The 'Radical Optimism' of Dua Lipa's Style
Dua Lipa is poised to own 2024. New album Radical Optimism drops in early May and her blossoming relationship with professionally handsome actor Callum Turner is going strong.
But that'd all be merely be a bit of good news on its own.
What takes Dua Lipa from good to great, from a solid 2024 to a year to remember is her remarkably excellent personal style, demonstrated in a series of street style photos so incredibly consistent that she ought to be an ambassador for the Japanese subway system.
I present the latest in a long line of sublime looks: Ferragamo's green leather coat and wool jacket worn with leggings and tall boots. Easy, radically optimistic luxury.
Dua Lipa established herself as a consistently stylish person in 2023, really — something no one ever had any doubt about, either, but something only made abundantly clear when her outfits began to physically embody a Gen-Z wardrobe so quintessentially effervescent, so radically optimistic that it was itself, well, radically optimistic.
The hoodies with horns, the perfectly baggy jeans, the leather trench, the Bottega Veneta, that one pair of mesh sandals that The Row all but popularized, and the archival designer pulls worthy of Fashion Twitter were all present, accounted for, and remarkably organic.
Because Dua Lipa always had a natural gift for dialing in her outfits' proportions — tiny top and big pants: check; big coat and flat shoes: check — and a canny grasp of garments that're both timely and timeless.
Like, you can never really go wrong with a Birkin and Sambas but it's that Dua Lipa made them look fresh, over-accessorizing the former and pairing the latter with '90s-ish skater jeans.
To be sure, she has help. She often works with stylist Lorenzo Posocco, for instance, who helped devise her Ferragamo look.
But we're not just talking about press junkets, red carpets, and planned events with planned outfits.
I mean, Dua Lipa owns those too, yeah.
But just as impressive is her off-duty steeze, an ongoing case study in not only how young people today really dress but also how they want to dress.
Because great style is only really great if it's also desirable, the kind of thing that makes other people want to find the perfect slightly oversized leather moto jacket or washed-out jeans that juuuuuust hit the top of the sneakers.
There's magic in grounding oft-unattainable luxury goods in real-world outfits. Optimistic outfits.
And, on top of that, Dua Lipa's practically always beaming that supernova smile, the mark of aspirational contentedness.
This is what I'm saying: she's not just dressing with panache, she's reppin' actual radical optimism. Is there any greater flex?
