Hodakova, Vaquera Spotlight Statement Headwear Amid '90s Redux in Paris

Designers like Hodakova and Vaquera arrived on the opening day of Paris Fashion Week as flag-bearers for an accessory moment that Vogue and on-the-ground observers are calling a counter-current to the ongoing ’90s revival. The Original Report put it plainly: “Designers like Hodakova and Vaquera are introducing bold, non-gimmicky statement headwear on Parisian runways, bucking the current '90s revival trend,” and Vogue amplified the shift, describing it as a “curious counter-trend” that began in New York and “is now being cemented by the opening day of Paris Fashion Week.”

The runway push dovetailed with what Highsnobiety saw on day one in the city streets. “The headwear on show was varied: colorful knitted beanies, puffy insulated helmets similar to that PUMA one A$AP Rocky keeps wearing, those tight-fitting technical hats, headwear with fluffy ear flaps, vintage military-style caps…” the site reported, listing the practical and playful pieces that dominated both shows and arrivals. Those specific silhouettes — a knitted slouch, a puckered padded helmet, streamlined technical styles, ear-flap textures, and structured military caps — underlined how headwear became a visible focal point.

That focus matters because Vogue has situated this accessory moment against a broader cultural backdrop. “In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the middle of a ’90s redux,” the magazine wrote, pointing to Ryan Murphy’s Love Story driving TikTok-driven ’90s shopping sprees and to Emma Stone’s lilac Louis Vuitton on the Actor Awards red carpet as proof that the slip-dress-and-cardigan narrative remains potent. The headwear trend is being framed as an alternative narrative — not a repudiation of the slip dress, but a parallel story that adds volume and attitude to this season’s looks. Vogue even cast some of the pieces as playful homages, “Call them fascinating fascinators, cozy caps for winter, or an homage to Vivacious’s shady headpiece ‘Ornacia’ on season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but statement headwear is making a splash across many of this season’s [...] headwear is making a splash across many of this season’s runways.”

Highsnobiety’s street reporting matched that runway reading and emphasized the season’s climate logic. Paris Fashion Week “made its start during the bitter Parisian winter,” the outlet noted, and with many attendees gravitating toward black and dark looks, hats became “the most memorable part of their wearer's ensemble.” On the sidewalks, Highsnobiety called the assortment “silly in the best sense of the word: these are frivolously statement-making, undeniably fashionable hats,” and added the image-forward line, “With great headwear, it is a fashion statement literally plastered all over your forehead.”

For shoppers and closet-editors, the takeaway is specific: treat headwear as the season’s main accessory rather than an afterthought. Invest in one of the silhouettes that dominated Paris — a colorful knitted beanie for daytime, a padded insulated helmet for street-style drama, a tight technical cap for a sporty contrast, or a structured vintage military cap to anchor monochrome tailoring. Visual assets from the coverage circulated under filenames such as "hodakova vaquera julie kegels.jpg)”, underscoring how these pieces were captured as signature images of the moment. Expect the headwear story to carry beyond Paris as editors and street stylers translate these shapes into everyday winter armor and runway-adjacent whimsy.