Will quiet luxury finally go quiet? If you’re tired of this TikTok-fad term, come fall, you might be in luck. The latest fashion week collections from New York, London, Milan, and Paris were full of vibrant new ways to wear wardrobe staples, from button-downs folded back to trench coats with glittery, quirky tinsel fringe. Little black dresses borrow from the lingerie drawer in nipple-baring styles, or playful embellishments that literally bring underwear to the surface. Pants are back, too, thankfully, even at Miu Miu! With voluminous silhouettes and baggy cuts.
Sure, TikTok’s “core” will continue, and pantsless style will remain plentiful, but there’s a personal, grown-up side to this season’s best clothes that resonates in real life, a sensibility that values individuality and identity over clickable buzzwords and nostalgic novelty.
Below are the 12 trends that will have the biggest impact next season.
Not-so-basic basics
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
This season, designers took a less conventional approach to everyday wear, playing with layering and exaggerated silhouettes to create texture and movement. Fall doesn’t always have to mean looking neat in the traditional sense; instead, it’s about finding your own way to wear basic wardrobe staples.
Open the Gallery to Enhance Everyday Life
Color Crush
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
If the fall runways are any indication, it’s time to ditch monochrome and try something bolder. Unexpected color combinations, like technicolor neons and cool pastels, will liven up your everyday look.
Open the Color Play Gallery
Clear eyes, full skirt, undefeated
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
With Capote’s Swans taking centre stage in Ryan Murphy’s latest film, Feud, ladylike dressing has made a comeback, but the modern iteration is far cooler and less stuffy. Case in point: the variety of flared skirts that appeared on the fall runways this season. Some with unfinished hems, others with sculptural shapes, all had a fluidity that made them equally at home with hoodies as they were with tailored jackets and button-up shirts.
Full Skirts Are Back! Open Gallery
Just throw it on and head out
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
This season, designers are making a big success of the idea of effortless dressing: soft, simple fabrics are key, with outerwear that drapes and folds to move seamlessly with the wearer without looking overly complicated or burdensome.
Open the Ruched Dressing Gallery
shape up
Getty Images
From left to right: Comme des Garçons, Duran Lantanque, Vuitton
We often talk about “architectural” silhouettes when describing strong tailoring, but for autumn it’s less about obvious structure and more about shapes and forms that accentuate the curves of the body: padded hips, puffed shoulders, pleated waists.
Open the Shape Gallery
Chintz, please!
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
Wallpaper and tacky florals gave designers room to experiment this season: prints were burned in or digitally altered, flowers were painted onto coats held under caged frames, and feminine dresses accented with ruffles and draping. There was nothing #coquette about these clothes.
Wallpaper Open Floral Gallery
Prize Bee Pants
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
After a few seasons of shorts and underwear replacing pants, the pendulum seems to be swinging back towards covered legs. While there were still plenty of pantless looks on the fall runways (sigh), many designers focused on dressing up the lower half with statement pants. And this fall’s most coveted pants are going to be voluminous.
Open the Volume Pants Gallery
Spinning thread
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
For the past few seasons, designers have emphasized the craft and exquisite handiwork that goes into their clothes and accessories. This season, there was a particular focus on yarn, which they used to create fluffy, bulbous coats and springy dresses that feel as good as they look. These aren’t your average chunky knits.
Open a gallery of yarn crafts
Inside Out
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
Lingerie dressing has been a recurring runway trend this season, but what’s even more interesting is the variety of ways it can be interpreted: Sure, you can take the trend literally and call it a day with a slip dress or a corset, but you can also provoke and provoke with dresses made entirely of bras, completely see-through tops, and shirtdresses with built-in garter belts.
Open Lingerie Dressing Gallery
It Jacket
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
Sometimes all you need is the perfect jacket to complete your look, and this season leather outerwear was on trend, with plenty to choose from.
Open the perfect leather jacket gallery
Dress to impress (yourself)
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
Unless you’re a red carpet celebrity or a member of royalty, formality in your attire is no longer important. Special occasion outfits are meant to make you feel good, not impress others. This mindset was beautifully expressed on this season’s fall runways, where designers ditched traditional gowns, cocktail dresses, and suits in favor of more mashed-up styles that prioritized confidence over prescriptive dress codes.
Open the Special Occasion Outfits Gallery
Fringe Factor
Designed by Perri Tomkiewicz, images courtesy of Launchmetrics and Getty Images
Catwalks in every city were filled with artful fringe, either draped over the hips of knitted dresses or woven into the surface of enveloping coats. Movement was a big story this season, and these fringes were the most coveted.
Fringe Open Gallery
Brooke Bobb is the Fashion News Director at Harper’s Bazaar, covering both print and digital publications. Previously, she was Senior Content Editor at Amazon Fashion and worked as a Senior Fashion News Writer at Vogue Runway.
