Whilst it’s true I usually dedicate this weekly column to the microtrends making waves in fashion (aquamarine blue, Pucci prints and bedazzled thongs to name a few), this week, I’ve decided to switch things up a bit. As a fashion editor, I’m just as interested in where a trend begins as I am in its longevity, and this summer, the answer (for the most part) has led back to the same sources. Week after week, so many of the season’s biggest style moments can be traced back to one group: Gen Z’s favourite pop stars.
With the cultural landscape shifting from quiet-luxury obsessed to something far bolder and braver, there is a handful of formidable frontwomen who are serving looks both on and off the stage, treating every appearance like their own personal runway. Famed for their signature style in an era of personality-based maximalism, their commitment to building their own unique aesthetic is exactly what’s called for in 2026. And Gen Z? Well, they’re eating it up.
Whether it’s Renee Rapp single-handedly reviving the Napoleon jacket and ‘60s-inspired specs in a way that Fight for This Love-era Cheryl Cole would approve of, or Zara Larsson thrusting glitter heels, sequinned T-shirts and diamanté jeans back into the limelight (all of which are trending according to the LYST Index), it’s impossible not to give credit where credit is due.
The 7 Biggest Female Gen Z Pop Stars of 2026
1. Zara Larsson
Style Notes: Millennials and Gen Z alike know that this is, in fact, the second Zara Larsson summer we’ve been treated to. And, as shopping editor Florrie Alexander so eloquently puts it, “She just keeps getting better and better.” When Lush Life dropped in 2015, I was a mere teenager, obsessed with the glossy electropop that broke up my endless rotation of One Direction and Justin Bieber. And honestly, I almost forgot about the Swedish pop star until the now-iconic dolphin meme, set to Symphony, took over TikTok in 2024.
Rebranding her aesthetic to match the music (her words, not mine), her fifth album Midnight Sun feels like exactly what Gen Z has been waiting for. Think bejewelled denim capris and airbrushed baby tees, low-rise jeans and her signature tropical island Barbie glam. Her look has an inherent Y2K playfulness without feeling overly costume-y or forced. I’m completely on board.
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