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On the face of it, the quarter zip is the blandest and most corporate of garments. If this jumper could talk it would be all “circling back” and “moving the needle”. But lately, the sweater with the little zip from chest to neck has become a grassroots vehicle for social commentary, a trend across catwalks and Gen Z street style, and has crossed over into womenswear. This month, shopping platform Lyst revealed Polo Ralph Lauren’s version as the hottest product for the fourth quarter of 2025. Why?
Rewind to the early 2020s. The quarter zip was already the de facto uniform of finance bros everywhere, from New York to Madrid and Geneva (likely worn with a gilet and half a size too small chinos). Casualisation of the working wardrobe post-Covid contributed to its recent and rapid popularity in the UK as an easy swap for a blazer.
Seen on everyone from Rishi Sunak and Prince Harry to characters in hit TV shows such as Succession and Industry, it was cemented as the garb of privilege and ambition. Call it the 21st-century answer to sable in Tudor times — one that quickly became a widespread cliché, normcore attire for any office job and about as sophisticated as a glass of Pinot Grigio in the Slug and Lettuce after work. Even the Wall Street Journal declared: “Hey Finance Bros: Your Quarter-Zip Looks Terrible. We Have Upgrades”.
But internet culture has a funny way of bringing things back. Last November, Jason Gyamfi a young Black computer science graduate in New York, posted a video of himself and a friend wearing navy zip sweaters and holding matcha lattes from Blank Street Coffee. In it he declares: “We don’t do Nike Tech, we don’t do coffee, it’s straight quarter zips and matchas around here.”
The video got 3.9mn likes. Later, Gyamfi reflected in another post that “the whole point of this trend is to allow Black men to feel comfortable trying new things, expanding your palette, expanding your horizons. Coming from a neighbourhood like I do [the Bronx], things like matcha and quarter zips are not something you see on a regular day-to-day basis.”
Gyamfi’s posts spawned thousands of responses on social media. Some riffed humorously on the original video, while others reflected on the nature of clothing to influence perceptions, often unfairly. When rapper Central Cee swapped his Nike tech sweatsuit for a quarter zip, it was also an online event.
These cultural nuances may not have been universally appreciated as the viral trend spread across different demographics. Teens I talked to variously described the garment as “so over”, “something that performative males like” and “worn by someone who’s bad at golf and whose dad works in M&A”.
Real-life events dubbed quarter zip meetups have been happening in the US and the UK. Entrepreneur and community leader Corey Dooley Johnson attended one in Chicago in December, describing it as “a cultural and economic statement led by young Black Chicagoans”. He says it “reframed a viral fashion trend into a collective action moment — showing up to Black-owned businesses in unity and intentionally circulating dollars locally”.
Marquan Jones, president of strategy and innovation at non-profit the Chicago Fashion Coalition, adds that this multi-faceted revival “sits right at the crossroads of a few forces”. These include “cultural remix — a long pattern of Black communities taking symbols of elite or mainstream style and repurposing them” and “respectability politics, but with a twist”.
He also notes that “trends return in waves, and this one lands neatly in today’s broader prep/business-casual/dad-core revival”. Case in point? When Wicked star Jonathan Bailey turned up to Dior’s spring/summer 26 menswear show last month in a blue quarter zip sweatshirt by the brand, paired with a shirt and tie. In December, Marks & Spencer reported that sales of its quarter zips were up 38 per cent year on year
Lyst’s recent trend report, which put the quarter zip in the top spot, suggests a shift whereby “Gen Z is entering a new phase of societal maturation, reflected in fashion trends now leaning towards classic, smarter styles”. It also underscores the enduring power of the prep trend in fashion across generations.
Brad Pitt and A$AP Rocky favour them, as do Jacob Elordi and Paul Mescal disciples across east London with mini mullets and wide jeans. High fashion iterations veer away from generic thin merino or synthetic versions worn to the office in favour of modern updates. Look for longer zips creating a more pronounced collar, 1990s-inflected sweatshirt styles such as A. Presse’s interpretation, more relaxed fits and chunky textures.
Another development is the rise of the quarter zip for women. When Chanel’s Matthieu Blazy opened his Métiers d’art 2026 show in December with model Bhavitha Mandava in a camel quarter zip with wide jeans, it sent the internet into a collective swoon imagining how this sporty but smart jumper could elevate an everyday outfit. Amid offerings from Miu Miu and knitwear labels such as Eric Bompard, the brand Miufu offers The Quarter Zip (Her Version). The in-demand style was created by brand founder Daniela Riu to emulate what she describes as the simplicity of how men in the city dress for work.
Meanwhile, in offices across the land, quarter zips are quietly going about their business: making trades, lamenting the rise of the £5 coffee . . . oblivious to their rising stock. Unbothered, dry-cleaned, happy in their lane.
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