Alix Earle’s First Fashion-Forward ‘Fit of 2026 Predicts a Few Potential Style Trends

The 25-year-old headed to St. Barths for the final few days of 2025.

Alix Earle / Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Alix Earle is already starting 2026 in style. The content creator and Dancing With the Stars Season 34 runner-up spent the holiday on the shores of St. Barths and donned a figure-hugging sheer gown to mark the end of her milestone-filled 2025 year.

Debuting the look to her 5.3 million Instagram followers on Thursday, Jan. 1—with Calvin Harris and Clementine Douglas's “Blessings” coupled with the 13-slide carousel—Earle penned, “2026 we have arrived” and showed off her evening ensemble as the post’s cover image.

You can check out Earle’s post on Instagram here!

Alix Earle Happy New Year Instagram photos pic.twitter.com/dm0KTx9U2k

— Alix Earle (@alixearle_) January 2, 2026

In the frame, the Hot Mess host styled the striking garment, which featured a dramatic plunging neckline and lots of draping around her hips. She kept the accessories to a minimum, simply adding a crystal-embellished necklace, a pair of dainty bracelets and a handful of rings.

If you’re looking for some style inspiration heading into the new year, Earle’s first Instagram post of 2026 is a strong place to start, as it appeared to solidify a few 2026 fashion trend predictions. We witnessed the “naked dress” having a major moment as we headed into the fall months of 2025, and the model proved that the sheer style is taking its reign into the new year as well.

Plus, both Earle and Nina Dobrev—who posed in the fifth slide of the festive post—donned cut-out maxi dresses, putting their stamp of approval on the dynamic silhouette as they stepped into January. The 36-year-old actress, who starred as Katherine Pierce in The Vampire Diaries from 2009-2017, responded to the New Jersey native’s sentiment in the post’s caption, penning “Yes. We. Have ‼️”

View this post on Instagram

Earle has been all smiles during her stint on the island—still, her trip was initally met with some nerves, which she admitted in a TikTok video posted Jan. 29. “I got invited to go on this trip for New Year’s, and I was like, I feel like this could just be a good thing to get my mind off of things, get in the sun, have some fun,” she explained in the near four-minute-long clip.

She prefaced the sentiment by disclosing that her mom is “going through something right now with her health,” so she was not originally planning on traveling for the holiday. “I was feeling pretty, like, anxious about [the trip]. I’m not sure why,” Earle admitted, and later added, “I’m not gonna know everyone in the group, but I think this is gonna be good.”

She has been spotted with several familiar faces on the island since, tagging Dobrev, Michelle Randolph, Keleigh Teller, among others, in a separate Instagram post from Dec. 31.

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