There’s something sporty happening to fashion this season, but it’s not your run-of-the-mill “activewear”. Forget wearing leggings from yoga to your Saturday morning coffee. This trend is more nuanced, it’s about a light-touch integration of sportswear into all aspects of your day-to-day wardrobe. Think: loose-fitting trousers with drawstring detailing, dancewear accents on daytime tops, feminine hybrid sneakers worn with pointelle socks and lightweight blouson jackets that go with, well, just about everything. Here, we breakdown the four key pieces to buy. 

If there’s one jacket to know this season, it’s the blouson. Cropped, slightly voluminous and cinched neatly at the waist, the silhouette sits somewhere between a bomber, a windbreaker and a sports jacket. The best versions are refreshingly unfussy: funnel necks, zip fronts, elasticated hems and featherweight technical fabrics that make them ideal for throwing over your most beloved off-duty ensembles. 

After years of chunky trainers – and the seemingly endless reign of the Samba – shoes are getting softer. This new wave straddles the line between sporty pragmatism and soft femininity. On the more utilitarian side we have New Balance’s supple suede lace-ups, Salomon’s hiking-adjacent Mary Jane’s and Vans’ hybrid mules. Puma (available at Platypus) and Nike are leaning further into the contrasts: the former’s Speedcat Ballet shoe features lace and velvet ribbon detailing, while the latter's Air Rift shape comes in soft lilac with floral motifs. Our advice? Style with a frilly pointelle sock to really nail the look.

Our search for a convincing alternative to denim is endless, and this season’s answer is the soft trouser. Fluid, wide and deliberately easy, these bottoms take the comfort of your trusted track pants and blend them with more elevated fabrications, cuts, and detailing. Wear yours with a fitted tank or minimal wrap top and you’ve landed on the easiest off-duty uniform of the summer. 

Balletcore is all grown up. Rather than bows, tutus and overtly girlish styling, SS26 is interested in elegant nods to the world’s chicest performance art. Ballet-inspired wrap tops are all the rage, from the functional (Stylerunner’s chocolate brown style available with matching leggings) through to the purely aesthetic (layered takes at Incu, KOOKAÏ, and H&M). Keep the style grounded in the everyday by reaching for low-slung denim and – dare we say – a simple ballet flat.

Holly wears

Viktoria & Woods top, skirt, Sandro shoes, Gentle Monster eyewear.