Bubble hems are back: From Aditi Rao Hydari to Ananya Panday, this trend is taking over fashion
Fashion’s most playful silhouette makes a buoyant return, floating between couture craftsmanship and celebrity-approved style.
Fashion, quite literally, is having a bubble moment. Gathered hemlines with bulbous proportions have been an iconic silhouette across eras. From Cyndi Lauper’s punk-princess bubble skirt in 1986 to Princess Diana’s striped off-shoulder bubble gown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987, the silhouette’s popularity has waxed and waned through the decades, going from camp to couture, and back again.
But in 2025, the bubble is having its biggest pop yet. “Fashion is cyclical, and the bubble hem’s return after the ’50s and then ’80s simply reflects our collective need for joy and playfulness after years of minimalism,” notes designer Payal Jain. “The bubble hem speaks to the broader desire in fashion, one that thirsts for drama, nostalgia, and femininity.”
On the runways, be it Paris or London, designers are reimagining the hemline across their collections. Guangzhou-based luxury label Mithridate revived the shape with avant-garde tailoring, while Prada leaned into volume and whimsy, sending models down the runway in candy-colored silk bubble skirts. The renewed fascination with the style has also made its way to celebrity wardrobes alike.
Bubble forever
In India, designers too are embracing the silhouette’s renewed energy.Fashion designer Rina Dhaka, who has revisited the bubble form multiple times over the years, shares a nostalgic connection with it. “I am a bubble addict,” she shares. “As a teen, I remember wearing one to Ghungroo, which was a major club in Delhi at that time.” Her latest collection at Lakmé Fashion Week featured an oversized white bubble skirt paired with a structured top, which serves as proof that even decades later that fashion’s fascination with bubbulous volume hasn’t deflated.
Polkas in full bloom
For her birthday soirée, Malaika Arora leaned into vintage glamour with a white-and-black polka-dotted bubble hem gown by Gauri & Nainika. The strapless silhouette and voluminous hem, with the bubble trail, reinterpreted the classic bubble shape with couture-worthy precision. Paired with a feather fan and a slick updo, the look felt like the drama in the 1950s silhouettes that were modern and flirty, but still unapologetically feminine.
Structured whimsy
Merging whimsy and structure, Aditi Rao Hydari’s look by AFEW Rahul Mishra features a strapless denim bodice with a voluminous striped bubble skirt, a nod to the trend of exaggerated silhouettes revival this season. Styled with ruby-red heels and soft waves, the look feels nostalgic and beautiful, much like Aditi herself.
Bubble couture
At Vogue World, Barbara Palvin stepped into a vintage corsetted bubble skirt crafted by Erik Charlotte. The look reimagined the bubble silhouette through a corseted, pearl-white mini dress featuring a dramatically inflated hem that echoed the silhouettes from the past. With her curls left loose and a minimal clutch in hand, the model embodied an ethereal aura.
Mini, but mighty
Ananya Panday stepped out in a cobalt-blue mini bubble skirt with a liquid trail on her side. The exaggerated volume of the hem juxtaposed in the form of a mini skirt was a playful way to balance the look. The style is completed with a high-neck bodice and ankle-strap heels.
