This year, fashion has pointed it out All about the romantic sensuality of polka dots

«There is no ideal moment for polka dots»: words from Marc Jacobs, who, as mischievous as ever, chose this timeless pop pattern for his latest women's collection, drawing inspiration from the world of comics and Walt Disney cartoons, from Minnie onward, with the result of launching it everywhere as a real trend. Playful, romantic, and far from anonymous, starting in Summer 2024, polka dots have returned to flood dresses, accessories, and even tights, both on the runway and red carpets, setting the fashion agenda for the coming year. In this overdose of polka dots, the TikTok trend "Sophia Loren Summer", launched by influencer Sarah Jordan Arcuri and recently so popular, certainly played a key role. Beloved by Yves Saint Laurent, Emanuel Ungaro, Comme des Garçons, Gianfranco Ferré, and Gianni Versace, these iconic motifs full of charm mark a revival that is both vibrant and reassuring. The vitality of this graphic theme in collections and on celebrity looks confirms the unpredictable character of this pattern, which recalls the perfection of the circular idea as well as the coquettish mantle of ladybugs. When Cate Blanchett materialized at the end of summer in Venice wearing a bold black pantsuit with oversized white polka dots by Moschino, it became clear how fabric pointillism is allergic to banality. Giorgio Armani also realized this, being a long-time champion of cloistered minimalism, when during his 1975 debut show in Milan, he decided to paint oversized polka dots on his fabrics himself with a marker, giving a hippie flavor to his early designs in homage to the counterculture.

For Summer 2025, as an antidote to the minimalism of previous seasons, Carolina Herrera, Valentino, Balmain, Moschino, and Acne Studios brought hypnotic virtuosity to the cheerful dots that, in certain sci-fi-inspired dresses by Prada, became dazzling decorative details. Thus, rather than embodying a resilient bourgeois trend reminiscent of prim 1950s housewives, circles, spots, and polka dots represent a subtly subversive factor, as evidenced by their popularity in contemporary art. Following in the footsteps of avant-garde movements, they reveal new semantic values. Already in the 1920s, during the Jazz Age, Sonia Delaunay's ‘simultaneous dresses’ displayed a frenzy of stylized circles as poetic geometries complementing Orphic Cubism. Polka dots later appeared in the works of Roy Lichtenstein and recent projects by Damien Hirst, ultimately conquering the vision of Yayoi Kusama. Known since the 1960s as the "queen of polka dots," the Japanese artist has obsessively explored circular patterns as a metaphor for infinity. Her surreal and therapeutic compositions often rest on giant pumpkins, making her a self-described «dot lost in a universe of dots». Kusama has turned polka dots into a symbol of freedom and love, challenging the expressive boundaries of contemporary artistic research with creations of high visual impact.