How To Pattern-Clash Effectively, According To Dua & Chloë

There’s a decidedly minimalist streak in the air. Bella Hadid always keeps it simple, ditto our low-key pop girls Lorde and HAIM, or even Stassi Schroeder, who we just checked in with and wears many a solid-colored matching set from Reformation. But for every Sofia Richie clone and COS show (which we love, for the record), there’s a pull into the other direction, that of complete maximalism. There were a few examples of pattern clashing from the Spring/Summer 2025 runway season, and even more from Fall/Winter 2025, which kickstarted our search for ways to wear more than one pattern well — and we came up short. That’s where our humble offerings come in.

Maybe it’s the Y2Chaos within us, but the idea of wearing polka dots alongside zebra print and stripes with tartan is speaking to us louder and louder each day. To be sure, it takes the right eye to hone in on what makes two wrong things look right. Below, we take a look at the runways and streets and give some essential advice on how to make a swirl of color and geometry look cohesive.

Stripe It Up

If you’re anything like me, you have an arsenal of striped shirts in your wardrobe just waiting to sow discord with another pattern. At Chanel, it was paired with a tweed jacket — just make sure the space between your stripes and your plaids is different — and at Rabanne, it was paired with more stripes. The three stripes get along because they’re in the same color family, and they all have different breakup colors (white, black, and dark blue). But Dries Van Noten’s styling is our favorite, and clashes not only prints, but textures. Choose a silky, screen-printed bottom (the more boyish the better) and pair with a crispy poplin shirt (we’re a big fan of Gap’s).

Animal Instinct

There’s no getting around it: Animal print is a neutral at this point. We’ve shown Rihanna mix leopard print with two more types of leopard print, which Duran Lantink handily recreated, and two more convincing runways have sold us on pairing it with plaid. As before, if you’re clashing multiple patterns, make sure the print size is markedly different, and for mixing with the prim plaid bottom, go for less tight checkerboards.

When In Doubt, Just Go For It

Some of our favorite chaos happens on the street, where people like SZA aren’t afraid of wearing four patterns at the same time. When going for more, don’t be afraid of three-plus pattern ‘fits, just make sure they’re distinct enough to clash well. The color story should be cohesive, but the print story should decidedly not.