquiring them through luck-of-the-draw blind boxes. This mechanic encourages people to buy multiples, just in case they don’t get the one they were hoping for. This raises the question: Are we healing our inner child by finding joy in small toys, or have we succumbed to overconsumption yet again?

Purse accessories aren’t new, but exclusivity played a major role in the rising fame of these products. Labubus, the brainchild of Kasing Lung, made their keychain-form debut in collaboration with Pop Mart in 2019 and became popular across Asia. By the time they reached Western mainstream trends, they were already a global phenomenon. With Pop Mart’s drops selling out quickly, a new market has been introduced for resellers.

With certain collectible toys suddenly deemed “rare,” it only made sense that those who secured one found ways to show it off.

Bubble skirts: Tutus, but make it fashion

Are we just gravitating towards the ballerina aesthetic for everyday wear now? Reminiscent of a tutu, the bubble skirt circled back from the early 2000s to become a defining trend in 2025. Puffed hems and exaggerated volume make them hard to miss, and embracing them as a statement piece allows wearers to make their outfit visually interesting (though some may think it’s too interesting).

Pushing back against past seasons’ hyper-minimalist trends of slicked-back hair and “no-makeup” makeup looks, the bubble skirt – whether in a maxi, midi or mini length – treads the space between confidently expressive and unapologetically extra.

The iPhone Pocket: A $230 sock?

What a way to end the year. Just when we thought Apple had made its big polarizing statement by designing a camera that dominates the top half of the iPhone 17, the company introduced a new accessory for carrying your device: the iPhone Pocket. A collaboration between Apple and Japanese luxury brand Issey Miyake – who did, in fact, design Steve Jobs’ turtlenecks – the knit-sock-resembling iPhone pocket comes in eight different colors.

The biggest issue is the price point. Retailing at about $150 for the short-strap version and $230 for the long strap, the pocket — reminiscent of the iPod Sock — isn’t a functional necessity so much as another product to add to your Apple ecosystem. Nevertheless, despite having just dropped in November, it’s completely sold out.