Fashion’s most playful print has a fascinating history

Artist Yayoi Kusama's second collaboration with luxury label Louis Vuitton on display at the Harrods department store in London in January 2023. Kusama is well known for her work, which incorporates the repeated use of dots. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

When Princess Diana arrived at the Royal Ascot in 1988, she turned heads in a polka-dot dress that was perfectly coordinated to her saucer hat. More than three decades later, at the popular horse racing event, Catherine, Princess of Wales, drew comparisons to her late mother-in-law in a similar dress. This one, by designer Alessandra Rich, was high-necked and ruffled but also bore the timeless spotted motif.

Polka dots have maintained their popularity throughout fashion history, and in recent months, seem to be everywhere. At the July world premiere of “Weapons” in Los Angeles, the actor Julia Garner wore a one-shoulder, micro-dotted gown from Gucci’s Cruise 2026 collection. A day earlier, Rose Byrne attended the season two premiere of “Platonic” wearing a strapless black and white polka dot dress, with some dots in the shape of teardrops, by the Antwerp-based label Bernadette.

Hailey Bieber has also gotten the spotty memo, having been photographed spending her summer in polka-dot capri pants. Music duo Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s recently shared love for polka dots (in particular, a custom polka dot tie by Californian fashion label ERL) prompted Vogue to deem it “the summer of subverted polka dots.” Meanwhile, at Copenhagen Fashion Week in August, show-goers seemed to favor the print above the usual suspects — florals, stripes and leopard spots — with several completing their looks with dotted neck ties, windbreakers, blazers, bloomer shorts or bandanas.

So prominent are polka dots today that social media site Pinterest named the print as among its top trends for autumn 2025. “Polka dot outfits” were up 1,026% from the previous year, while “polka dot nails” grew 1,296%, according to the platform.

A spotty past

The radical shift from hand to machine during the Industrial Revolution made it possible to create “perfectly round and evenly spaced dots for the first time,” according to Georgina Ripley, principal curator of modern and contemporary design at National Museums Scotland. “As the vogue for patterned fabrics thus increased in the 19th century, it coincided around the 1840s with the Czech Polka dance craze gathering steam across Europe and in the United States. The Polka name was attached to several trending items but stuck in the context of the textile pattern,” she told CNN.

Centuries earlier in the Middle Ages, however, spots of any kind were treated with suspicion. “Due to the visual similarities shared with sores caused by diseases such as the plague, leprosy, smallpox, syphilis, and measles, dots held much more ominous associations with poor health, contagion and uncleanliness,” said Ripley.

By the early 19th century, associations of the polka dot improved as “a more effective rendering” of the pattern made it “synonymous with manmade textiles and therefore with modernity,” said Ripley. People wanted to wear clothes at the cutting edge, which gave dotty fabrics woven by machine a natural fanbase among the society ladies who could afford them. On a so-called “fashion plate” from 1827, which forms part of the collection at the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, New York, a woman has been illustrated wearing a pink-and-black polka-dot frock with puffs at the wrist and tiers at the hem.

In the 1920s, polka dots experienced a boom, explained Ripley, thanks in part to Norma Smallwood, 1926’s Miss Oklahoma and winner of the Miss America pageant that same year, who wore a spotted bathing suit during the competition. Two years later, the print received another ringing endorsement. “That Walt Disney debuted Minnie Mouse in 1928 dressed in a red polka dot dress and matching bow is testament to its place in 1920s popular culture,” said Ripley.

From then on, the polka dot can be seen in pop culture of every subsequent decade, observed Ripley. In the 1942 film “Woman of the Year,” Katharine Hepburn’s pantsuit featuring black and white polka dots is one of the most memorable fashion moments from the movie. (The outfit, along with her other tailored suits, contributed to Hepburn’s memorable on-screen style and helped solidify her reputation as a fashion icon.) Dots were also worn by “Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s, Twiggy in 1960s Mod culture, Princess Diana in the 1980s, and Julia Roberts in the polo match scene in “Pretty Woman” (1990),” said Ripley.

They’ve also been a source of inspiration for brands. Comme des Garçons Play, founded by Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, has turned dotty tees (and high-top trainers) into cult fashion commodities. The Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, meanwhile, has built a life’s work around an exploration of polka dots. Her first collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2012 saw primary-colored spots daubed across the French brand’s monogrammed bags.

The pattern has also left its mark on the high street. Of all the viral summer dresses of the past decade, Zara’s 2019 polka dot sensation (a long-sleeved print dress that cost US$50) is among the most recognized, partly thanks to its social media presence on Instagram. Between 2019 and 2021, a dedicated account, @hot4thespot, documented widespread sightings of the dress.

Contemporary visions

Polka dots have been cycling in and out of fashion — though, since the Spring-Summer 2025 shows, where labels including Valentino and Carolina Herrera sent a glorious array of polka dots down the runway, they’ve had a resurgence. For Fall-Winter 2025, Dries Van Noten, Nina Ricci, Sandy Liang, Schiaparelli and Rokh offered their own takes on the print. Dots also featured in Celine’s Spring-Summer 2026 collection — the debut of new designer Michael Rider — where it featured as a trim on the neckline of a gown to a swatch on a full skirt.

In 2025, the polka dot’s versatility is still its greatest asset. “They can be bold or subtle, playful or elegant, depending on how they’re used,” said Katie Ruensumran, a creative consultant and polka-dot aficionado. Offering styling advice, she said: “It’s all about contrast and scale. I like mixing oversized polka dots with stripes or other pattern pieces — it keeps the look graphic and bold. Accessories are also a fun way to play. The key is balance.”