My favourite kind of fashion moment is not a Met Gala headline-maker or a Paris catwalk extravaganza. Nope. My favourite fashion moment is when one piece of clothing is suddenly everywhere for no obvious reason, which is what is happening right now with the quarter-zip sweater.
The jumper with a chin-to-breastbone zip, which has been around for ever, is the breakout main character of the 2026 wardrobe. At a Chanel catwalk show held in New York recently, a quarter-zip knit was the star of the show, worn with a fancy cocktail-hour skirt and diamond drop earrings. Charli xcx teamed a Saint Laurent one with sunglasses and shorts on her last trip to Paris fashion week. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wears stealth-wealth dark merino ones in the dugout, rapper Central Cee wears a cream Ralph Lauren one on TikTok – and the man opposite you on the train right now, taking a Zoom call on his AirPods while eating Pret porridge, is probably wearing one too.
This is fashion at its most capricious and bonkers and I love the you-couldn’t-make-it-up madness of it. Three years ago, this sweater only seemed to come in grey, and was worn by Rishi Sunak, Prince Harry and our mate on the train with the porridge. It definitely wasn’t worn by supermodels or pop stars. Back then it was called a half-zip, before a name pivot that, confusingly, has nothing to do with the length of the zip, which has remained pretty much the same. It is just social media doing that thing where it gives something as old as the hills a cute new name. Picky tea became girl dinner, doing something on your own became a solo date – and the half-zip became a quarter-zip. Go figure.
The quarter-zip has come roaring back into view as preppy has overtaken streetwear and athleisure as the fashion vernacular. Logos have shrunk, trainers have tidied themselves up. A slight air of boarding-school dorkiness has become cool. Ralph Lauren, whose brand has always understood that preppy isn’t quite about wealth or class, but rather about the ease that these bring, has held faith with the quarter-zip for decades. Readily available at a Uniqlo near you, the style became a way of signalling that you were in tune with this stealth-wealth moment, even if your bank balance was not.
Fashion right now is noticeably less interested in shock value than it once was. We have edged away from the era of one-legged trousers and shoes that look like props from a sci-fi film, and towards the familiar. It’s hard not to wonder if this is a response to the wider world. When politics feels febrile, the economy wobbly and the news relentlessly alarming, fashion clings to comfort and conservatism. The quarter-zip is cosy without being childish, sturdy but not claustrophobic. You zip it up when you want to feel contained; you unzip it when you want to breathe.
Where things get interesting is when the quarter-zip moves into womenswear. Freed from the commuter-casual connotations of being worn over a shirt and tie with an office lanyard, it becomes a lot more fun. The classic styling trick is to wear it unzipped over a white T-shirt – that flash of white is always flattering next to the face, like a built-in ring light. But from there, the rules dissolve.
Instead of defaulting to jeans, women are wearing quarter-zips with tiny shorts that skim the thigh or slippery, bias-cut skirts that move when you walk. Or leaning into the old-timey masculine silhouette of a quarter-zip with pleat-front trousers: the 1950s, as seen in Marty Supreme. The contrast is the point: sporty knit meets evening fabric, practical zip meets something faintly impractical. Long, dangly earrings that echo the vertical drop of the zip add a touch of drama.
Not so long ago, the quarter-zip was coded as belonging to a very specific type. But it has slipped its constraints and now belongs to supermodels, to pop stars, to me and to you. This universality is part of the appeal. Yes, it is absolutely bonkers that your uncle’s favourite Saturday jumper has suddenly become the breakout star of 2026. But that’s exactly why it’s so satisfying.
Model: Daria at Milk. Styling assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Hair by Sam McKnight and Evolve Organic Beauty. Quarter-zip jumper, £280, Ba&sh. T-shirt, £55, With Nothing Underneath. Wrap skirt, £27.99, H&M. Heels, £59, Charles & Keith. Earrings, £225, Kitty Joyas. Necklace, £22.99, Mango. Ring, £165, Bar Jewellery. Ring, £165, Bar Jewellery.