How Fashion Trends Influence Our Decor and Interior Design

When Barbiecore hit runways last year (spurred by the announcement of the upcoming feature film), it felt like it took over immediately. With Kim Kardashian’s head-to-toe pink looks and Valentino’s fuschia-forward Fall/Winter 2022 collection, the style could be found anywhere from red carpets to TikTok outfit-inspo videos. The hashtag #barbiecore has nearly 248 million views on TikTok alone, and #barbiecoreoutfits specifically has racked up 3.5 million. 

When fashion weeks kick off, it’s clear how the shows impact clothing stores and fashion trends across the world—but the looks displayed in these shows also have a great influence on home spaces. For years, fashion aesthetics have naturally made their way into decor eventually, especially in a post-COVID world where we really want our homes to reflect our personal style (everyone can see them on Zoom now, after all). 

“Design and fashion are both vessels for self expression and human connection,” says Kelly Wearstler, designer and owner of Kelly Wearstler. “Aesthetics evolve with the zeitgeist, so naturally fashion and interior design are intertwined with broader shifts in culture. Through social media we’ve been able to invite more people into our homes, so we’ve seen a great emphasis in recent years on personal style statements beyond our wardrobes.”

For example: Gucci’s popularity skyrocketed in the fashion world about three to five years ago, bringing back ’70s couture in every form, says Jeremy Jankowski, creative management lead in lifestyle at Pinterest. More recently, cottagecore, coastal grandmother, and grand millennial aesthetics have taken hold of people’s closets and interior spaces. Even trending colors are intertwined in the two areas: chili-pepper red made huge waves at this season’s fashion shows, and BHG’s predicted color of the year is a similar shade of magenta. 

As a creative lead at Pinterest, Jankowski is among the first to see which trends are scratching the surface by looking at microcosms people are searching for. In the last few months, he’s seen an increase in the cozy aesthetic, in the way of furniture and fabrics, in everything from sweatpants and leisurewear to boucle chairs. Monochrome has also been big for a while, Jankowski says. (In fact, in this article published in March 2021, we acknowledged how major fashion houses like Chanel and Prada prominently featured the trend in runway shows and how it crossed over into home.) 

While fashion usually sets off these popular aesthetics, it takes a little longer for them to reach into the home because of the time and effort it takes to design and put together your space.

“I think you’re slowly turned on to these trends,” Jankowski says. “I was first inspired by the fashion, and then it bled into my home. I do believe that we get into these trends, we’re inspired, we’re excited. We’re reinventing ourselves and our looks. And then I think we slowly start to bring that into our home because it’s your personal style, right? So it transcends to your home, and I think that's where the lag time happens.”

Brands large and small are paving the way for this intersection. Patrick Church, an artist and merchant who designs clothing and interior items, first started out by painting on anything he could get his brushes on. Those designs eventually translated into ready-to-wear pieces, and then a year ago, he bought a house. He muraled the walls in his rooms and created ceramic pieces, which spurred him to develop a small drop of interiors: accessories like pillows, blankets, and decor pieces. It quickly sold out, and now he’s evolved to making large vases, hand painted tables, and wallpaper—all based on custom patterns and artwork he’s made.

Church first thinks of Fendi when he thinks of a brand that achieves overlap in a notable way. With their robes, slippers, ashtrays, and custom furniture, they’ve created their own world, he says.

“I keep seeing a lot of brands collaborating with interior lines, or people realizing that design doesn’t just have to be limited to fashion,” he says. “People could tell that message through avenues such as interiors, which is kind of how that happened with me.”

Fashion-Inspired Home Trends to Look Out for This Year

The fashion-turned-home trend Jankowski is most excited to see in 2023? Whimsigoth. A crossover between whimsical and goth, the style incorporates dark, moody decor but is lightened up by more delicate fabrics, vintage patterns, and greenery, and usually ties into monochrome. He recently redecorated his kitchen to get the look, combining all-black pieces with a white lamp, blender, and salt and pepper shakers. 

“I think the easiest way to stay in trends and refresh your home is really concentrating on accessories,” he says. “And when you make those bigger purchases, go for things that will withstand the test of time, like a leather couch. And marble is never going to go anywhere.”

More of a movement than a trend, making eco-friendly purchases and shopping second hand has also become a staple in the interior and clothing world. 

“Sustainability is at the forefront of both industries right now,” Wearstler says. “This is manifesting in the appreciation of vintage, in the innovative development of new materials, and the reuse or reinterpretation of what had been previously cast away.”

Thrifting your clothes and decor also gives you a way to develop a style that’s totally personal—finding antique pieces, collecting from different eras, and putting them all together to create sort of an eclectic look, whether you’re designing an outfit or room.

“I think what people want now are one-of-a-kind pieces that tell a story,” Church says. “Pieces are special to them that no one else has.”

Ultimately, creating an aesthetic that showcases your personality drives how you dress yourself and decorate your spaces, and it’s natural to connect both. Surrounding yourself with what speaks to you, especially in a time when we’re spending more time at home than ever before, has become exceedingly important. 

Whatever you gravitate toward, whether it’s a certain “core” that’s all over social media or the latest drop from your favorite designer, getting inspiration from styles that speak to you will always be on trend. 

“Home is where you can express your most authentic self and continue to evolve adjacent to our own growth,” Wearstler says. “I’m seeing people of all ages enhancing their homes and giving their interiors an update that’s more in touch with their personal style.”