Bubble hems surged in popularity last year; from the runways to your nearest mall brand outpost, skirts puffed up like soufflés, and dresses resembled dollops of whipped cream. Fast forward to now, and fashion’s fixation on the bubble skirt trend remains robust. With the abundance of puffballs featured in the Spring 2025 shows, on the street style scene, and readily available online, we’re gearing up for round two of the bubble hem craze.
The Spring 2025 collections clearly showcase a trend towards voluminous silhouettes. For instance, Aläia features sculptural, oversized maxi skirts, while Chloé offers multi-ruffle gowns reminiscent of those worn by characters in John Hughes films heading to prom. From my own explorations (e.g., casual afternoon walks in New York City’s SoHo), I've noticed that balloon skirts from J.Crew, Aritzia, and Reformation are particularly popular among Manhattan locals. Additionally, my hours spent looking at Fashion Month street style indicate that women in Paris and Milan are loving Prada’s satin puffball skirts and Khaite’s airy dresses made from frothy organza.
Celebrities are also big fans of the balloon. Zoe Saldaña brought three tiers of Saint Laurent bubbles to the 2025 Oscars, and Taylor Russell’s adorable Aläia bubble skirt was a breath of fresh air at the Venice Film Festival. Off the red carpet, Hailey Bieber brings balloon minis on dinner dates with Justin, while Kylie Jenner wears micro puffballs (and approximately $40,000 worth of Cartier watches) on superyachts.
A year after the bubble trend took off—and 25 years after it peaked as a trend in the early 2000s—brands continue to feature airy, voluminous skirts in both luxury and affordable retail markets. Simbarashe Cha, a street style photographer based in New York City, tells me over Instagram that he's seeing bubble skirts "everywhere." Jalil Johnson, the author of the Consider Yourself Cultured newsletter, finds them at nearly every brand appointment he attends. Molly Rooyakkers, the data analyst behind Style Analytics—a must-follow Instagram account that shares timely fashion insights—has the data to prove that balloon skirt wearers are no longer just part of a niche group of fashion insiders—those who read Substacks from industry experts and knew how to pronounce "Loewe" long before it became common knowledge. "Looking at the search volume data, we can see a 185-percent growth in 'bubble skirts' searches on Pinterest and a 155-percent growth on Google," says Rooyakkers.
What sets today’s bubble skirt trend apart from previous iterations is that budget-friendly retailers are getting in on the action. "The most common bubble skirt brands people are currently searching for worldwide are Aritzia and Zara, which have seen over 100 percent growth in searches for their respective bubble skirts," Rooyakkers says. The data analyst believes that the mass-market accessibility has helped the recent bubble skirts eclipse earlier versions and maintain their status as a mainstream trend. "Interestingly, historical data shows that this trend has already exceeded the number of people searching for it back in 2012, the last time the bubble skirt was popular," Rooyakkers adds.
Sometimes all you have to do is look around you. Just yesterday, on a warm, fool’s spring morning in March, I saw a woman wearing a navy puffball maxi skirt paired with a Breton-striped shirt and simple ballet flats. Alas, the streets don't lie—the bubble skirt trend continues to thrive. You might even argue it's becoming a classic.
