Is quiet luxury finally going silent? If you’re over the TikTok-hyped term, you may be in luck come fall. The latest Fashion Week collections in New York, London, Milan, and Paris were full of vibrant new ways to wear wardrobe staples, whether that meant turning your button-down backwards or embracing some kooky, shiny tinsel fringe on your trench coat. Little black dresses borrow from your lingerie drawer with styles that free the nipple or, quite literally, bring your underwear to the surface via playful embellishment. Pants are back, too—and thank God! Even at Miu Miu!—in voluminous silhouettes and baggy cuts.
Sure, TikTok “cores” will continue, and there are still lots of no-pants looks, that’s for sure. But there’s a personal and grown-up aspect to the season’s best clothes that resonates with real life. It’s a sensibility that embraces individuality and identity over clickable buzzwords or nostalgic novelty.
Below, the 12 trends that will make the most significant statements next season.
Designers took a not-so-everyday approach to everyday dressing this season, creating texture and movement through playful layering and exaggerated silhouettes. For fall, it’s not necessarily about looking put-together in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s about finding your own way to wear basic wardrobe staples.
If the fall runways are any indication, it’s time to retire monochrome and go for something much more bold. Unexpected color combinations like Technicolor neons and cool pastels give verve to everyday dressing.
Ladylike dressing is back, thanks in part to Capote’s Swans’ star turn in Ryan Murphy’s latest Feud, but its contemporary iteration is so much cooler and less rigid. Case in point: the varied flared skirts that came down the fall runways this season. Some had unfinished hems, others were sculpted, and all had a fluidity that worked just as well with a hoodie as with a tailored jacket or button-up shirt.
This season, designers elevated the idea of effortless dressing with great success. Soft, simple fabrics were key, and draped and folded outerwear didn’t look overly complicated or heavy-handed, and managed to move seamlessly with the wearer.
From left to right: Comme des Garçons, Duran Lantink, Vuitton
People often talk about “architectural” silhouettes when describing strong tailoring, but for fall, it’s less about that kind of obvious structure and more about shapes and forms to emphasize the curves of the body—namely, through padded hips, pumped-up shoulders, and pleating at the waist.
Wallpaper and chintzy florals provided ample space for designers to experiment this season. Prints were burned-out or digitally warped; there were blooms on a coat that sat beneath a cagelike frame and on feminine dresses accented by ruching and draping. Nothing felt #coquette about these clothes.
After a couple of seasons in which short shorts or underwear were subbed in for pants, the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward covered-up legs. While there were still plenty of pantsless looks on the runways for fall (sigh), many designers did focus on outfitting our lower halves with statement trousers. The pants we’ll all want this fall come with some serious volume.
For the past few seasons, designers have highlighted the craft and intricate handwork that goes into their clothing and accessories. This season, yarn was a particular focus. Designers used it to create fluffy, bulbous coats and bouncy dresses that probably feel as great as they look. These are not your average chunky knits.
Lingerie dressing has been a recurring runway trend this season, but what’s more interesting are the varying ways it’s being interpreted. Sure, you can take the trend literally, and wear a slipdress or a corset and call it a day. But you can also provoke and prod, like with a dress made entirely of bras, or a totally sheer top, or with a shirtdress with built-in garter belts.
Sometimes all you need to pull a look together is a perfect jacket. This season, leather outerwear was the thing, and there were plenty of versions to choose from.
Sartorial formality isn’t really a thing anymore, unless you happen to be a celebrity on the red carpet or a member of the royal family. Occasion dressing is less about impressing others and more about feeling good. This idea manifested in some seriously beautiful ways on the fall runways this season, with designers ditching traditional gowns, cocktail dresses, and suiting for more mashed-up looks that prioritized self-confidence over prescriptive dress codes.
The runways in every city were awash with clever fringe, whether it hung from the hips of a knit dress or was woven onto the surface of a cocooning coat. Movement was a big talking point of the season, and these swishy strands proved to be among the most covetable examples.
Brooke Bobb is the fashion news director at Harper’s Bazaar, working across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was a senior content editor at Amazon Fashion, and worked at Vogue Runway as senior fashion news writer.
