The hushed benches of prestigious Ivy League universities may seem far away. Yet preppy style has never been more visible. Long confined to a clearly defined American elite, this highly codified wardrobe: polo shirts, blazers, loafers, and sweaters draped over the shoulders is now making a major comeback, stripped of its original rigidity. Runways, pop culture, and the streets have turned it into a far freer field of expression: from Dior or Celine catwalks to French rap music videos, each piece can be reinterpreted, remixed, and subverted. Preppy is no longer a uniform reserved for a closed circle; it has become a rule-free grammar that anyone can appropriate in their own way.
Tommy Hilfiger, preppy beyond campus boundaries
From the racetrack to Parisian clubs, Tommy Hilfiger pushed preppy style beyond its traditional framework in 2025. The release of the film F1, led by Brad Pitt and Damson Idriss, a magnetic breakout star marked a strategic turning point. By taking charge of the film’s costumes, Tommy Hilfiger entered a world far removed from the university wardrobe, yet fully consistent with its narrative: performance, speed, and contemporary masculinity.
From one circuit to another, the brand shows no sign of slowing down. In Paris, the launch of the Racing Club collection was paired with an exclusive evening at Lafayette’s, transformed for the occasion into a hybrid space somewhere between a club and a paddock. One of the highlights: a surprise showcase by Jolagreen. Far from anecdotal, this appearance crystallized the evolution of preppy style. The French rapper embodies a generation that adopts the codes without inheriting their constraints. That night, raw baggy jeans, a racing-inspired varsity jacket and black loafers came together to form an already emblematic silhouette. At his feet, a piece long associated with rigidity became a symbol of cool, proof that preppy can extend well beyond its historical boundaries.
From the runway to the street, a liberated preppy style
If the streets have embraced it, the runways confirm the scale of the phenomenon. Dior, Celine, and Wales Bonner revisit preppy season after season. Recent collections show just how much these pieces, long perceived as serious and formal, lend themselves to reinterpretation. The tie is worn backwards, its label deliberately visible as a statement of nonchalance. The sweater draped over the shoulders, once a symbol of slightly traditional elegance, now appears in bold colors and is used to structure a trench coat.
Boat shoes, too, are enjoying a renewed surge of enthusiasm. Originally worn offshore, on deck and without socks, they have now made their way onto the pavement, on the feet of both men and women. Paired with looser silhouettes, baggy jeans, rugby polos, or oversized tote bags, they leave behind their imaginary pontoons to anchor themselves firmly in everyday life.
When preppy sheds its elitism and finds its edge
This return of preppy goes beyond a simple trend. It reveals a deeper transformation in our relationship with clothing. For a long time, this wardrobe functioned as a coded language, reserved for intellectual and economic elites able to master its references. Today, those codes circulate freely, with no prescribed rulebook.
The democratization of preppy dilutes its symbolic charge yet paradoxically strengthens its impact. It is no longer about signaling belonging, but about expressing a taste, a sensibility, a stance. A polo shirt, loafers, or a blazer are worn not to gain entry into a closed club, but because these pieces offer an endless playground. Preppy no longer rhymes with tradition, but with boldness.
Whether one adopts a single piece or makes it the central axis of a winter wardrobe, preppy style now asserts itself as a universal language. A wardrobe in motion, no longer dressing elites but engaging instead with the street, music, and a new generation that doesn’t merely appropriate the codes. It reinvents them, twists them, and above all challenges conventions. Preppy or not preppy, that is the question. But in the end, it hardly matters today, style is no longer followed, it is created. We mix, we twist, we dare. Being preppy is, above all, about knowing how to play with the codes.
