Summer trend that’s to dye for: It’s not just for festivals and teens, this season’s hippy print has had a grown-up makeover

Dior, Stella McCartney and Tom Ford sent tie-dye styles down their runways
Hanna Woodside says the trend has had a makeover since the 1990s
UK-based style expert picks out a selection of items for embracing the trend

Published: 22:04 BST, 28 July 2021 | Updated: 22:17 BST, 28 July 2021

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Say ‘tie-dye’ and you’d be forgiven for thinking DIY hippy-dippy vibes or baggy T-shirts from the 1990s. But this trend has grown up and had something of a makeover since we last saw it.

Less psychedelic, its modern incarnation is softer, subtler — and surprisingly sophisticated.

Dior, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney and Tom Ford all sent tie-dye styles down their spring-summer 2021 runways, and the trend has filtered down to the High Street with very wearable results.

UK-based fashion expert Hanna Woodside shares advice for embracing the tie-dye trend this summer. Pictured: Dress, £55.20, warehousefashion.com; sandals, £36, jigsawonline.com; hat, £6, katieloxton.com

Dress, £19.99, mango.com; sandals, £145, reiss. com; earrings, £35, and bag, £150, jigsaw-online.com

Shirt, £89.99, zara.com; trousers, £150, and sandals, £145, reiss.com

Amid the sea of whimsical gingham and statement florals, a midi dress in a tie-dye print feels fresher and cooler. If too many polka dots and pastel checks are threatening to tip your summer wardrobe into twee territory, the new tie-dye may just be the perfect antidote.

With tie-dye 2.0, gone are the technicolour explosions, and neon splodges you should really pass on to your daughter.

Instead, we have beautiful midi dresses in cool blues and lilacs mixed with swirls of white, and earthy orange tones that look great with khaki. For evening, Zara’s sea-green linen dress with pale yellow splashes, fourth from left, is a world away from tweeny rainbow tie-dye.

Dress, £59.99, zara. com; heels, £275, russellandbromley. co.uk; bag, £29.99, tkmaxx.com

Shirt, £295, tabithawebb.co.uk; trousers, £88.50, Victoria Beckham at fenwick.co.uk; sandals, £145, reiss.com

Dress, £50, riverisland.com; sandals, £36, jigsawonline.com

You don’t have to do it head-to-toe, though. An unexpected dash of tie-dye — say, peeking out under a white linen suit — immediately injects something summery and fun, without it being the centrepiece of your outfit. (Combining it with tailoring counterbalances the hippiness of the print, too.)

With today’s digital printing techniques, the inky patterns come in many forms, from small uniform ripples to larger, more abstract blurs. So whether you want to dip your toe into the trend or dive right in, there’s a tie-dye out there for everyone. Go on, you know you want to . . .