Forget Shorts—This ’80s Skirt Trend Is Back and Better
Yes, fashion is cyclical, but it’s forever moving forward. To say that spring 2025’s bubble skirts and dresses are “revisiting the 1980s” would be an oversimplification that does them—and all the chic, bubble-hemmed fashions that preceded the decade’s garish prom dresses—a disservice. This season’s styles show a distinct shift away from kitschy ’80s aesthetics. And clearly, it’s working.
According to Cash App Afterpay data gathered from thousands of shoppers, purchases of bubble skirts are up 742 percent year-over-year. Purchases of bubble dresses are up a slightly less mind-boggling, but still noteworthy, 176 percent.
“While perhaps most associated with the 1980s era, the puffed-out, balloon-like silhouette finds precedence in the styles of centuries past,” Cassidy Zachary, co-host of the podcast Dressed: The History of Fashion, tells ELLE. She says the bulbous shapes seen on the spring runways of Marc Jacobs, Alaïa, Chloé, JW Anderson, and others are reminiscent of robe à la polonaise gowns popular throughout the 1780s, as well as peplums and tiered overskirts designed by Jeanne Lanvin and Paul Poiret in the early 1910s.
Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2025
Actress Joan Clement wearing a Jeanne Lanvin bubble dress in 1923
“But it’s really the maestro of cut and form himself, Cristobal Balenciaga, who can be credited with giving full expression to the bubble-shaped silhouette as early as 1950,” says Zachary. “While history remembers these voluminous, puffed masterpieces as ‘balloons,’ they’re absolutely what we would recognize as the trending bubble hem of today.” Pierre Cardin and Christian Dior also experimented with balloon dresses and bubble skirts throughout the decade.
Though this season’s top styles may channel the elegance of 20th-century eveningwear, most are clearly intended for daytime wear. Patou and Miaou’s puffball mini skirts are crafted from crisp cotton instead of taffeta, and Cinq à Sept and Aritzia’s low-slung maxis are meant to be paired with worn-in Adidas Sambas and basic tanks instead of corsages and bad perms.
Patou Spring/Summer 2025
Chloé Spring/Summer 2025
When it comes to dresses, billowing gathered-hem silhouettes, like those seen on Chloé and Stella McCartney’s spring runways, are quickly becoming popular among the modern boho crowd. So, expect a wave of airy silk bubble dresses to hit stores this summer. Chemena Kamali’s pastel bloomer shorts also hint at what that particular type of It girl may be sporting next.
Now that bubble hems are more wearable than ever, it’s time to finally take the silhouette for a spin. To guide you, we’ve gathered the season’s best bubble skirts and dresses below.
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