The big four fashion weeks – New York, London, Milan and Paris, in that order – have drawn to a close and while there were plenty of fashion month goings-on that will have little to no effect on the majority of people’s lives, there were plenty that will. Because what happens at the shows doesn’t stay at the shows. Expect the clothes, as well as the way they were worn, to trickle down.
From styling tweaks to a steer on what it is time to dig out of storage, here is a rundown of the looks that it feels fair to say will inform the way we get dressed.
Cowboycore
Pharrell Williams’s Louis Vuitton menswear show in January was the closest a fashion show gets to a rodeo, and the trend rode high into women’s fashion month. From western-inspired shirts at Molly Goddard to Willy Chavarria’s spin on Americana, fringing at Coach and Isabel Marant and suede jackets at Miu Miu, fashion has officially gone west.
But the near-total western takeover needn’t – and certainly won’t – mean chaps and cowboy hats for all. While some will of course opt for the hero pieces, for many it will probably translate to subtle details do-si-do-ing their way into wardrobes – a tentative tassel here, a shy bit of fringing there.
The return of boho-chic
Frilly blouses, capes, navel-grazing pendants and high-waisted denim: Chemena Kamali’s debut collection at Chloé was a clarion call for Portobello Road chic and, fittingly, Sienna Miller was on the front row to see her legacy unfold. Although it has been gently simmering in fashion for a while, now, thanks to Kamali, it is officially back. Expect to see dresses with ruffles for days resurfacing from the backs of wardrobes and on the high street, as well as searches for original noughties coin belts, floaty tops and ponchos rocketing on resale sites such as Depop.
The platform sandal
How many celebrities does it take to change a look? We are about to get a good idea. The front row at Chloé, which included Miller, Liya Kebede, Georgia May Jagger, Pat Cleveland, Clémence Poésy and Marisa Abela, all wore the same open-toed wedge sandal. We anticipate the boho-chic-adjacent style trickling through in the coming months to relive its mid-noughties heyday. Versatile and practical – for a heel – it is likely to be a favourite style come the warmer months.
Thigh-high riding boots
Ferragamo, Fendi, Versace, Marine Serre, Gucci, Chloé, to name but a few, all had models clip-clopping down catwalks in boots fit for a rising trot. At fashion week shows they ranged from above the knee to skimming the tops of thighs, even on statuesque models. In real life, secondhand sites and the high street will probably be awash with slightly less dramatic leather riding boots, suitable for a real-life hack.
Green
Having been stuck on red for a while, fashion this season has given the green light. At Ferragamo there were several strident looks of head-to-toe olive green, but the arboreal colour sprouted widely, with varying degrees of subtlety at Prada, Erdem, Bottega Veneta, JW Anderson, Jil Sander, Tolu Coker and others. From emerald to sugarsnap to snot and moss, peppermint to spearmint, it feels likely that green will take root in our wardrobes this year in the way that tomato red did last.
Impractically long hems
Trouser hems have seemingly reacted against Rishi Sunak’s tailoring by heading low where his head high. From hovering fractions of a centimetre above the ground to pooling around feet on the floor, the hyperbolically long trouser legs seen this fashion month, from Victoria Beckham to Chloé, Rokh to Stella McCartney, are likely to become an aspirational – if impractical – silhouette in the months to come. One thing on a nicely polished catwalk, another on the gum-strewn streets of drizzly cities, look forward to puddles soaking their way up to shins come September.
Belts, belts and more belts
On top of tweedy overcoats and aran knits at Chanel, over gently hugging woollen cummerbunds at Max Mara, knotted over trench coats at Roksanda or skinny as a pencil at Toteme, the surefire way to make any and every look feel current is to add a belt, or two – see them stacked at Versace. Or look to JW Anderson’s Loewe show if you would like an alternative, kooky way to style yours: elegant dresses were decorated with giant belt buckles.
Varsity jackets
At Prada, varsity jackets came emblazoned with a “P”, at Tommy Hilfiger, the designer himself took his post-show victory lap in one. They followed on from Grace Wales Bonner’s menswear collection in January, with its Howard University-inspired leather iterations. Luckily for those wishing to pledge their allegiance to the look, vintage shops and secondhand sites are home to many.
Sensible shoes
At Max Mara, the footwear would bring people of a certain generation back to fittings at Clarks; at Simone Rocha, Queen Victoria-inspired ensembles were offset with sturdy lace-ups; at JW Anderson, square-toed, sheepskin-lined slippers added a cosy note to his ode to nosy neighbours. Look ahead to flat comfortable shoes fit for the school corridors signalling fashion-forwardness.
Jumpers as scarves
At 16Arlington, Michael Kors, Proenza Schouler, Robyn Lynch and Fendi, knitwear came tied, slightly off-kilter around necks. A rejigging of the classic and Wasp-y jumper tied around the shoulders, the new vogue for being swaddled in a jumper is also a practical way to keep out the chill without overheating, on those in-between days.
