The Office Siren Is Calling – Here’s How Our Wardrobes Are Answering

What does office wear mean in 2025? The answer is as complex as the myriad reasons that have brought the wave of suits and ties back onto the runways this season.

The “Office Siren” trend as it was glamorously dubbed, is the sexy, ladylike suiting that’s been filtering through the rails in the last few seasons, but have really come to dominate the streets and catwalk of late. All eyes were on Calvin Klein’s return to the runway since 2018 this week at New York Fashion Week under the new stewardship of creative director Veronica Leoni, the first woman ever to lead the brand. True to the brand’s DNA, Leoni brought back plenty of ‘90s minimalism, but compared to her predecessors, her collection featured practical silhouettes, which means hemlines that don’t drag across the floor and sharp skirt suits that are *actually* boardroom appropriate (cue gasp).

Calvin Klein Collection FW25

Courtesy of Calvin Klein Collection/Launchmetrics.com/spotlight

Calvin Klein Collection FW25

Courtesy of Calvin Klein Collection/Launchmetrics.com/spotlight

Calvin Klein’s revival comes at a time when corporations are calling for workers to come back into the office for four or five days a week. Beyond some very real economic concerns that employees, especially female employees, face from this change (the cost of trans-regional transportation, childcare, etc.), it also brings the more superficial headache of what to wear to the office.

I don’t know about you, but the snooze button is my friend and I will cling to every extra moment of sleep I can get, so the idea of a uniform, the very thing we bristled against at school, suddenly looks rather attractive. And suiting, or the traditional tropes of office workwear, feels like a sartorial safety net, a cheat sheet to looking work-appropriate without trying.

Michael Kors FW25

Gianluca Carraro/Launchmetrics.com/spotlight

Tory Burch FW25

Launchmetrics.com/spotlight

Launchmetrics.com/spotlight

As we reach the five-year anniversary of lockdown, designers have clearly clocked onto the shift, and the suit—and all its kin—has come back with a vengeance. According to Tagwalk, the three most-seen shows at New York Fashion Week were Khaite, Tory Burch and Calvin Klein Collection, brands known for their grown-up, ladylike tailoring, and the demure midi skirt’s performance was up 92 percent compared to last season. Peep-toe pumps, albeit with a more fashion-forward, elongated silhouette, will be everywhere come spring thanks to the spring/summer 2025 runways, much to the Millennials’ chagrin.

That Gen Z have never really experienced the height of corporate dressing has also fuelled this renewed fascination with it; for all they know, the mind-numbing, sterile environment in Severance, and its accompanying uniforms, are as fictional as the futuristic costumes in Dune. But perhaps enough time has also lapsed for those of us who did that we’re able to revisit the concept with fresh eyes.

Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images

Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images

Christian Vierig/Getty Images

Outside the shows, the Copenhagen street style set—the real trendsetters for what we all wear to the season to come—were all sporting neckties, but there’s nothing stuffy about the way they styled it. Under leather trenches or paired with red tights, the Danish girlies put the “chic” in corporate chic. Without actually having lived the reality (and restrictions) of prescriptive office attire, Gen Z are reimagining office wear through their lens, birthing the ‘90s dad suit trend of last year and the preppy, micro ties we’re seeing on the streets.

Let’s just say call of the Office Siren has never been so enchanting.