It’s not just for Greco-Roman sculptures. Marble is set to make waves in fashion for 2020.

Picking up where the tie-dye trend left off, marble patterns are set to be another ubiquitous trend in 2020. If Paris fashion week is any indication, a lot of high end designers are exploring vibrant marbling looks in their collections and like always, the runway will certainly set the standard for fashion brand down the spectrum.

Like a lot of trends in fashion, marble continues to explore the Grateful Dead inspired tie-dye we saw throughout 2018 and 2019. More baroque and less free love, marble patterns continue to explore the compelling kaleidoscope looks with a more mature, high end feel.

Like all exciting patterned trends, the marble look takes a daft hand and is often done best when in moderation. Going overboard can quickly veer into the realm of gaudy and overdone. Have no fear, we’re here to go over some of the best examples of the marbling trend and provide some guidance in terms of how to best land these looks and how you can adopt the hot pattern into your own wardrobe for the upcoming 2020 season.

Here’s a quick look at some of the best marble looks and marble inspiration we’ve seen in the past and the newest marble garments that are setting the stage for this cresting trend.

Marble starts with Emilio

Since the start of his namesake label in 196x, Emilio Pucci has pioneered marbled looks, and the brand continues to re-interpret his signature pattern to this day.

Take a look at the design houses’ most recent 2020 spring collection. Despite being more modern and street wear influenced, the signature marbling patterns still find a place in this collection.

Dries does marble

When it comes to marbling, Dries Van Noten is known to include some psychedelic inspired marble patterns in virtually all of his collections. A purveyor if silky and vibrant designs, his 2011 ready to wear collection is a great example of some of his stand out marble patterns. Dries loves to return to and update his prints, so you’ll continue to see variants of these marble patterns all the way up to his most recent 2020 menswear collection.

A note about Hedi Slimanes Saint Laurent

While French designer Hedi Slimanes is known primarily for his refined, monochromatic looks we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the role white marble played with his major revival of the Saint Laurent brand. From furnishing his storefronts in immaculate white marble to using marble in Saint Laurent’s promotional ads, Hedi’s influence at SLP still reverberates today. You can blame him for all the Instagram flatlays featuring white marble backdrops!

While Slimanes has taken more English equine and 80s inspirations for his current tenure at Celine, his taste for marble has still made its way into newly redesigned Celine storefronts and still stands as a signature aesthetic for the celebrated designer.

Look to Raf

Taking a step away from his graphic heavy and youth influenced namesake label, Raf Simons directed the iconic German fashion house from

One of Raf Simons most iconic collections while at the German house Jil Sander was his FW 2008 with his use of this repeating marble pattern in black and white.

Make no mistake, marbled patterns aren’t limited to the neutral earth tones of actual marble like Raf Simons standout show. More than not, we’re seeing designers explore marbling with a more colorful pallet. Picking up where Raf left off, current creative directors of Jil Sander Luke and Lucie Meier explored a more vibrant marbling pattern in their most recent S/S 2020 ready to wear collection. For critics who have been skeptical of the Meier’s sometimes sterile approach to Jil Sander, this venture into marbling was a breath of fresh air.

Mulberry

With more of a 60s boho flair, mulberry’s 2019 spring collection featured some groovy marbling looks like this matching blue top and skirt look.

Hard to just pick one! So we also included this very chic pink coat from Mulberry during the same collection. Clearly Mulberry is drawing some inspiration from the iconic 60s brand Pucci we covered above.

How to wear the marble trend

Like its sister tie dye, marble is a stand out loud pattern that will do most of the talking for your look. Rather than the slouchy and laid back tie-die looks we saw last year, marble does better as a key accent piece in your outfit. Keep the rest of the look muted and let the marble do the talking. Think less the eclectic outfits we saw paired with Online Ceramics t-shirts and more of the beautifully curated looks of a Dries show.

In terms of colors, the bold looks are the ones we think pack the most punch. Avoid the muted or earth tones of actual marble and channel colors in pink, orange and bright blue.

Consider in part we see marble patterns most frequently in silky tops, pants, and dresses. The material does help set the tone for how you want to craft your looks. With most of the fashion right now, look for garments in oversized proportions like flowing shirts and blouses or wide silk trousers.

Want to dip your toe in the trend before going all in? Fast fashion brands are always quick to emulate the runway so there will certainly be a lot of options to give the marble look a try before splurging.

Thinking about trying on the marble trend? Our recommendation is to try it on for size! Every great wardrobe has a number of loud, stand out pieces and this trend is a perfect opportunity to dip your toe into something that’s a little more far out. You can check out more advice at Fashion Adict.

Don’t be afraid to mix the looks into your wardrobe for work and play. The more naturally you’re able to incorporate these pieces, the more confident you will feel. There’s a natural radiance when you can try something new and trust that it will work with your look.

A material straight from classical times, the marble trend takes something old and revitalizes it into something completely new.

 Share