The fashion trends for spring summer 2020 already have me geed up for the return of warmer weather and longer days. And if the New York, London, Paris and Milan catwalks are anything to go by, this might just be the chicest season we’ve seen in years.

Whether you religiously overhaul your wardrobe each time the weather starts to turn, or just like to be across what’s going on in the fashion world, look no further for a zip-up of what the biggest designers are buzzing about right now.

From the colours and prints having a 2020 ‘moment’, to the ‘It’-pieces you’ll want to invest in ahead of time, here’s a roundup of the nine biggest trends set to dominate spring/summer.

Shirt Dresses

Fit for the office or spontaneous trips to the Balearics, the shirt dress is a summer wardrobe staple for a reason: it’s versatile, classy and timeless. Opt for a classic white oversized style or, alternatively, add some zest to the look by selecting a pastel hue or print. Ice-cream tones with subtle pinstripe lines in different directions is an instant winner too.

Victorian Necklines

Call it the Little Women effect but 2020 is set to be a year-long homage to the Victoriana. High necklines on billow-sleeved blouses and prairie dresses, coupled with intricate button detailing, will be the order of the day and we don’t forget to pair them with Doc Martin boots.

Shorts Suits

Meet the summer-approved alternative to your beloved oversized trouser suit: the short suit. Stick with utilitarian styles in neutral tones with oversized pockets and you can’t go wrong.

Ankle Chains

It’s time to channel your inner noughties and bring back some ankle bling. Forget tiny woven string and beaded pieces, this season it’s all about flashing that statement gold and silver hardwear. Better still, buy shoes that have them built into the strap for instant chic. Wear with understated co-ords, and finish with a vintage jacket.

Denim Dresses

The ‘70s revival is only getting stronger, with Studio 54 vibes slowly but surely taking over the catwalk. Uncertain how to wear the look? Think Farrah Fawcett-era Charlie’s Angels, when fitted silhouettes, big hair and platform heels were all the rage. Or swap the sky-high shoes for retro Nike trainers to make the denim one-piece look just as effortless during the day.

There was no escaping this story over the last couple of weeks, so it had to be Zipped Up.

We’re talking Gwyneth Paltrow’s “Goop” website. Following her advice on Vaginal steaming, Vaginal Jade Eggs, £10,000 Dildos and Sex Dust, Gwynnie’s obsession with the vagina continues.

Gwyneth has made a candle called This Smells Like My Vagina. It is priced at £58, which makes me conclude that Gwyneth is under-pricing her vagina, because a Jo Malone grapefruit candle is more expensive. And the vagina candle has sold out.

As many women will be aware, occasionally there are problems in “that” department. Whilst most can be fixed with a dose of Canesten, Gwyneth’s vagina problem, in classic Gwyneth fashion, ended up costing her £110,00 in legal costs. That was in 2018, when her near-notorious wellness company, Goop, was fined under California’s Civil Penalties laws for making “unsubstantiated” marketing claims about the company’s jade egg. It turns out, disappointingly, that shoving a random object up your vagina won’t balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles or increase bladder control. 

In fact, a gynaecologist wrote an open letter to Gwyneth which went viral, suggesting that an unwashed egg shoved inside you could cause toxic shock syndrome. Nevertheless, it is still for sale on goop.com, for £60.  Although after that legal unpleasantness, inscribed next to it on the site are: “Eggs are pre-drilled for string add-on, we recommend using unwaxed dental floss.” The mind does truly boggle.

I bet you’re wondering: what does Gwyneth’s vagina smell like? According to the candle blurb, it is a “funny, gorgeous, sexy and beautifully unexpected scent”, a mix of “geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with damask rose and ambrette seed”. To which one must surely conclude: Gwyneth sure does spend a lot of time examining her own odours to have picked up on all that.

If, like me, you do the school run in your gym kit, then it’s time to switch things up and change to ski-wear.

You know something’s up when Sweaty Betty, one of the first stores to realise the revenue potential of gym-kit mums, puts skiwear in several of its 50-odd shop windows nationwide. Much fitness wear seldom makes it to the gym, and now chic skiwear — from colourful sweaters with après ski slogans to fine-knit polo-necks and bold leggings — is starting to filter into the everyday.

Topshop, Boden, ASOS and H&M all now stock skiwear, and we’re not talking bulky, yeti-style cover-ups. It’s all about sleek, chic and slim-fitting clothes, designed to be equally wearable off the slopes.

Designers are plundering all the decades for inspiration, especially the Sixties, and this year’s skiwear just got sexy. I love Perfect Moment’s checked jumpsuit, which looks like something Bond girl Diana Rigg might have worn in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In the Seventies, flared salopettes, quilting, faux fur and bold, bright, graphic colours became popular. Topshop’s colour-block ski trousers and Asos’s high-waisted salopettes have just that vibe.

Move over Uggs and Asics, because Moon boots are also having a renaissance, with sales up 100 per cent and celebrities including Claudia Schiffer and Kylie Jenner donning the retro footwear. Meanwhile, Sorel offers the snow boot of choice for Elle Macpherson, Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Cambridge, among others.

And, if you’re in any doubt as to the relevance of the skiwear trend, next time you’re out, count the number of puffer jackets you see. The streets are awash with them.

• Left: Sweater, £325, chintiand parker.com; Trousers, £540, perfectmoment.com; Boots, £135, sorelfootwear.co.uk; Goggles, £475, moncler.com. Second left: Cashmere tracksuit, £495, tabithawebb.co.uk; Sweater (over shoulders), £230, essentiel-antwerp.com; Boots, £80, moonboot.com. Third left: Ski suit, £1,070, perfect moment.com; Roll-neck, £109, falke.com; Goggles, £475, moncler.com; Boots, £231, and skis, £445, ellis-brigham.com. Third right: Jumper, £99, hush-uk.com; Leggings, £65, sweatybetty.com; Boots, £109, massimo dutti.com; Scarf, £175, dorothee-schumacher.com. Second right: Top and leggings, both £65, sweaty betty.com; Boots, £80, moonboot.com; Cashmere socks, £39.99, sockshop.co.uk; Hat, £95, Grevi at fenwick.co.uk; Ski poles, £22, ellis-brigham.com. Right: Coat, £319, baumund pferdgarten.com; Leggings, £59, falke.com; Boots, £135, sorelfootwear.co.uk

Welcome to 2020, and our brand-new decade. I hope you all had a relaxing break – here’s to another year of fashion and lifestyle stories, zipped up for you every week, right here.

So far this year, Australia is literally on fire with half a billion animals perishing, Harry and Meghan have quit the Royal Family and Trump has tried hard to start World War 3. A nice simple way to ease into January.

Awards season kicked off with a brutal Ricky Gervais ripping the guts out of the Hollywood Elite, and the formidable JLO lost her crown as the world’s sexiest woman by turning up at the Golden Globes dressed as a Quality Street chocolate.

But let’s concentrate with new fashion happenings.

Every once in a while, a fashion trend comes along that’s so terrible, it renders me absolutely speechless. Denim panties, courtesy of a brand called Ssense, are one such product. Just when you thought jeans and underwear were two separate entities, they’ve been combined for 2020.

JANTIES.

Forget jeggings, janties are the new unnecessary hybrid clothing product in town. Combining the comfort of underwear and the… rough denim-ness of jeans (?) into one strange and yeast infection-inducing piece of fabric.

They’re mid-rise and come complete with button closure, belt loops, and pockets. These features are presumably intended to be a selling point, but they just leave one with more unanswered questions.

I can’t imagine wearing jeans under my jeans… or under anything else for that matter. They’re obviously not swimwear because they’re not marketed as such, and who would go swimming in jeans anyway? 

You’d expect that a novelty product like denim panties would have to be reasonably priced to take-off? They’re inappropriate, uncomfortable to wear and unsightly to boot. And get this – these suckers are being sold by Ssense for around £200.

So, as we enter a thus-far mental new decade, I’ll leave you to ponder whether to extract your credit card for the above (or not). In this instalment, we discover beauty trends for 2020 and learn how my favourite high-end designer Gucci kicks off 2020 with an epic fail.

Happy New Year. 

So, what can we expect in 2020 when it comes to beauty trends?

After much research, these are the key new looks for the brand-new decade. Laminated eyebrows, overdrawn lips and hair that looks like you just got out of bed are some of the hottest beauty trends for the coming year. 

Also, matte-finish foundation, cream blush and exaggerated lip liner are making a comeback just in time for Spring / Summer. But this time you’ll need to draw the parameter of your pout a few shades lighter than your lipstick. 

Here are the top 6 looks.

HALF-UP HALF-DOWN HAIR

1. Since Beyonce proclaimed to have ‘woken up like this’ in 2013, demand for ‘no makeup, makeup’ looks and effortless ‘bed head’ hairstyles has skyrocketed. The trend is set to continue in 2020, when half-up half-down top knots and ponytails will start to emerge. The Hun – half bun – is a good start.

BRUSHED-OUT BROWS

• Fluffy, brushed-out eyebrows will replace the ultra-polished ‘block’ brow of 2019. Women are achieving this highly defined look with a treatment which involves ‘laminating’ brows for a fuller, thicker texture, by applying a solution and pushing hair upwards so all strands are facing the same way. The practice, which is believed to have originated in Russia, is already wildly popular across Europe. The process takes less than 50 minutes and costs around £100 per session, on average.

 EXAGGERATED LIPS

• Exaggerated, overdrawn lips are making a comeback – but this time round, you’ll need to draw the parameter of your pout with liner a few shades lighter than your lipstick itself. The slightly overdrawn lip is set to be the order of the season this summer, giving the illusion of plumper, fuller lips with a softly defined cupid’s bow. Shades like sand, caramel and nude are on trend for the coming season, which is great news for your bank balance because these versatile hues go with almost any lip colour.

MATTE FOUNDATION

• While powder-based, matte foundation is associated with a caked, heavy and lacklustre finish, a new wave of liquid matte formulas spread across the skin like butter, creating a soft, creamy complexion that mimics real skin. Low-sheen, satin finish foundations are a great option for anyone with large pores or oily skin, thanks to their low content of oil and other pore-clogging ingredients.

CREAM BLUSH

• Hailed by beauty journalists as the ‘quickest trick for faking dewy, youthful radiance’, cream blush is back, offering more deeply defined cheekbones and shimmering complexions than ever before. Unlike powders and pigments, which are prone to caking, cream blush blends easily and sinks gently into the face, creating a seamless finish that looks like natural skin.

GLITTER EYESHADOW AND CUT CREASES

• Retro eyeshadow, inspired by the early 1970s disco era, is enjoying a rebirth, with bright pops of colour like blue and purple, smudged kohl eyeliner and all-over glitter some of the biggest styles for the coming year. The over-the-top trend means beauty lovers can get creative with their makeup – so applying eyeshadow with your finger is also acceptable for the first time in years. The striking ‘cut crease’, which involves using different shades of eye shadow to cut across the eyelid, creating a sharp contrast in colour, is set to be the statement look of 2020.

OK, we’re done with Christmas and New Year, but you’re not out of the “festive” woods just yet. Next on the calendar is Chinese New Year, which begins on January 25. And to celebrate, Gucci is releasing a Mickey Mouse themed collection, in honour of 2020 – the year of the mouse.

The unisex range features footwear and accessories, mixing the Italian fashion house’s signature prints with the iconic image of the most famous cartoon character ever. Obviously, the promo campaign was shot in Disneyland.

This isn’t the first time that Disney’s most famous rodent has made an appearance on Gucci’s catwalks. The brand also incorporated the Mickey as part of its spring/summer 2019 and Resort 2020 collections.

Never one to take itself too seriously, last year my fave fashion house, now almost 100 years old, launched a ‘Three Little Pigs’ collection in honour of 2019, which was Chinese year of the Pig.

In recent years, Gucci has become renowned for its bold colours and excessive patterns, particularly since the 2015 appointment of current creative director Alessandro Michele.

Michele has introduced a bold aesthetic to the brand, as well as a host of frequent collaborators, including Harry Styles, Jared Leto and Florence Welch.

Although Gucci is unquestionably riding high in 2020, I ask you – would you wear any of it, even though it’s Gucci?

It’s a NO from me. In fact, it’s taking the Mickey. 

The Disney x Gucci collection launched on January 3, 2020 in stores and online.

A bit like a journey round a Monopoly board, before Easter, we need to pass Valentine’s Day. And damn – it’s only five weeks away. So, boys, here’s a major heads up regarding what to buy that special someone in your life, for unwrapping on 14^th Feb.

Rihanna’s lingerie brand Savage X Fenty is no stranger to generating headlines. It’s probably the hottest lingerie on the market right now, achieving the major feat of overtaking Victoria’s Secret and Agent Provocateur.  It should be gift priority numero uno for V Day. 

Last year, the Barbadian star, the world’s wealthiest female singer, became the first black woman to lead a fashion brand, when she established Fenty.

In 2019, the label’s wildly successful New York Fashion week show was streamed on Amazon Prime. Its success is thought to be one of the reasons why Victoria’s Secret finally cancelled its long-maligned annual show.

Now, just weeks into 2020, Savage x Fenty is wasting no time in creating more waves, unveiling its Valentine’s Day collection. Designed by Adam Selman, the 19-piece range consists of two distinct collections: ‘Locket Down’ and ‘Down the Aisle’.

‘Down the Aisle’ is designed to be layered and mixed-and-matched, while ‘Locket Down’ is a vinyl foil spandex collection available in black and red hues.

Each set is packaged neatly into a Savage X Fenty Xtra VIP box with a bonus collectors’ Rihanna phone ring.

Commenting on the collaboration, Rihanna said: “I couldn’t imagine anyone other than designer Adam putting together the first Savage X Fenty designer collaboration. Adam is everything the brand stands for – fun, playful, sexy.”

The Locket Down box (£46), and Down the Aisle box (£30), are available to buy now at Savagex.com.

Welcome to the penultimate 2019 issue of Amanda Zips It Up. It’s full-on party season and here’s a heads-up for you.

A chunky gold chain is the “bling” to be seen in this festive month. Yes, if you buy one piece of jewellery this winter, make it a gold chain.

I first noticed the trend during the summer, adorned by the street style set at the Fashion Weeks. Since then, short, chunky gold chains have been trickling onto my feeds and wish lists. They’re set to be the only bling worth having come the new decade – in fact, Net-a-Porter have bet heavily on the trend, ordering 840 units of chain necklaces for spring 2020.

There’s a really appealing gold chain on Mango for £19.99 but, should you have £36,380 to spare, alternatively you could opt for the really rather fabulous 18K Rose Gold Diamond Chunky Chain Necklace from Shay.

The great thing about this jewellery trend is that it spans the full gamut – from high street to high end.

Personally I’ve got my eye on London brand By Alona’s chunky gold plated textured ‘Tiffany’ chain, set to drop next week. At a relatively reasonable £190, this is “statement bling” that treads the perfect balance between pretty and punchy.

Whatever your vibe and husband / boyfriend / other half’s budget, one thing is for sure, a chunky chain brings ample attitude to your look this party season.

Anyway, in this issue of Zips It Up we check out a Licence to Thrill in the men’s fashion stakes, pinpoint some Agent Provocateur copies for Christmas, and since today is officially Christmas Jumper Day – make some suggestions regarding how to look ‘cool’ and not ‘naff’ in a festive sweater.

 “No Time To Die” looks epic – but from the look of things, Daniel Craig’s wardrobe does not. Bond (2019 incarnation) is seen in a not-so-suave ribbed navy jumper, plus trousers fit for a plumber. Hardly 007’s usual stylish clobber.

The average bloke now spends up to 15 days a year visiting shops and browsing online for clothes. With that in mind, we’ve re-styled Bond’s shoddy 2019 outfit, plus investigated you how to recreate four other classic looks rocked by Daniel Craig as 007. With these tips you can get your wardrobe shaken and stirred just in time for Christmas.

Cool ‘n’ casual

Ditch naff jumpers and opt for this knit with a horizontal yarn to make your shoulders appear broader

• White high-collar top, £15 from Topman 
• Navy knit jumper, £35 from Topman 
• Trousers, £29.50 from M&S 
• Brown lace-up boots, £85 from Office 

Dressed down

Even Bond needs a dressed down day – relax in chinos and a casual knit to keep your look dapper

• Beige chinos, £28 from River Island 
• White T-shirt, £15 from M&S 
• Navy cardigan, £12 from Primark 
• Brown suede boots, £59 from Office

Eye spy grey suit

Reach for smart, light-coloured suits which are ideal for work, play and a licence to thrill

• Grey jacket, £65 from Topman 
• Grey trousers, £35 from Topman 
• White shirt, £26 from Burton 
• Navy tie, £2.50 from Primark 
• Black sunglasses, £5.99 from New Look
• Black brogues, £69 from Office 

Tuxedo or die

Make guests at your festive bash swoon in an updated, traditional tux with suave satin lapels

• Black tux jacket, £65 from Topman  
• Black trousers, £35 from Topman 
• White tux shirt, £40 from River Island 
• Shoes, £40 from River Island 
• Bow tie, £15 from M&S 

Tinker tailor

Look very sharp in or out of the office in a pinstriped three-piece suit

• Navy pinstripe trousers, £40 from River Island 
• Navy pinstripe waistcoat, £40 from River Island 
• Navy pinstripe jacket, £90 from River Island 
• Shoes, £40 from River Island 
• Blue shirt, £20 from Burton
• Tie, £10 from Burton 

Get Agent Provocateur-inspired lingerie for less, with sexy High Street dupes, just in time for Christmas.

Last week, DAISY LOWE was one of the queens of the red carpet at the Fashion Awards, wearing a bespoke lingerie outfit by Agent Provocateur. The 30-year-old model dazzled in a waist-shaping corset and sexy lace dress – a look that would set you back a (not so easy-on-the-eye) £1,990.

But hold on – there is an alternative. Tighten your belt and cinch in your waist with this copycat corset look. The High-cut shape will lengthen the legs, helping you look fabulous in fuchsia.

• Pink bodysuit (left), £275 from Agent Provocateur 
• Pink bodysuit (right), £20 from prettylittlething.com 

Delicate petals with sexy sheer are the perfect pairing for a feminine set

• Bra and brief set (left), £120 from Agent Provocateur 
• Floral thrill bra and thong (right), £42 from Ann Summers 

This gorgeous moody bloom set is too pretty to be kept under wraps

• Floral set (left), £150 from Agent Provocateur 
• Floral set (right), £44 from Lipsy 

Festive bright red will lift your mood – and the boned cups will lift the bust, too

• Red bra and briefs (left), £265 from Agent Provocateur 
• Red bra and briefs (right), £33 from Ann Summers