Every great 2025 fashion trend needs a celebrity patron saint to help it really take off. Look what Bella Hadid has done for Penny Lane coats and Bayonetta glasses, for instance. Or the starring role Hailey Bieber has played in accelerating the '80s jewelry and leather bomber jacket revival. Katie Holmes is at least 30 percent of the reason my closet is full of baggy jeans and we have Zendaya's diamond engagement ring to thank for single-handedly parlaying last year's East-West bag craze into a broader accessories trend this year. In other words, designers can tell us what to wear and stylists can show us how to wear it. But celebrities still have a special way of inspiring obsession.
I'll admit I have a vested interest in seeing the boho-chic trend renaissance come to fruition. Something I've been gradually forced to accept about myself is that appearing a little bit frazzled is my look. Leaning into an aesthetic that romanticizes clutter and haphazardness just makes sense for a woman like me! All the trend cycle needs now is a charismatic muse ready to pick up where boho icons like Sienna Miller, Nicole Richie, and the Olsen twins left off in the 2000s.
Sydney Sweeney, Jennifer Lopez, and Amal Clooney tapped into boho 2.0 last year after watching labels like Chloé, Ulla Johnson, and Isabel Marant dupe their own archives by sending wedge heels, low-slung belts, chiffon ruffles, suede fringe, and slouchy boots down the fall runways. But I wasn't convinced the trend would find purchase until Kaia Gerber stepped out in those—yes, those—ponchos.
The poncho that started it all was the gauzy white lace wrap and flared black trousers Gerber wore to host dinner and a reading for her book club, Library Science, at New York's iconic Hotel Chelsea in September 2024. Both pieces came courtesy of Chloé's Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear collection, but Gerber made the romantic look her own with Iris Apfel-coded black oversize glasses and a cascading gold pendant statement necklace that looked like a souvenir from a far-away place. After all, boho style is really about mixing prints, textures, and disparate references to '60s rock, '70s folk, and more to create that worldly eclecticism we love so much.
The poncho that sealed Gerber's fate as a boho darling, however, was the gold cape and matching mini dress she wore to The Hollywood Reporter's Next Gen party in November 2024. Pulled from Gucci alum Alessandro Michele's debut collection for Valentino, the semi-sheer two-piece set combined intricate mixed-metal beading with tiered pearl-trim hems. Dressed down with a bookish pair of knee socks and girlish pastel purple kitten heels, the finished look was a masterclass in bohemian over-accessorizing.
After traipsing around the city in nothing but cap-sleeved Dôen sundresses and Repetto ballet flats last summer, then spending fall soft-launching her bohemian style rebrand, Gerber fully committed to the trend in winter. Boho-chic even at bedtime, the model's Library Science x Dôen holiday collaboration resulted in a translucent white babydoll nightgown with a ruffled neckline and scalloped eyelet edges. Made for lazing in bed with a book like a Sofia Coppola film character, the sold-out and since-restocked design is pure vintage fantasy—perfect for a boho It girl in the making.
So far, Kaia Gerber's 2025 outings have gone heavy on cozy New Year-essentials like Birkenstocks, jeans, and J.Crew sweaters. But make no mistake: When she finally gets back on the fashion week circuit, she'll do it in her boho-best.
