3 min readThe year is 2016. You’re en route to a party having just fired off a text on Facebook messenger to find out what your friend is wearing. A few minutes later, a yellow notification lights up your screen—Snapchat. You open it to find a picture of your friend framed by the dog filter, wearing a salmon pink slip dress, her OOTN (outfit of the night) already decided.
You glance down at yourself. Ripped jeans, knees poking through. Too casual? Perhaps. Not to worry, you think while reaching into your bag for your choker necklace. That will do the trick. You plug in your wire headphones and press play on Beyoncé’s Lemonade, tapping your card on the reader as you hop on the bus.
As we welcomed in 2026 earlier this month, an unexpected sentimentality for all things 2016 has been expressed via posts blasted across social feeds. But do any of the 2016 fashion trends we’ve been fixating on actually translate in 2026? We actually do think so.
Below, ELLE delves into the 2016 fashion trends that are more than appropriate in 2026.
Tracksuits/Athleisure
Chloé SS16
Miu Miu FW25
2016 was the year Merriam-Webster officially added the word athleisure to its dictionary. Celebrities were photographed getting in and out of cars in head-to-toe tracksuits and fashion houses such as Chloé, Stella McCartney and Loewe featured elevated sweatpants on the runway. In 2026, the jury is still out on whether or not it is acceptable to wear tracksuits to the office, but you’ll rarely go a day without spotting someone in a pair of three-stripe joggers or a crisp jersey two-piece. The trend has also returned to the runways, spearheaded by Wales Bonner’s retro-inspired tracksuits. Athleisure is very much alive and kicking in 2026 thanks in large part to the slimline trainers and sneakerinas that have been proliferating in recent seasons.
Millennial Pink
Chanel FW16
Prada SS26
Millennial pink’s rise can be traced back to 2015, when Apple released its rose gold iPhone to adoring customers. But, it was the following year that the color’s status was cemented when Pantone named Rose Quartz one if its 2016 colors of the year. By mid-2016, The Cut had coined the shade with its now-ubiquitous name, millennial pink. The runways of the time followed suit, with houses including Chanel, Chloé, Burberry and Gucci integrating the shade in their fall collections.
A year on, millennial pink is far from relegated to the archives. Cast your mind back a mere few months ago to the Wicked press tour—awash with pastel pinks on the red carpet. Likewise, the shade appeared across collections at Prada, Miu Miu, Balenciaga and Gucci, proving that what first peaked in 2016 continues to evolve today.
Slip Dresses
Kim Kardashian photgraphed in 2016
Zoe Kravtiz at the Golden Globes, 2026
First popularized in the ’90s via Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss, the slip dress saw a healthy renaissance in 2016. Saint Laurent and Céline featured silky iterations on the runway, while celebrities were often sited wearing them on and off the red carpet. As for 2026? The year began with Zoë Kravitz wearing a silk and lace slip by Saint Laurent for her Golden Globes appearance, signaling another big year for the slip dress.
Ripped Denim
Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber photographed in 2016
Myha’la attends a photocall in January, 2026
There was once a time and a place for ripped denim. Now, in a culture where tailored trousers are interchangeable with jeans, the line separating formal and casual is more blurred than ever before. To make distressed denim work for 2026, take a leaf out of Myha’la’s book and style them with a funnel-neck jacket.
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