2025's Fashion Rewind: Backlash, Viral Trends, and Biomaterials

If you were online at any point in 2025, you probably saw people debating the designer sandal with a six figure price tag or how a tiny toy turned into a must have viral luxury charm. Fashion, heritage, science and social media came together in ways that felt chaotic, fascinating and sometimes unexpectedly brilliant. Here's a rewind of five moments that made headlines. Some designers pushed boundaries while people turned niche ideas into global moments overnight. Before everything resets again, let us look back at the moments that defined 2025.

Prada Kolhapuri Sandal Uproar 

Prada released sandals identical to traditional Indian Kolhapuri chappals and priced them around ₹1.2 lakh, with no initial credit to the actual makers. This sparked massive online outrage and even a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court, demanding compensation for the artisans and proper acknowledgment of the craft's GI status, but the situation eventually ended in a collab.

Dior's Mukaish Coat Backlash

Dior's Spring/Summer 2025 show featured a $200,000 coat decorated with traditional Indian mukaish embroidery worked by Indian artisans over 30 days, but no credit or cultural context was given initially. The fashion commentary video highlighting this went viral, reigniting the debate on luxury labels using artisan techniques without honouring the craft's origin. 

Labubu Doll Craze

The Labubu bag charm unexpectedly became the accessory of the year after Blackpink's Lisa was spotted carrying it. It went viral worldwide with celebrities posting it. And it started an unhealthy obsession and overconsumption trend where a quirky toy into a fashion staple that crowded feeds and sold out everywhere.

Plant Based Feathers

Plant‑based feather alternatives by Stella McCartney and Fevvers were a much need invention. At fashion events in 2025, Stella McCartney released garments using the world's first plant‑based feather alternative, created with sustainability startup Fevvers to mimic bird like feathers. It is a great cruelty free option for a fashion future that harm no animals.

Iris van Herpen's Bioluminescent Algae Dress

Van Herpen showcased a couture piece made from living, bioluminescent micro organisms (about 125 million single‑cell algae) that emit light and show a symbiotic, nature‑inspired vision of fashion and ecology. This dress was a biodesign visual treat that almost felt like science fiction.