What fashion is trending in Australia? Capri pants, brooches, polka dots and more!

As the seasons change, Search shows us what is on-trend and back! From capri pants to brooches, kitten heels to natural fibre activewear, Search trends in Australia show that Aussies are searching for an eclectic mix of nostalgic, sporty and traditional items.

Read on for a deeper look at what’s trending on Google in Australia in various fashion departments, and how to try on these trends virtually, right in Google Search.

Retro revivals

Australians are digging deep into the archives for style inspiration. The top searched fashion decades in Australia over the past year include the 90s, 70s, 80s, 2000s, and the 1920s. More recently over the past three months, we've seen breakout* searches for 1950s fashion, 1960s fashion, Studio 54 style, and "what is y2k fashion". A few other standout trends include:

• Interest in brooches reached an all-time high this year, with top trending searches including “vintage brooches”, “floral brooch”, and “shawl pin”.
• The top "how to style" searches feature queries like "how to style wide leg jeans", "how to style boots women", "how to style a loose button up shirt", "how to style barrel jeans", and "how to style layers.”
• Search interest in “snakeskin” is up +20% in the past year and “Snakeskin pants” are a breakout search in the past three months.
• Interest in shoulder pads has risen overall over the past year (30%+), with searches for “decorative shoulder pads” surging over the past 12 months.

Colours, patterns and textures

Shoppers are experimenting with bold colours and prints:

• The top trending colours in relation to fashion in Australia over the past three months include Plum, Beige, Dark blue, Orange, and Burgundy.
• Search interest for polka dots is up 240% in Australia over the past year.
• Search interest in "plaid fashion" is up +1560% and interest in tartan is up +30% in Australia in the past year, reaching an all-time high this year.
• Australia is the top country in the world searching for “gingham” in the past 12 months.
• Search interest in "japanese fashion" and “Korean fashion” both up +20% in the past year.

Pants and jackets are ballooning

When it comes to pants and outerwear, it’s a mix of volume, cropping and comfort:

• Australia is the top country in the world searching for “linen pants”, “barrel pants”, and “parachute pants”.
• “Capri pants”, “pleated pants”, and “balloon pants” all reached all-time highs this year.
• Search interest in "gaucho pants” has increased by +840%, while "barrel pants" climbed +520%.
• When it comes to jackets, Search interest in "funnel neck jackets" surged by +2,360%. Classic "suede jackets" reached an all-time high in search volume, while "bomber jacket women," "cropped jackets" also hit peak popularity this year. And as we look to rug up, "Oodie jacket" is up +110%.

Tops and toes

Australians are looking for structural, delicate, or sheer tops. The most searched styles include tank tops, crop tops, halter tops, lace tops, and corset tops. Notably, “lace tops” and “wrap tops” reached all-time highs this year, alongside a +260% spike in "3/4 sleeve tops".

In the footwear department, there has seen a massive resurgence in classic flats and low heels. In fact, Australia is the top country in the world searching for “ballet flats,” which are currently sitting at an all-time high (+80%). Specific searches for "puma ballet shoes" (+610%) and "kitten heels" (+50%) are also hitting record numbers. The top trending shoe searches over the past year include “birkenstocks”, “uggs”, “ballet flats”, “sambas”, and “clogs”.

Activewear

Activewear continues to staple in Australian street wear:

• Search interest in “sportswear” is at an all-time high in Australia this year.
• Shoppers are paying attention to materials: search interest in “natural fibre activewear” is up +800% in the past three months, and interest in “non toxic activewear” is up +200%.
• Top activewear searches include “cotton activewear”, “velocity activewear” and “activewear set”.
• “Flare leggings” is up +120% in the past three months.

Try on trending fashion virtually!

According to the data, Australians are also looking to shop consciously, are searching to find the right size and how to wear or style items. "What is sustainable fashion" has surged by +1,960% over the past year, and searches for "capsule wardrobe" have hit an all-time high.

Search can help you confidently and find exactly what you are looking for, and Google’s AI-powered virtual try-on tool brings the fitting room directly to your smartphone. By instantly showing how an item drapes, folds, and stretches across a diverse range of body types, you can confidently "try before you buy” and minimise return shipping waste. Just upload a single photo to see how that new polka dot dress or those cool capri pants could look on you!

^Notes

• ^{"Breakout" means the search term had a tremendous increase, in some cases because these queries are new and had few (if any) prior searches.}
• ^{Top or Most Searched: The "most searched" queries are those that rank highest by search volume for a given timeframe and location.}
• ^{Trending Searches: "Trending" queries are the search terms that had the highest spike in traffic over a given time period as compared with the previous equivalent period.}
• ^{For more information about our methodology and How to interpret the data, please read our FAQs.}