While one represents an ‘ideal’ aesthetic, the other demonstrates a need to break with convention... For several seasons now, even years, the Clean Girl and the Messy Girl have been waging a ruthless war in the hope of winning the trend battle. But before 2026 arrives, let's take stock of the situation.
Clean Girl vs Messy Girl: two very different identities
Before we dive into the trends, let's go back to the beginning. Because while this aesthetic is now saturating social media to the point of driving us crazy, some people are still wondering what we're actually talking about... Long before it became a hashtag, the Clean Girl appeared in the 1990s with the major stylistic wave of minimalism championed by brands such as Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang and Jil Sander.
A symbol of so-called ‘perfect’ femininity, it is part of a historical vision of good taste: quiet luxury, clean lines, impeccable attire and manners that live up to what is expected of a ‘lady’. Extended into the 2010s through the visions of Phoebe Philo at Celine, then those of The Row, Totême and COS, the Clean Girl is making a spectacular comeback in the post-Covid period, starting in 2021.
At that point, fashion calmed down again. Silhouettes became colder, more sober and more minimal, while societal expectations shifted back towards a feminine (patriarchal) ideal that was as smooth as it was demanding: constant control, an unobtrusive but perfect presence, and constant judgement of women on their skin, their clothes and even their slightest gestures. Quiet Luxury, followed by Old Money, both entered the fray, and star influencers like Hailey Bieber gave people complexes without (too) meaning to. Today, the hashtag #cleangirl has more than 248 million posts on TikTok, proof of the phenomenon's scale and longevity, despite repeated predictions of its imminent decline.
For its part, the Messy Girl, often portrayed as its antagonist, has its roots in the 1990s and 2000s. With the emergence of anti-conformist icons such as Kate Moss, Courtney Love and Lindsay Lohan, disorder became a true aesthetic language, a direct critique of the ‘too calm’ collections of the same decade. Messy hair, imperfect make-up, crumpled clothes: these are all signs of a full femininity that flouts the dictates of ‘be beautiful and shut up’ in order to better reclaim the long-imposed feminine ideal.
In the 2010s, the Messy Girl resurfaced, driven in particular by the advent of Tumblr, the return of grunge and a paparazzi culture that had gone viral. Widely circulated photos of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan helped to shape a more exuberant, unfiltered image of femininity. The soft and controlled look lost its appeal: to be seductive, you now had to let go, even if it meant shocking the more sensitive among us.
In recent years, however, it has been difficult for this ‘mean sister’ to survive in a landscape dominated by Quiet Luxury and its similar aesthetics. Compared to the millions of searches it receives, #messygirl now only garners a few thousand views on TikTok.
After the saturation of the Clean Girl, omnipresent from news feeds to real life, a reversal seemed inevitable. At least, that's what we thought...
Who is winning the trend race?
Today, it's hard to say which of our two sisters is the most on-trend... Because while we were happily smothered by the presence of the Clean Girl until 2024, her rival doesn't seem to appeal to everyone as we approach 2026.
However, many celebrities and public figures already seem to be promoting it, such as the raw and sincere model Alex Consani, who wears the Birkin bag like Jane Birkin would, as if it were a common shopping bag, puts on a show, dares to wear sexy outfits but still dresses up as Gru for Halloween (Despicable Me). Since 2025, this wave of disorder has (finally) been visible: skirts are getting shorter, hair is getting messier, smoky eye makeup is smudged, and accessories are neglected. So, naturally, we expected this identity to be reinforced next year. But trends remain more divided than ever.
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Browsing through all the current collections on the expert website TagWalk, we notice that autumn-winter 2025-2026 is marked by expression. Artistic directors are notably calling on XXL fur, the figurehead of the winter Messy Girl, at Acne Studios, Balmain in fluorescent orange, and Elie Saab through blazer lapels. But that's not all. Leather is used in total looks, shoulder pads are widened to take up more space, and collars become oversized for added theatricality.
As surprising as it may seem, spring-summer 2026 has more softness in store for us. This is the exact opposite of the Messy Girl look we were so eager to embrace. The return of sunny days is reflected in monochrome but vibrant silhouettes (in yellow, purple and red) and a minimalism that resurfaces as if it had never really left the spotlight, through the lines of Akris, Fforme and Dior.
However, a few more offbeat signals remain even in spring-summer 2026: the feminine-masculine game at Chanel, Issey Miyake and AlainPaul, lingerie revealed at Amiri and Gucci, and timeless leather worn in 20°C weather just for style at Alexander Wang, Boss and Casablanca.
In conclusion, despite repeated attempts to establish itself as a liberating aesthetic, the Messy Girl still struggles to compete with its counterpart. The Clean Girl, on the other hand, dominates both in terms of trends and on social media, as the figures show. But with next spring-summer seemingly made up of both, could this be the beginning of a broader metaphor? That of finally trying to be yourself in the age of social media? While one advocates absolute control, the other claims to embrace disorder. But neither is completely ‘natural’. So, wouldn't the ideal be to be a Clean Girl one day and a Messy Girl the next?
Translated by Bethszabee Garner
