The clean girl has long been declared dead. In the past couple of years, the messy girl has succeeded her. Messy makeup and messier hairstyles peaked during Charli XCX's Brat era in 2024, and since then, we've been witnessing the death of quiet luxury and all things sleek and polished. From a styling perspective, it's easy to imagine these shifts in direct visual association with the beauty trends: dark, a little grungy, perhaps capturing an undone, party-forward essence that is embodied in a greasy smoky eye and teased hair. But lately, the messy girl trend has been interpreted in another way: where elevating an outfit often just takes something being a bit off.

By now, many of us are familiar with the wrong shoe theory, wherein the wrong shoe makes an outfit just right because it allows for contrast and juxtaposition between look and shoe, ultimately creating more visual interest, giving a cooler illusion. The same rhetoric can be applied to recent runway trends, only this time we're not just looking towards shoes to throw things off a little.

Prada FW26 // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Prada FW26 // Spotlight Launchmetrics

Back in February for Prada's Fall/Winter 2026 show, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons sent 15 looks in total down the runway, each layered so heavily that one layer per exit came off, equaling 4 turns per model and 60 exits in total. For every exit, shirts were hastily buttoned, dresses were crinkled from being piled under things, colors clashed...somehow it all worked to be the ultimate display of the human-ness of getting dressed. The retail availability of that show ended up nabbing Prada the top spot on the Lyst index for Q3, signaling to the popularity of these imperfect dressing formulas.

Julie Kegels SS27 // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Julie Kegels SS27 // Spotlight Launchmetrics

Fast forward to the Spring/Summer 2027 shows this past September and October, and many designers micro-dosed this off-beat approach. At brands like Tory Burch, Altuzarra, KNWLS, and 6397, dresses and tops were worn with straps falling off the shoulder, revealing bras, extra layers, or nothing at all. Over in Paris, Julie Kegels and Loewe sent models down the runway with twisted collars, either buttoned asymmetrically or twisted and tucked into skirts. At Miu Miu, patterns clashed and different textured fabrics were layered—swimsuit bottoms were layered over a crushed silk skirt and a coated knit jersey that almost looked like a paper bag was layered over a cotton poplin button-down shirt.

KNWLS SS27 // Spotlight Launchmetrics
Loewe SS27 // Spotlight Launchmetrics

The styling trick to keep at least one thing just slightly off added intrigue and interest to looks that might otherwise be considered quite simple. There was a layered dress at Tibi, which had the option to drop a strap to reveal a built-in slip underneath. And at KNWLS, a tank top that, without revealing what's underneath a tank strap, is simply a basic white tank. At Altuzarra, the mismatched buttons on a jacket revealed more of the cotton eyelet blouse styled underneath. For Spring/Summer 2027, designers made it overtly clear that the key to looking cool is simply looking a little messier.