Crochet is usually associated with multicoloured granny blankets tossed over the back of a sofa. But recently, the homespun craft has pivoted to fashion’s hottest trend. From high-end stores to high street, hype for the handicraft is everywhere, spanning womenswear and men’s.
Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, were photographed earlier this week leaving a London restaurant in his and hers crochet looks. At Glastonbury, baseball caps and denim cutoffs have been overtaken by crochet bucket hats and skirts.
Reality TV stars including Love Islanders favour crochet bikinis, while their male counterparts wear crochet polo shirts unbuttoned to showcase honed abs. When the show’s host, Maya Jama, kicked off this year’s series – an unofficial signifier of summer starting – she did so in a white crochet mini dress. The trend is the fashion equivalent of “yarn bombing” – the street art practice of covering public objects with textiles.
Meanwhile, the men’s section of the online retailer Asos offers more than 200 crochet items including vests and shorts, and the women’s division has more than 1,000, with a red and white crop top one of its fastest selling pieces.
At John Lewis, a £49 geometric short-sleeved shirt has sold out. Reflecting a wider interest in boho vintage, online platforms for secondhand clothes are also enjoying the benefits. Depop has experienced a 32% increase in searches for crochet since January.
Zak Maoui, the style director of the Gentlemen’s Journal, says crochet has moved on from its connotations with 70s hippy style. He points to Kelce’s cream ensemble as an example of “neat and subtle” crochet. “It’s a way of tapping into a sexier style of dressing without flashing too much,” he says.
Sierra Ndagire, the founder of Crolage, who hand-makes stretchy crochet dresses and matching separates in London, says: “Crochet can be very individualistic, allowing people to express themselves more through their clothing. Although it’s popular, chances are you won’t be wearing the same thing as everyone else.”
However, not all items advertised as crochet are in fact crochet. The designer Ruth Herring, who creates crochet prototypes for luxury designers including JW Anderson and SS Daley, says cheap crochet items are often lace knitted or created using an embroidery technique on a machine while authentic crochet is handmade with a single hook and yarn.