Although it’s often dismissed as frivolous or even “non-professional,” fashion analysis reveals the historical and cultural forces shaping any given moment. No decade demonstrates this more clearly than the 2020s, a period shaped by overlapping crises that turned the era into one long identity crisis.
Yet amid the chaos, one aesthetic continued to adapt: Academia Fashion.
After the initial shock of the pandemic, Fall 2020 brought a sobering realization that life wasn’t returning to normal anytime soon. One of the most profound shifts occurred in education. For the first time, students from elementary school through university suddenly found themselves learning entirely online. With classrooms, campuses, and the rituals of academic life stripped away, a deep longing for academia began to take root.
That longing seeped into our preferences: what we read, what we watched, how we dressed, and even the fantasies we indulged in online. Cue DracoTok.
Arguably one of the most potent Internet trends of the decade, DracoTok wasn’t truly about Harry Potter. It was about escapism. Through DracoTok and the rise of Dark Academia, the Internet offered a portal to a version of scholarly life that felt atmospheric, dramatic, and mysterious. It lived in the pages of The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, and If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio, worlds built on intrigue, intellectualism, and intense competition. It was a fantasy we stepped into with ease, and one we still haven’t fully let go of.
While 2020 was flooded with microtrends, academia fashion had staying power. It kept evolving. We couldn’t get enough: cable-knit sweaters, polished loafers, crisp shirting, and collegiate sportswear. There’s a version of us that still wants to be a student or a professor, darting through the halls of a magical boarding school.
So, let’s take a look at how academia fashion has captured our attention over the past five years:
2020: Dark Academia
The beginning, or perhaps the eldest daughter of the aesthetic family. Before high fashion stepped in, Dark Academia was distinctly Internet-born. Rooted in fictional schools and nostalgic imagery, its staples included khaki trench coats, dark cardigans, pleated trousers, and anything that looked like it belonged in an ivy-covered library.
2021–2022: Modern Academia
This period introduced luxury-infused school uniforms. At the center was Miu Miu. The brand’s Spring Ready-to-Wear collection reimagined the post-pandemic office with cropped sweaters, ultra-low waistbands, and the now-iconic micro-mini skirt.
Around the same time, the Gossip Girl revival premiered, pushing the academia aesthetic toward polished city glamour with Cartier tie pins and refined boarding school dressing.
2023–2024: Prep / Horse-Girl Academia
The “Horse-Girl” aesthetic surged when Stella McCartney opened her Fall 2023 show with a bold equestrian theme. The runway, set inside a historic riding school in Paris, featured live horses alongside the models and tapped directly into classic stable culture.
The collection highlighted preppy and equestrian elements, including riding boots, tailored blazers, horse-print knits, cropped vests, and jacquards with equine motifs.
In October 2023, Taylor Swift was photographed in New York wearing a rugby shirtdress from McCartney’s collection with chestnut knee-high boots, which helped propel the look into the mainstream.
This version of academia fashion blends pastoral and preppy sensibilities. It feels less like a dorm-room scholar and more like a student on their way to the stables, rooted in tradition yet translated into contemporary street style.
2025: Varsity Academia
By 2025, nostalgia shifted toward a sport-inspired look. Gen Z’s lasting attachment to “back-to-school shopping” helped push academia fashion into its next phase: Varsity Academia. The style centers on updated versions of classic campus pieces such as letterman jackets, sports jerseys, striped knits, and simple athletic layers.
Brands like Bode helped fuel interest in vintage sportswear, but the trend quickly became broader than any single label. Its appeal lies in how it blends school spirit with a sense of tradition.
Varsity Academia also draws from literature. Its themes of ambition, rivalry, and campus nostalgia echo The Great Gatsby, a reminder of how American schooling, aspiration, and identity often intersect.
2026: Victorian Academia
By Fall 2026, the aesthetic will shift again, taking on a darker and more romantic tone. Victorian Academia draws from late-19th-century silhouettes, including high collars, structured coats, lace detailing, and dramatic tailoring layered onto the scholarly look. This incoming era reflects a renewed cultural fascination with writing, books, the romanticized student lifestyle, and the Literary It Girl.
Academia fashion has endured because it’s more than clothing; it’s a narrative. In a decade defined by uncertainty, it offers both structure and fantasy. Each iteration reflects a different cultural longing, from mystery to luxury to athleticism to romance. After five years of reinvention, one thing is clear: academia fashion isn’t just a trend cycle. It’s a mirror of our collective desire to escape, to imagine, and to redefine who we are in turbulent times.
As long as we crave story, scholarship, and style, academia fashion isn’t going anywhere.
