2020 was a year that called for athleisure – and lots of it – alongside DIY beauty treatments, dressing from the waist up, and focusing on eye makeup as lipsticks everywhere sat neglected for obvious reasons.

But between the prevalence of working remotely and seemingly endless days of wearing face masks in our future, don’t expect 2021 to look drastically different when it comes to fashion and beauty. Here’s a peek into what’s ahead.

All by Myself

A collective cheer was heard across the country when salons reopened, but the likes of DIY waxing and at-home hair colour will continue to prevail across the globe. The reason? People are still cautious about exposing themselves to situations where getting up close and personal is required. That means (even) more views for DIY beauty tutorials on YouTube and TikTok – using socks for soft hair curls is surprisingly effective. And along those same lines, spending more time at home will translate to wearing less makeup, and focusing on skincare instead. Heavy coverage, overcontouring, and permanent eyebrow tattoos will be replaced with lightweight foundation and more natural beauty looks.

Easy Does It

But first, comfort – there, you’ve just discovered the dress code of 2021. Athleisure will continue to dominate fashion as several parts of the world continue to live in partial or complete lockdowns circa now. But we’re unlikely to spend the months ahead in sweatpants. Instead, a relaxed sensibility will take over, so expect to see the likes of quality loungewear, sweater vests, less structured suits, and wide-leg trousers on the runways and in high-street stores. Our sartorial choices will be more practical, too. No one knows when life will return to normal – if ever – so think classics, wardrobe staples, and seasonless items that you won’t regret later.

Him, Her, Them

Unsurprisingly, unisex jewellery will continue to gain traction in 2021, as celebrities like Shawn Mendes and Harry Styles prove that restrictive mindsets towards gender are changing. And major fashion labels are keeping up. Bvlgari’s B.Zero1 Rock collection is edgy, cool, and glamorous, while Louis Vuitton’s LV Volt pieces feature sharp lines contrasted by soft, smooth contours in order to offer infinite combinations for seamless mixing and matching. The key to pulling off gender-fluid jewellery? Keep it simple. This is not the time nor place to pile it on, and a slightly industrial finish works best.

Nip/Tuck

Just like maskne, covidiot, and quaranteam entered our everyday vernacular in 2020, so did ‘Zoom face’ – or an acute awareness of all the little imperfections on our faces that we were previously oblivious to, courtesy of all those video-conference calls. But it wasn’t just women opting for cosmetic procedures like Botox, fillers, neck liposuctions, and tightening facelifts. Men got on the bandwagon, too. Experts predict that the trend will carry over into 2021 as not only will meetings and social celebrations continue to occur virtually, but Zoom face sufferers will also want to exploit the downtime to recover at home without having to disclose what they’ve had done.

Opposites Attract

“Of course,” is how jaded people responded when Pantone announced grey – Ultimate Grey 17-1504 to be exact – as 2021’s colour of the year. After all, a colour associated with gloom and doom felt like an apt choice after the year we’ve just survived. However, it has paired grey with Illuminating 13-0647, a shade of yellow selected as the two together represent “strength and positivity”. What this means for your wardrobe is that more appearances by these hues as the fashion industry looks to Pantone as the global authority on colour trend forecasting. In fact, some fashion houses are way ahead of the curve. Several shades of grey were spotted on Balmain’s Spring 2021 runway, while Prada’s Spring 2021 collection was set against an allyellow backdrop. ✤