Runway looks that made me question if I’ve been dressing predictably and boringly

I have good days and bad days, but I like to think of myself as creative, and that my often playful imagination is reflected in my clothing. Yet, even though I always strive to make my outfits look anything but predictable or boring, that doesn’t mean my choices aren’t bound by a set of rules. For instance, it never occurs to me to wear two different shoes, and I make sure both my socks match perfectly. Pairing blue and black still feels somewhat controversial, as if I’ve betrayed all the fashion principles instilled in me by “our elders.” And whenever I wear a shirt, I always make sure my jacket doesn’t have the same type of collar.

Whenever I’m in the mood for philosophical musings about life (and fashion), which is often, I find myself wondering exactly where all these rules come from. Does anyone truly think “outside the box,” or are we just playing within a strictly fenced playground where some laws simply cannot be broken? Considering we’re only talking about clothing, and not tax evasion or recklessly driving past a kindergarten, I’ll say this upfront: of course you can wear two different shoes. Even if you don’t care about your neighbors’ stares, the issue isn’t courage; it’s that, because of deeply internalized rules, we don’t even think we could break them. It simply never occurs to us how we might do it. From childhood, we put on our pants the same way, shoes only on our feet, and hands through sleeves. But do we really have to wear them only like that?

By questioning everything we’ve “learned” so far and boldly twisting the rules, the runways of recent seasons have provided the perfect reason for these reflections. Enough to make me wonder why I wear my clothes the way I do—and what might happen if I tried something different.

#1 Clothing worn backwards

Wearing clothes backwards, or turned inside out to reveal the inner seams, isn’t a new idea. This design maneuver has long been favored by designers who made deconstruction a signature part of their work, such as Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, and Yohji Yamamoto. In recent seasons, however, clothing worn backwards has taken on a new twist, prompting us to question why we always wear our coats the same way and fasten our pants at the front. Zomer, a rising brand led by Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha, based their entire Fall 2025 collection on this concept, while brands like A.W.A.K.E. MODE and Ottolinger joined the trend by placing the back of jeans at the front.

#2 Layers on layers

Every time I travel to Copenhagen during Fashion Week, I’m reminded of how much I love layering. Playing with layers opens up endless possibilities for creating an outfit that doesn’t look predictable or boring, yet even in this experimentation, I stick to a few unspoken rules. For instance, I never wear two dresses at once, and I make sure I have only one garment with a collar on me. But judging by the runways, none of these rules seem to apply anymore. Miuccia Prada has been combining double collars in her Miu Miu and Prada collections for seasons, and recently she’s been pushing boundaries with new stylistic interventions—introducing a garment that balances between a dress and a skirt, a perfect “tool” for layering. Belgian designer Meryll Rogge, on the other hand, does something I probably would never have thought of herself: she layers dresses of almost identical lengths on top of each other, playing with the transparency of the materials.

#3 Unbuttoned Pants

OK, I have my own moral dilemmas with this trend. While it might seem like a funky style trick (and we’ve already seen this summer how much it caught on with younger generations), I’m simply not comfortable with the idea of walking down the street in unbuttoned pants. Dario Vitale, in his first (and only) collection for Versace, sent models down the runway in unbuttoned jeans with belts that looked as if they’d been forgotten to be fastened, while others, like Issey Miyake and Haderlump, presented somewhat “more modest” versions—luckily, there were another pair of pants underneath the unbuttoned ones.

#4 Imaginatively styled cardigans

Cardigans and knits have been a particular source of inspiration for fashion houses in recent seasons—and I mean in the way we wear them. Sleeves that we would normally wear (hmm…) on our arms suddenly become free; we tie them across the chest or let them drape freely alongside our biceps, we layer two different cardigans together, or connect them with brooches in completely unexpected ways. And if you ask Miuccia Prada, she’ll show you how her Miu Miu spring version doesn’t even have sleeves—and, of course, it’s worn as one of the layers.

#5 Lace bras as an unexpected fashion accessory

Wearing lingerie so that it isn’t hidden, but instead becomes an integral part of a visible outfit, is by no means new—and one could even say it has stopped being controversial. Bras peeking out from under oversized blazers or visible beneath “naked” dresses, as well as panties used in the pantless trend, have long accustomed us to the idea that underwear isn’t something to hide from the eyes of passersby. Although I’ve accepted that my vintage lace bra under a sheer top can look both stylish and flirty, it never occurred to me to wear that same bra as a fashion accessory. Vaquera took this idea to the extreme: in their Fall 2025 collection, they presented oversized vintage-style bras worn like a tiara. Junya Watanabe was a bit more subtle, yet his design followed a similar logic—he adorned a spring dress from his collection with bras hanging from it like ornaments.