Mix-and-Match Styling: A Runway Rundown

"Mix and match!"

This phrase has transcended mere trends.

Now, the more unexpected the combination, the more it looks like you know exactly what you’re doing. That chaotic layering you wore out last weekend? That was style fluency. Even Demna, who’s just bid farewell to BALENCIAGA to start a new chapter at GUCCI, would likely nod in approval.

 

Demna's Instagram with '0' posts ©demna

   

Demna’s Instagram currently sits at zero posts, but the silence is louder than most feeds. During his time at VETEMENTS and BALENCIAGA, Demna didn’t just design. He built a language. It’s hard to pin him down with a title as limiting as "fashion designer." He became a cultural architect, reshaping how we understand and wear clothes.

 

©balenciaga

 

He disrupted luxury fashion’s long-standing love affair with conventional beauty and instead found meaning in the mundane, the industrial, the intentionally jarring. For a decade, he gave us collections that questioned reality and encouraged us to mix elements that don’t belong together. He didn’t follow rules. He made sure we knew we didn’t have to either.

 

BALENCIAGA FW24 ©gq.com BALENCIAGA SS25 ©metalmagazine.eu

BALENCIAGA FW25 ©vogue.com

  

"’You should wear it like this, no, like that.’ Blah, blah, blah. ‘But who even makes those rules?’" That's the kind of rebellious whisper Demna's looks seem to embody. From his early shows to FW25, Demna’s styling always pushed boundaries. Windbreakers and lace. Structured jackets with leggings. Couture next to cargo. While his presentations initially landed with the force of a fresh shockwave, it's now hardly a challenge to spot someone in the city rocking a track jacket with a button-down and loafers. That’s the legacy. And now, as he moves to GUCCI, the mix-and-match spirit he helped normalize is alive and thriving on SS25 runways everywhere.

 

Mix-and-Match Styling: A Runway Rundown

Sporty + Romantic: It's a Vibe

If one pairing stole the Spring/Summer 2025 shows, it’s sporty meets sweet. Athletic gear layered over delicate lingerie, breezy silhouettes under boxy jackets, and comfort-clashing elements styled to perfection. MIU MIU nailed it with their signature preppy pieces styled under windbreakers and paired with socks and sandals. Lotta Volkova’s touch is unmistakable, intentionally disruptive styling adds that extra layer of cool. Cool, but also chaotic, and always intentional.

 

MIU MIU SS25 ©wmagazine.com

   

Demna kept the tension high with things like lingerie over sweaters at BALENCIAGA. It’s the kind of look that makes you laugh at first, then haunts you in the best way. You might not wear the full runway fantasy, but break it up, a voluminous skirt here, a delicate top there, and suddenly it’s an outfit you could wear to dinner and still feel like you’re in on the joke.

 

BALENCIAGA SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

 

And yes, the biker short renaissance is still going strong. They’re no longer just gym gear. With their thigh-skimming cut and skin-skimming fit, biker shorts are being styled in unexpected ways. Like layered under long dresses at LOUIS VUITTON. The combo feels fresh, especially when balanced with oversized T-shirts or structured outerwear. If you’ve ever hesitated, now’s the time to try.

 

LOUIS VUITTON SS25 ©showstudio.com Chloe SS25 ©chloe.com

   

The weather’s also on our side. Throwing a tailored jacket over a romantic dress, or topping off a summery outfit with something boxy and structured, is both seasonally sensible and visually interesting. It’s the easiest way to give that in-between-season outfit a little twist without trying too hard.

 

CASABLANCA SS25 coperni SS25 ©vogue.com

 

And don’t overlook the track jacket. Especially the three-striped kind that adidas made iconic. AVAVAV paired them with mini skirts in their latest show, leaning into irony with a wink. Their take? "We’re taking sports and fashion a little too seriously." Honestly, isn’t that what makes mix-and-match so fun? The fact that it refuses to take itself too seriously.

 

HYKE SS25 ©fashionsnap.com AVAVAV SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

 

So, how do you do mix-and-match for the office?

Yes, it's possible, and actually chic. Take Stella McCartney, who styled a pinstripe suit with a hoodie, creating a perfectly balanced look that said "I care, but I’m busy." Or Collina Strada, who layered a striped skirt over cargo pants and a crisp white shirt, proving that chaos can be polished. The key is in playing with silhouettes and vibes, balancing masculine with feminine, order with disorder.

 

STELLA McCARTNEY SS25 ©vogue.com Collina Strada SS25 ©collinastrada.com

 

For the Gents: Mix-and-Match Cool

Men’s mix-and-match might be the most unexpected move of all. The formulas are different, but the energy is the same. Commission showed how a trench layered over simple separates can read elevated without trying. GUCCI leaned into layering with loose shapes and luxe textures.

   

Commission SS25 ©vogue.com GUCCI SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

 

Layering is essential when it comes to mix-and-match. BLUEMARBLE took it further with a zip-up hoodie under a tailored coat, a mix of prep and skater that somehow felt seamless. DRIES VAN NOTEN mixed sheer shorts with sharp suiting, giving us genderless styling with quiet confidence. It’s the kind of mix that challenges you to stop asking "where would I wear that?" and start saying, "why not wear it everywhere?”

 

BLUEMARBLE SS25 doublet SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

ROKH SS25 DRIES VAN NOTEN SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

  

Some looks were pure chaos, and they were all the better for it. Coperni’s jacquard jackets with denim and toe-shaped Mary Janes. CASABLANCA’s commitment to coordinating patterns on jackets and shirts.

  

coperni SS25 CASABLANCA SS25 ©vogue.com

 

Highly evolved mix-and-match looks blur the lines of where you'd even wear them. But isn't that the point of the fun? You see a shirt and tie, and it looks like an office look... but then there's a zip-up hoodie and checkered pants, and suddenly it's a "running to the supermarket" look. NAMESAKE shows us the true essence of mix-and-match. And then there's Wales Bonner: classic leather jacket, popped collar, tailored trousers… and a flash of red underwear. It was weird, slightly unhinged, and absolutely genius, a truly chaotic mix-and-match look that defies the seasons. We give it our award for "Most Confusingly Chic."

 

NAMESAKE SS25 Wales Bonner SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

paloma-wool SS25 LUAR SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

 

Double the Fun with Color

As we move into spring, color becomes a central part of the mix. It’s not about being loud, it’s about feeling alive. Pastels are still big, especially when tempered by cool neutrals. These days, I'm definitely reaching for cheerful pastel tones. DRIES VAN NOTEN and rabanne gave us warm yellows with pale blue, brown with blush pink. The vibe is tonal contrast with intention.

 

rabanne SS25 DRIES VAN NOTEN SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

  

Gray is also making a strong case for itself. A pastel pajama set worn under a gray coat becomes instantly wearable. A slouchy jogger look topped with a slate blazer feels sophisticated without losing ease. AURALEE has practically built their identity around this kind of quiet power dressing. You could be coming from yoga or heading to a gallery. It works either way.
Color mixing, like piece pairing, is an instinct. If it looks too perfect, it probably is. The goal is to land somewhere between harmonious and unpredictable. A pink coat with acid green shorts? Possibly. A powder-blue jacket over a caramel knit? Definitely.

 

AURALEE SS25 ©vogue.com

JW Anderson SS25 DRIES VAN NOTEN SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

MASU SS25 BLUEMARBLE SS25 ©fashionsnap.com

 

Demna said in an interview with VOGUE:

"What I mean by diversity is creativity. The mix & match of different things. In my childhood, until 1993, when I lived in the Soviet Union, there was no information."

That lack of variety planted the seed. What emerged was a deep desire to explore difference. Before Demna, no one was putting together outfits the way we are now. He showed us that the rules were made up, that aesthetic order was overrated, and that sometimes, a wildly mismatched outfit tells the clearest story. His boldness in questioning the traditional rules of fashion and incorporating diversity into fashion. We loved his sense of style, expressed through mix-and-match. And we will continue to love it. Finally, I want to say through this article: Demna, love you~♡