After years of undisputed dominance, leopard print seems to be giving way to a lighter motif: polka dots. On the Spring/Summer 2025 runways, silhouettes are covered in small, round dots with a retro feel. Is this a passing fad or the lasting return of a long-underestimated classic? An analysis of this stylish and symbolic textile clash.
Jacquemus is betting on polka dots
Jacquemus' latest collection saw polka dots bloom across numerous silhouettes, reviving a retro motif that is more relevant than ever. At the Spring/Summer 2025 show, entitled " La Croisière ," Simon Porte Jacquemus celebrated polka dots in all their forms. The show's palette was deliberately understated—white, black, sand, with a few touches of red—to highlight the architectural cuts, while polka dots and stripes punctuated several looks in a spirit of timeless patterns. Elevated to the brand's emblem, the polka dot anchors the collection in a neo-retro aesthetic reminiscent of the post-war era. The Jacquemus woman of the season seems to have stepped straight out of the fifties, with her oversized pea coats, wide-legged trousers, and pencil skirts worthy of Marilyn Monroe. “I was very inspired by the optimism of the post-war period in the 50s, when it was unclear whether a woman could be an ultra-chic Frenchwoman or a Hollywood star,” the designer explains. Polka dots thus become a visual and narrative thread running through the show, symbolizing both joyful innocence and vintage glamour.
Pattern duel: polka dots vs. leopard
The juxtaposition of these two iconic prints is far from insignificant, each possessing a rich stylistic heritage. The quintessential wild motif , leopard print has traversed decades, constantly reinventing itself. A symbol of chic and elegance from the very first Dior show in 1947 – favored at the time by Jackie Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II – it became the emblem of rebellious fashion during the punk-rock era, with icons like David Bowie and Madonna. Untamed, the leopard print established itself among couturiers (Yves Saint Laurent made it a staple as early as 1968) and in 90s pop culture, sported by everyone from Fran Fine to Kate Moss. After a few years of relative calm, this predatory pattern made a powerful comeback last winter, featuring among the key trends of the Fall/Winter 2023-2024 collections.
Facing it, the polka dot print plays a more joyful but equally enduring role. Popularized during the Roaring Twenties on flowing, festive outfits, it experienced its golden age in the fifties, embodying a playful and refined femininity – the pin-up era of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn in fitted polka dot dresses. By turns psychedelic in the sixties and then XXL in the eighties, this motif, oscillating between nostalgia and whimsy, has reinvented itself each decade. Long relegated to the realm of outdated styles, the polka dot is now enjoying a triumphant comeback. Chic yet easy to wear, it is captivating a new generation of designers and fashionistas. The wheel of fashion has turned: while leopard print has dominated our wardrobes in recent seasons, "it is a completely different (and polka dot) pattern that will establish its fashion reign in 2025: the polka dot print."
In short, everything suggests that this playful and retro pattern is the new king of luxury prints for 2025. But let's reassure die-hard leopard fans: classics never really die, they hibernate – ready to resurface at the next stylistic turning point.
