Mushroom prints and motifs have been an emerging trend since at least the spring ’21 shows, but this season, many designers went all in, using mushrooms as their main inspiration in a variety of spring ’22 collections. Retro mushroom prints, which include halter tops or flared pants from the 1970s, have given way to vegan mushroom leather. This trend is also a continuation of popular trends like halter tops or flared pants.
Monse’s New York Fashion Week IRL return was last month. Designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia took a break from their usual palette of stripes and bold minimalism to showcase mushroom prints on everything, from asymmetrical skirts to silk dresses and chunky cardigans to boldly minimalistic pieces. The designers shared with Vogue that the concept of escape – both physical and figurative – was a major inspiration in this collection.
Rodarte featured mushrooms in party-ready looks. Two flowing dresses in balloon hemlines were presented by the Mulleavy sisters, which featured flowing caps and flowing gowns in pastel colors. The capes had multicolor fungi art that their mother hand-drawn. Meanwhile, Brandon Maxwell’s collection took party-dressing to another level with mushroom shapes that featured women’s legs as stalks. For more casual users dressers, Maxwell showed sweaters and T-shirts with mushroom prints, paired with metallic, disco-ready skirts and jackets, as well as psychedelic ’70s prints.
The latest addition to a slew of psychedelic prints, including mushrooms, has been featured on TikTok as well as Instagram. Prints are . The prints are a reference to ’60s/’70s trends such as cartoonish florals, cow print, and undulating strips. They are done in pastels and bright colors and adorn many Y2K styles like minidresses and low-rise bottoms.
Stella McCartney stated that mushrooms were the main inspiration of her collection, which was presented to a soundtrack featuring the amplified sounds from wild mushrooms. The statement was a commentary on the role of mushrooms in the future of fashion (they’re great for making sustainable materials, by the way!). These are just a few of the many ways humans can look to mushrooms to learn how to live together. McCartney presented vegan leather pieces made from mycelium, which is derived from mushrooms with a new “Icon” bag. McCartney made a statement that connected mushrooms to the fashion industry. “What you see today on the runway is the conscious fashion industry tomorrow.”
