This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.This New Trend Is the Exact Opposite of Quiet Luxury

Natalie HammondFri, April 17, 2026 at 7:34 PM UTC

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Have You Tried Printmaxxing?Getty Images

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Kaleidoscopic blossoms, windowpane checks, rainbow stripes, and classic polka dots. These are not options for your guest room’s wallpaper—who could get a wink in such extroverted surroundings!—but a roll call of patterns from the Spring 2026 catwalks. Because instead of tasteful (read: boring) neutrals or, worse, head-to-toe black, the concept of “printmaxxing” is about to enter the chat.

It’s not just about wearing print, but instead how you wear print that matters this spring (hence the “maxxing”). That could mean clashing two contrasting patterns together or choosing a garment so eye-catching that it creates a visual cacophony all by itself.

Carey Mulligan in Dries Van NotenSteve Granitz - Getty Images

Carey Mulligan printmaxxed for her latest red carpet appearance, arriving in Dries Van Noten, a label that would almost certainly be listed under printmaxxing were it in the dictionary. Her strapless dress contained three different florals: one big, one small and one pixelated into romantically blurred squares that suggested petals, stems, and leaves.

Alexa Demie in Bob MackieTommaso Boddi/GA - Getty Images

At the season three premiere of Euphoria, Alexa Demie was a modern showgirl in vintage Bob Mackie, a fabulously striped gown with lines going this way and that. One direction of stripes might have looked old-hat, but the clash of many felt new, an optical illusions of sorts. Elle Fanning revived the pinstripe for the premiere of Margot’s Got Money Troubles, meanwhile, stepping out in a boss-lady two-piece by Givenchy. The maxxing element came from the styling with a leather neckerchief; a nod to a gentleman’s tie in the same blood red as her lipstick.

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Elle Fanning in Givenchy by Sarah BurtonMichael Loccisano - Getty Images

There’s a clutch of brands who belong in the printmaxxing hall of fame. As mentioned, Dries Van Noten is fluent in the language, treating print—whether it’s a blown-up polka dot or an interrupted spiral—almost like a neutral. If you can add one of the brand’s printed scarf-tie skirts to your wardrobe this spring, you’ll be printmaxxing before you know it.

Edward Berthelot - Getty Images

Laura Vidrequin Roso, ex-buyer and brand consultant, wore this very garment in Paris. “I decided to wear the skirt tied around the waist like a pareo. I love that garment in the summer and think we should see it more often on the streets,” she says. Vildrequin Roso paired it with a vertically-striped knit in tangerine and burgundy, “grounding through the colors and stripes, which broke with the skirt’s geometric shape,” explains she explains. “People loved it. I think colorful outfits are equivalent to a big hello to an old friend. Very inviting and wholehearted.”

Issey Miyake Pleats Please is another one-to-watch for prints that will make you look twice. Its “City Collage” pants, with the brand’s classic elasticated waist and pleated fabrication, depict the, “ever-changing urban landscape, composed from a layered collage of enlarged photographs,” according to their description.

Edward Berthelot - Getty Images

At Lovebirds, based in New Delhi, a single print can take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months to develop. “It usually begins with an idea or reference from the world around us—architecture, landscapes, or textures from places we travel to. From there, the process can begin in different ways: sometimes with a sketch, sometimes through photography or craft experiments like tie-dye, batik, or shibori,” say the brand’s founders, Gursi Singh and Amrita Khanna. One of their favorites this season is the garden print, “inspired by the lush gardens of Sri Lanka. It features banana leaves and tropical lotuses interpreted in black and white to bring it closer to the quiet, restrained aesthetic of Geoffrey Bawa. In many ways, it also became a tribute to the butterfly pond at Lunuganga,” they say.

If you’re struggling to imagine a world in which you can printmaxx in real life and not just out of office, Vidrequin Roso has practical advice. “Start with one piece, away from the face or neck, and then build from there; it’s often easier to wear prints on the bottom. If you have a printed top, always remember you can tone it down with a shirt over it,” she says. You also shouldn't overthink it. As Khanna says, “Prints can actually be very liberating—they bring energy and personality to an outfit without needing much else. Think of a print the same way you would think of color; it’s simply another way of expressing personality.”

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