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Head into any high-street fashion store and you’ll be faced with a quarter-zip. The style that used to be most commonly worn by finance bros has become pre-spring’s unexpected breakout star. Its popularity began when Jason Gyamfi, a New York-based computer science graduate, posted a TikTok video of himself and a friend wearing a quarter-zip. “We don’t do Nike Tech,” he said, “we don’t do coffee. It’s straight quarter-zips and matchas around here”. The subtext was about Black men defying stereotypes. The luxury fashion world has reclaimed the style too, with Chanel, Miu Miu and Tory Burch issuing takes on the preppy city boy favourite.
At least part of the reason the quarter-zip has become popular so quickly is that they make for PERFECT LAYERING PIECES. This is also why they’re such a useful packing piece, and an easy way of giving your city-break look 2026 ENERGY. Want to update your airport look? This is it. To avoid looking like a morally bankrupt city broker, it’s just a case of judicious styling. Look to Chanel’s baggy jeans and heels combination, or for a more polished look, team with TAILORED, SLOUCHY TROUSERS AND LOAFERS (very Phoebe Philo).
This month, global search platform Lyst reported that Polo Ralph Lauren’s cable-knit quarter-zip was the most desirable product for the fourth quarter of last year. And you don’t need to look far to find a great version. A merino-wool or cashmere style will automatically feel more luxe; Phoebe Philo’s simple grey style is the ultimate trophy piece, but if you don’t have £1,100 to spare, then M&S and Cos both do more affordable styles. A bolt of colour is also an easy way of diffusing any corporate connotations; Arket’s men’s duck yellow iteration is a great buy, as is Oysho’s cobalt blue design; the perfect antidote to persistently grey skies.
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Lead image: M&S
Ella Alexander is Citizen Femme’s fashion features editor. She started her career at the Evening Standard, and has since held senior editorial roles at Vogue, The Independent and Harper’s Bazaar, where she remains a contributing editor. She also writes for The Telegraph, Sunday Times Style, Service95 and CNN. She is an author, having co-written Dame Zandra Rhodes’ memoir, Iconic: My Life In Fashion In 50 Objects, published by Transworld in July 2024. Her favourite travel destination is Catania, Sicily’s second city.
