Gen Zs want ‘chaotic customisation’ in 2025. How can brands tap in?

In an era where minimalism and cookie-cutter micro-trends have shaped fashion’s landscape, a bold new wave led by Gen Z is breaking free from fashion’s homogenisation.

Enter ‘chaotic customisation’, a phrase coined by trend forecaster WGSN that means pushing personalisation to an extreme: layering embellishments, celebrating uniqueness and embracing self-expression in its wildest, most-unrestrained forms.

According to Jane Collins, WGSN’s head of footwear and accessories, chaotic customisation in simplified terms is “accessorising accessories”, where even the smallest adornments receive lavish, individualistic treatment. It began with the “Jane Birkin-ification” of bags earlier this year — where bag charms took off on social media and the runway, sparking millions of views on TikTok with hashtags like #BagDecoration up 85 per cent since last year. Next came shoe charms, with Coach unveiling the accessories on its Spring/Summer 2025 runway as a playful follow-up to its successful Empire Carryalls — decked out with NYC-themed charms — that debuted a season earlier.

Now, this maximalist spirit has spilled into all aspects of our wardrobes — from shirring football shirts into fitted crop tops to DIY-ing bows or spikes onto shoe laces — shaping a new aesthetic of excess that brands are scrambling to tap into.

Take Adidas’s response to the surge of TikTok videos of users customising their Adidas sneakers — evidenced by 9.5 million posts about Adidas Samba charms — for example, which led to the brand hosting a pop-up at its Hong Kong flagship in August. Here, they invited fans to personalise their SL72s, Sambas and Gazelles with shoelace charms (like spikes, beads and branded pins), embroidery and ribbons.

London-based designer Conner Ives has tapped into the trend with his reconstituted shirred shirts, first introduced on the SS24 runway. Made from recycled football jerseys, the design has been rereleased five times, including a notable collaboration with Nike on 57 vintage jerseys that were transformed into one-of-a-kind, maximalist creations in September. Each drop has sold out swiftly, demonstrating the demand for the trend. K-pop star Jennie posted a photo of herself wearing one of the styles to her 85.6 million followers.

Asics has long placed customisation at the heart of its collaborative projects, exemplified by its Crafts for Minds initiative. Through this programme, the sportswear brand partners with designers to transform its existing in-line products into unique, limited-edition, heavily customised pieces, with proceeds supporting a charity of the designer’s choice.

“Asics recognises the importance of individuality, especially for Gen Zs and millennials who see their style as an extension of their identity,” says Anissa Jaffery, Asics EMEA PR and collaborations lead, of the initiative.

Asics has collaborated with brands including Airei, which encased the shoes in concrete to create a striking art piece, and Florence Tétier, a Parisian designer who crafted bespoke jewellery pieces to adorn each shoe, making every pair a distinct, wearable work of art. In September, the London-based designers behind Chopova Lowena took part in the initiative, putting a unique spin on the sportswear brand’s Gel Quantum silhouette with bold metal butterflies, rhinestones, flowers and studs.

The Chopova Lowena collaboration was too intricate for mass production. Instead, the 200 handcrafted, one-of-one pairs sold out almost instantly through their exclusive retailer Dover Street Market. The product page also included a telling disclaimer: “The shoes are considered art pieces, and because of their delicacy, can get damaged more easily while wearing. To be worn at your own risk.”

As customisation becomes more elaborate, experts say brands can and should the take steps to ensure that these pieces remain accessible, durable and sustainable for a larger audience.

Why consumers can’t get enough

Unlike traditional fashion trends that revolve around specific aesthetics, chaotic customisation is about process — adding charms, patches and interchangeable pieces in a fashion free-for-all. It’s a maximalist, DIY-infused attitude that captures a cultural shift towards ‘more is more’ in personal style.

“Chaotic customisation partly reflects a backlash against the fast-paced, impersonal churn of trending fashion styles,” says trend commentator Agus Panzoni. With fast fashion brands rapidly co-opting and mainstreaming any form of fashion exploration, and the runway suffering a creativity lull — prioritising commercial appeal over creative risk amid a luxury slowdown — customisation emerges as a powerful tool for personal expression amid a drift towards uniform dressing, she explains.

Collins also points to WGSN’s ‘Glimmers’ report, which emphasises how micro-moments of joy are increasingly valued as we navigate a “global polycrisis”. Chaotic customisation taps into this psychological need, offering mood-boosting, tactile accessories and DIY experiences that provide a respite from everyday stresses. Whether it’s a quirky keychain or a colourful coin pouch strapped to your bag, these embellishments tap into “the idea of treat culture”, Collins explains

Still, this customisation trend doesn’t come without its contradictions. While chaotic customisation signals a push for individuality, there’s an undeniable irony in how quickly it’s become codified by the fashion world. As industry theorist Rian Phin observes, people still follow a kind of unspoken “chaos code”, ensuring their accessory choices are on-trend and accepted within the style community (Chanel’s star coin purse for example, has become a trending bag charm among editors this year, while many have also been spotted sporting Simone Rocha’s heavily customised Crocs).

“People are wielding keychains and bag charms as symbols of a life well lived or well travelled, but if we’re all buying the same keychain from the Sandy Liang sample sale (to signal status) to pair with a gritty dollar store keychain (for balance and authenticity) and hooking it onto the same trending vintage bag — it’s not as challenging or chaotic as it could be. It’s like the equivalent of the ‘organic vs authentic’ Instagram photo dump of carefully curated ‘real’ photos,” she says.

While the DIY fashion movement gained steam during the pandemic, with Gen Zs making or upcycling their own clothes, the growing popularity of chaotic customisation has not necessarily led more people to create from scratch. Instead, it has driven consumption of a large number of new ready-made products. “We’re consuming rather than creating, so the audience is still beholden to the fashion system,” Phin says.

“I have a bag covered with sentimental items (gifts from relatives, an engagement ring) and a girl at work said she was inspired to get a Shein charm bundle. Like girl, that’s not the inspo,” wrote one user in a TikTok video.

To ensure the trend’s longevity, brands must foster a culture of true DIY innovation, instead of simply curating a collection of new items, says Collins. She points to the untapped potential of deadstock and upcycled materials as a way to encourage consumers to design their own personalisation elements. “By embracing these sustainable resources, brands can amplify the DIY spirit of chaotic customisation while meeting consumer demands for sustainability,” she says.

How else can brands tap in?

For WGSN’s Collins, there are three main ways brands should be tapping into chaotic customisation. The first is to partner with inspiring creators already making a name for themselves in the customisation field, as Bose did by partnering with NYC accessories brand Susan Alexandra on a limited-edition bundle of decorative stickers and handphone charms. The second, to tap into the collectables market and offer limited-edition designs that feature unique or upcycled components. The third — “and by far the most important,” according to Collins — is by engaging consumers in the design process through in-store personalisation areas or DIY experiences to foster an emotional co-creation connection.

It’s a strategy that UK multi-brand retailer Flannels is investing in, after noticing a spike in demand for bespoke offerings. For its recently opened Leeds flagship, the retailer worked closely with brand partners such as Prada Beauty, Givenchy and Dior to provide printing and engraving services that allow the customisation of packaging into one-of-a-kind designs, says David Epstein, managing director of premium and luxury at Flannels parent company Frasers Group. Another activation was a garment dyeing workshop with buzzy outerwear label CP Company. “It saw great engagement from the local audience,” Epstein says.

Panzoni also points to augmented reality as a way to unlock customisation possibilities, referencing rising brands like Studio Halia and Xtended Identity, which are developing physical accessories with customisable digital layers enabled by AR technology.

However, there are some challenges. Streamlining customisation options is tricky and creates several logistical hurdles for brands, as demonstrated by the aforementioned Chopova Lowena x Asics capsule, which couldn’t be made at scale. Rather than overcommitting to chaotic, hard-to-manage customisation processes, luxury brands have the opportunity to pivot towards curated in-store customisation experiences, a space that has so far remained relatively underdeveloped. These settings allow brands to maintain control over operations while providing an interactive, personalised touchpoint for customers.

Ultimately, chaotic customisation isn’t just about accessorising; it’s about the freedom to experiment. In a world of polished trends and high-speed fashion cycles, it brings a touch of tactile spontaneity and a reminder that fashion can, and should, be deeply personal.

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