Cubicle Couture: Why Office Attire is on the Rise in Fashion. 

By Bronwen K. Bradshaw 

Features Writer 

Photo credit: Photo 12/Alamy Stock Photo 

After the COVID-19 lockdown, when Americans returned to the in-person workforce, Gen Z reimagined office couture to fit today’s fashion trends. The mix of remote and in-person jobs has merged office and street attire in media and fashion.   

During fall and winter fashion weeks, luxury designers such as Prada, Gucci, and Tory Burch embraced office work in their collections, elevating professional business attire with sleek blazers, pencil skirts, and oversized suits. In her spring 2024 collection “The Commute,” Jane Wade drew inspiration from her corporate office experiences, where she often felt caught between work and casual attire. She merged the two styles and envisioned new professional outfits and trends in the workplace.   

Emily Sundberg coined the term “corporate fetish” about the trend, writing in an article, “The Corporate Fetish is when people glamorize the idea of an office—the water cooler conversations, getting dressed (actually dressed, dry-cleaner-pick-up dressed) for an 8-7 job, and spinning around in a desk chair. This is all while office occupancy hovers around 50% in New York.” Sunberg continued to discuss how this fashion aesthetic is prevalent in many work wardrobes. Even though many office workers do not hold the title of CEO or make a substantial amount of money, their outfits suggest they do.   

This trend takes inspiration from 1980s corporate America when office jobs and women in corporate positions were on the rise. In her article titled, “Why Is Every Fashion Girl Dressing Like Patrick Bateman Right Now?,” writer Madeline Hirsch describes the prevalence of full suits and ties on catwalks, in celebrity closets, and on social media, in stark contrast to the early Y2K trends seen throughout the last couple of years. Hirsch states that the trend is “Subdued, masculine, and, to be honest, a little sinister. But, that’s part of its charm. In a world dominated by dopamine dressing and low-rise jeans, there’s something alluring and transgressive about a boxy, corporate suit.”   

Along with the corporate fetish aesthetic, a rise in the trend name “office siren” has been seen all over social media and fashion discourse. Like the corporate fetish style, office sirens focus on neutral colors, specifically gray and black, with sleek blazers and stiletto shoes. Much of the aesthetic takes inspiration from the work culture of the 1990s and 2000s, such as Gisele Bündchen’s character in The Devil Wears Prada (shown in the image above). However, some have deemed the trend unsuitable for the workplace due to the tight-fitted clothing and short hemlines. Hannah Getahun from Business Insider says, “Criticisms of the office-siren aesthetic are that the look may not be practical—or even appropriate—for work. Styles associated with the aesthetic can sometimes include shorter hemlines or tighter-fitting clothes.”   

However, both trends accomplish the same goal: looking fashionable while romanticizing the workplace. It is not just clothes that people wear in this trend but also the attitude they exude while struggling with commuting, meeting deadlines, and getting proposals approved. Many Gen Z people have remarked that bold workplace fashion makes working in a cubicle less tedious and adds excitement and sophistication.   

As more young people venture into the office environment, this trend will continue to evolve. Pencil skirts and blazers will always be in vogue, whether you’re making copies or working at your computer from 9 to 5. Despite the perception of office jobs as mundane and monotonous, this style breathes new life into dressing for work, injecting a sense of rejuvenation and optimism into the workplace.