IF YOU WANT A peek at this year’s fashion trends? Gaze into the past from the eyes of today’s students, young celebrities, and even skaters. And you’ll see … not too much is changing.
Unlike previous years that ushered in new styles and designs, 2025 should hold steady with demand for oversized clothing made from heavyweight, durable materials with a retro flair.
That means a year without a complete do-over in new materials and inventory for screen printers. But hold on. When thinking about retro, oversized, durable, heavyweight materials, you might ask, “Haven’t I seen this outfit before?” Well, yes, you have. But before we go into that, let’s dive into who’s wearing it.

This new 9-ounce American Apparel Super Heavyweight T-shirt features a 1˝ 2 x 2 chunky rib collar and cuffs that show how thicker collars and standout detailing are being added to tees this year for a more premium look.
2025’s Cultural Influencers
Today’s youth are this year’s big cultural influencers. We’re talking about college and high school students desiring self-expression, individuality, and a social media presence that makes them powerful tastemakers. They often embrace and reinvent retro styles, turning them into viral trends that quickly gain traction across generations.
Trends continue to be influenced by young celebrities with huge social media followings, allowing them to showcase trends in real time. Their outfits and style choices are instantly visible to millions, making them highly influential in shaping fashion trends their fans quickly adopt.
And then there’s the rebellious skate culture’s countercultural influence with a DIY ethos that aligns with nonconformist fashion. We see skaters pioneering styles that challenge mainstream fashion and blend retro looks with streetwear. Their visibility, creativity, and connections to broader subcultures create trends that ripple through fashion markets to become mainstream.
In 2025, these three groups want long-lasting, comfortable clothing reminiscent of a pre-2020 era.
Styles and Fabrics
The need for durability and longevity is driving demand for more heavyweight fabrics. Consumers want clothes that last longer and are suited for activities at work and home. These heavier fabrics — ranging from 7-9 ounces — also give off a higher perceived quality because of their weight. This makes them ideal for several markets including workwear, streetwear, music festival merch, skate and surf, tours and roadshows, and kids’ apparel.
Look for more heavyweight styles to pop up in streetwear, especially as the workwear trend we’ve been seeing continues delivering that durability and toughness, while also offering a distinct look. The heavyweight trend is perfect for this year as streetwear and workwear fashion blend into the mainstream.
Heavyweight styles also will be a big draw for parents who want more value and wear out of their kids’ clothes. They want clothing that can withstand frequent washings and endure physical activities. Not to mention, some parents with an affinity toward a brand like adidas will buy their kids the same outfits or sneakers — bringing forth another minor societal trend that impacts the clothes we produce.
We’re also starting to see new heavyweight styles feature more elevated detailing like thicker necklines, collars, cuffs and hems that give garments a more polished, structured appearance, making even basic pieces feel more luxurious and of higher quality. We see styles like rugged heavy sweatshirts pop up in resort shops, corporate events, festivals, trade shows, schools and universities, and boutiques.

Hanes reimagined a classic to create the Beefy-T® Retro Street T-Shirt (5180r), which features an extreme drop-shoulder, along with an oversized and relaxed fit.
Retro and Vintage Dominate
Retro and vintage looks continue to drive styles through nostalgia and cultural connections. People are drawn to these looks of past decades because they evoke memories, emotions, iconic moments, music, and pop culture phenomena.
This trend caught fire after COVID when people became nostalgic and longed for the good times before the pandemic. Today, I see younger generations going back to styles I wore when I was younger in the early 90’s. They love older products, whether they are polo-style shirts or hand-me-downs. Kids and young adults even are digging through their parents’ closets and drawers in search of buried treasure.
And they’re willing to pay top dollar for these vintage items. At a recent festival, I watched a bunch of old-school jerseys and T-shirts fly off the racks at $100 or more. Nearly everyone is looking for timeless aesthetics, retro designs, patterns, and throwback silhouettes that offer a sense of uniqueness and style that exceeds fast fashion.
In this case, sustainability and vintage go together as retro-inspired clothing inspires consumers to reuse, recycle and buy long-lasting, quality garments. Designing a classic decorated garment for your clients will help keep those items treasured and reused for years to come.
Many manufacturers are bringing back vintage styling to their new releases by adding boxy, cropped, and oversized silhouettes, in muted color tones.
Clothes accessories are great examples of how brands are creating those vintage looks that will be popular with high schools, college bookstores, music and event merch, streetwear, and surf and skate brands.

The Mainstreet hooded sweatshirt (IND420XD) by Independent Trading gives screen printers two trends in one, with its 12.5-ounce, premium heavyweight, three-end fleece, and oversized fit.
Oversized and Comfort for All
Boxy and oversized fits are also riding that retro wave. A growing trend we’ve been watching spike over the past couple of years is the need for comfort and versatility with oversized and relaxed fits, including modest crops and loose silhouettes that provide a laid-back and stylish look for a wide range of body types.
Many apparel items now explicitly are constructed to be oversized with drop shoulders and extra room in the body and sleeves, rather than customers simply buying a size up. Much oversized apparel also is gender-neutral, transcending traditional boundaries of men’s and women’s fashion.

The polo look is making a comeback into fashion and the Garment-Dyed Polo Collar sweatshirt (GDH490) by Comfortwash adds a vintage element to it with garment-dyed colorways.
This inclusivity especially is important to younger generations who prefer fluid, non-restrictive clothing that anyone can wear. More brands are making unisex items for streetwear, resort shops, corporate events, festivals, trade shows, schools, universities and boutiques. Look for items like heavyweight, long-sleeve tees and retro street T-shirts to show up in these markets.
As retro and vintage trends continue to attract younger wearers, capturing these style elements now could position you strongly with long-term consumer preferences. Screen printers who leverage the common threads between retro or vintage wear, heavy materials, and oversized styles will find success over the course of 2025 and beyond.
Other than basic T’s, what fashion blanks are your customers most requesting?
- Heavier weight T-shirts. More crewnecks vs. hoodies. Lots of ocean type colors and teals. The One Stop proprietary Enza brand (EZ375) is a hoodie with striped sleeves that is one of our most exciting and requested styles. — Charlie Vetters, Organic Robot Designs, Greenfield, IN
- I live in a very cost-conscious area and my higher-end shirts are simple Gildan 64000. I tell people there are so many nicer options, but cost is the No. 1 factor in garment decision-making for 90% of my customers. — Peter Hoff, A&P Graphics & Signs Llc, Maquoketa, Maquoketa, IA
- Lane 7 Seven is doing well with our customers and AS Colour always is hot. Lately though we have had a ton of people wanting the Russell Athletic Real Tree camo tees, which never are in stock. — Ian Graham, Fine Southern Gentlemen, Austin, TX
- Heavyweight styles in both T- shirts and sweats are trending for 2025. Also, popular is pigment-dyed anything such as hoodies, crewnecks, etc. — Alison Borromeo, Logowear House, Broomall, PA
- Soft, heavyweight tees, tri-blends and eco-friendly blanks. Also — and possibly a very specific trend — is hoodies with no drawstrings. — Jeremy Picker, Amb3r Creative, Denver, CO
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