Real, as opposed to fantastical, fashion is the unifying message of the new season – and an overarching theme of the autumn/winter 2024 fashion trends. Bottega Veneta’s Matthieu Blazy said he was “interested in making a monument out of the everyday,” which is essentially autumn/winter 2024’s motto. Broadly speaking, the focus is less on silhouette (though there were shoulders of Claude Montana-ish proportions) than on materials and tactility. Taken altogether the combination of heritage tweeds and herringbones with plaids and Aran and argyle knits conjures an English country weekend. Building on this outdoorsy – but decidedly not gorpcore – theme are a preponderance of ski sweaters representing perhaps a nostalgia for snow, which climate change has rendered increasingly rare in some parts of the world. Outerwear in shearling, faux furs, feathers and yarn provides more than warmth. These often voluminous touch-me pieces do the work for you, whether you’re going for glam by way of Diana Ross or Carrie Bradshaw or leaning into the haute bohème vibe rekindled at Chloé.
While designers are more focused on daywear and mix-and-match separates (“reality,” in fashion speak), that doesn’t mean they’re engaged with the world’s grim reality. Copious amounts of red wine-coloured garments take the edge off. Wars are raging, populism is growing and momentous elections are looming at home and abroad, but luxury’s response is mostly to apply the rules of disengagement. Rather than get political, fashion is choosing to offer succour in the form of protective garments that embrace, or even swaddle, the wearer. Henry Zankov, who called his collection Hold Me Closer, said, “I wanted that sensation of being hugged, of having someone to be in your clothes with you.” Building on that sense of safekeeping and creating a bridge with nature are novel takes on camouflage, perhaps inspired by Pharrell Williams’s so-called damoflage for Louis Vuitton. High collars also allow for anonymity.
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Tinsel trimmings, shown for day and night, allow for more extroverted expression. In the absence of take-me-to-the-moon gowns, the reedition of Le Smoking – the ne plus ultra of masculine occasionwear until it was popularised for women by Yves Saint Laurent in the late ’60s – adds a Gatsby-like air to evening dressing. While Dolce & Gabbana composed an ode to this archetype, others are taking it apart, using the satin-lapel jacket or the cummerbund as a way to play against formality or gender stereotypes. Significantly more pointed is the way designers played with pinstripes and neck ties in an attempt to dismantle ideas of capitalism and power. It seems that fashion isn’t letting go of the Working Girl references Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello introduced in his autumn/winter 2023 ready-to-wear collection – even if the designer has, at least for women. (Interestingly, Patrick Bateman, the well-dressed psychopath antihero of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, is one of Vaccarello’s references for the house’s autumn/winter 2024 men’s line.)
Autumn/winter 2024 is not only a season of cushioning blows; a number of designers got really physical, applying a torque-like force to create garments that stretch, twist and spiral around the body. Others are searching for ways to find beauty or make some order in chaos. That’s the case at Balenciaga, where Demna stated it is not perfection but its opposite: “the imperfection, the failure or the miss” that “makes us human now” and “differentiates us from machines.” This idea of off-ness is expressed in ways ranging from gentle (backward collars) to more extreme deconstructions.
Counterintuitively, one of the ways that designers are undermining the idea of an algorithmically flattened culture is through garments that embrace the idea of flatness physically through construction, splicing (see Undercover), or suspension (see Balenciaga and Victoria Beckham). In doing so, they continue in the tradition of Martin Margiela, who once told Vogue: “When I recut clothes, old or new, it’s to transform them, not destroy them.” This idea of building up from and expanding on what exists is one that fashion needs to embrace. Here, Vogue breaks down the key autumn/winter 2024 fashion trends to know for the new season.
- Suited and booted
- Town and country
- Neck-up fashion
- Souped-up camo
- Two-dimensional dressing
- Tactile top-coats
- Ski-inspired knits
- Big-shouldered silhouettes
- All that glitters
- Le smoking suiting
- Wrap it up
- Ribbons and bows
Suited and booted
Thought neck ties were a thing of the past? Think again. Designers played with symbols of corporate power – ties among them – as a commentary on late-stage capitalism and the dismantling of symbols of power in a now lost world of work. But this is nothing like the standard-issue suiting you might associate with Wall Street types, rather this is Dilara Findikoglu’s corseted, hip-buttressing pinstriped blazers, Schiaparelli’s very Meret Oppenheim “hair” tie and Vaquera’s voluminous, reverse-pleat trousers. The key to successful suiting and booting? Opt for unexpected accessories (see Institut Français de la Mode’s cowboy hat accoutrement), and don’t be afraid of a tie – just consider sticking to oversized silhouettes to avoid looking like a cater waiter.
Town and country
Country-house weekends – but not of the Saltburn variety – are trending. Tweeds, herringbones and argyles conjure Brideshead Revisited’s Sebastian Flyte, Jeeves and Wooster, the Mitford sisters and the relaxed royal style of Balmoral. A traditional Argyle jumper is one of the best entry-points to this trend, and can be found at a range of price points: from Cos to Bottega Veneta and everything in between. There are also plenty of pre-loved iterations to be found on the likes of Ebay and Etsy. Make like Dior and style yours with a kilt skirt and buckled ballet flats. For those wanting to embrace their inner moor-stalking Brontë herione, meanwhile, should look to a sturdy, ankle-skimming tweed coat. Brooding love interest optional.
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Neck-up fashion
Extravagant collars will be to 2024 what big sleeves were to 2023. On the autumn/winter 2024 runways we saw the likes of Supriya Lele, Acne Studios and Courrèges offering up coats and jackets with starkly architectural collars that almost masked the entire face – surely the most stylish way to protect against the elements (and unwanted social interactions). Backward button-downs are also making the rounds this season, providing an unexpected spin on traditional shirting. Make like Denzil Patrick and experiment with a colourful, pie-crust collar shirt – the bigger the better, naturally – paired with a polished, high-waisted jean. Our favourite autumnal staples have done a 180, quite literally.
Souped-up camo
Did Pharrell Williams’s Louis Vuitton so-called damoflage spark a trend? Designers are connecting to nature with expressionistic takes on the traditional camouflage pattern. Just don’t expect to hide in plain sight in these head turners, as this military-inspired print has been fashionified beyond recognition: see Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood’s ladylike, draped midi-dress, which conceals a babes-in-the-woods botanical print based on a wallpaper in the designer’s kitchen. Knwls also made a good case for spangled camo print for party season with its shimmering sequinned two-piece styled with skin-tight heeled leather boots.
Two-dimensional dressing
Apple’s Vision Pro may be making spatial computing a reality, but fashion is embracing the two-dimensionality of flatness with spliced garments, the use of wire and paper doll-like tabs. The effect is to create a space between the body and the garment that is unexpected and exciting to the eye. But what does this look like in reality (not of the artificial variety)? Jonathan Anderson’s Loewe has become a master of sartorial optical illusion, and this season was no different: we currently have our eye on the brand’s sculptural, origami-fold trousers. Sacai is another brand that knows a thing or two about splicing and dicing, especially when it comes to its utility-meets-tailoring mash-up outerwear.
Tactile top coats
This autumn, you’re going to go wild for voluminous, pettable outerwear made of faux fur, feathers, fabric, shearling or yarn. They might not be the most practical pieces on the winter coat market, but these are the sort of pieces that were born to see and be seen. Prabal Gurung and Balmain proposed floor-skimming “monster” coats as the ultimate top-coat for your festive partywear – just add costume jewellery and a covetable bag and you’ll never want to grace a coat-check counter ever again. But, perhaps, the most fabulous way to try this trend is to wear outrageous styles for the most unassuming occasions: a floor-skimming faux-fur thrown over trackies and worn to the corner shop? Don’t mind if we do.
Ski-inspired knits
Snuggly and stylish, ski sweaters go from the slope to the street for autumn/winter 2024. The classic Fair Isle pattern was a common refrain on the fashion week runways, with designers such as No. 21 and Bode, sticking to traditional frameworks via chunky Fair Isle-printed cardigans, while others, including Paolina Russo and Sacai menswear, turned the motif on its head with silk and sequin-printed fabrics and skin-bearing silhouettes. Make sure to check out resale sites to find original, high-quality ski knits that you won’t see on anyone else this season.
Big-shouldered silhouettes
Anchoring the silhouette in a tactile season is the bold shoulder, which often borrows something from the shape Claude Montana pioneered in the bigger-is-better ’80s. Straight, sloped or rounded, big shoulders command space and convey authority. There are certain brands that have engineered their outerwear to take on exaggerated proportions – Balenciaga comes to mind – however you can also just go a few sizes up to achieve the same effect. Styling-wise there are two options here: either you embrace the XXL look and go head-to-toe baggy à la Stella McCartney, or you can create dramatic contrast with a roomy top-half and slimmed-down bottom-half, as seen at Etro and Maximilllian Raynor’s collection at the Central Saint Martins show.
All that glitters
A little sparkle can go a long way, and in a season of softness, glittery tinsel really stands out. Dries Van Noten certainly leant in to the shimmer for autumn/winter 2024 show, with one of the collection’s standout looks coming in the form of a cobalt-blue tinselled knit, which was styled with tailored city shorts and T-bar shoes (yes, they’re back). 16Arlington also accented a tailored blazer with an extroverted tinsel collar. Being “dressed up like a Christmas tree” just took on a whole new meaning.
Le smoking suiting
Put your LBD on ice, because suiting up is the new dressing up for evening. The spirits of Marlene Dietrich and Yves Saint Laurent live on in all of the season’s Le Smokings, which, in many cases, came with all the trimmings: think cummerbunds, ties, dress shirts, bowties, waistcoats, the lot. But for fashion purists, there is also the clean-lined simplicity of the Le smoking coat, as seen as Versace and Valentino, which was worn buttoned-up with a tantalising sliver of skin showing as the model walked the runway. Always leave them guessing.
Duvet dressing
Duvet-inspired dressing brings that cozy, stay-in-bed-all-day feeling with you wherever you go. While there will always be a place in our wardrobes for the sort of sleeping bag-like, down puffer coats that were prevalent during lockdown, the autumn/winter 2024 runways proposed other, more unexpected, wardrobe items to be given the quilted treatment. Susan Fang created whimsical miniskirts in puffed-up proportions, while Olivia Ballard sent out a white ballgown that, quite literally, resembled a white cotton duvet. Toga party, but make it fashion. For a more wearable spin on the trend, meanwhile, allow us to refer you to the enveloping, scarf-detail coats that have proliferated this season – surely the ultimate 2-for-1 purchase.
Ribbons and bows
Earlier this year, Vogue published an explainer on the coquette trend that has swept social feeds since 2020. As its author, Liana Satenstein, pointed out, bows were a central aspect of the movement – and four years on, coquettish bows and ribbons flourished looks on the autumn/winter 2024 runways. “This season, their starting point was, of all things, the bow,” remarked Nicole Phelps in her review of Prada’s show, which saw several dresses – including the opener – bedecked in sweet bows. “Bows have been the subject of much online discourse of late, partly because fashion has seen an inordinate amount of them in recent seasons, and partly because they’ve been taken up by the TikTok generation as a girlish affectation, a way to hold onto youth and reject adult responsibility, apparently,” she wrote. Elsewhere, Simone Rocha, who has a penchant for saccharine details, added a giant puffy bow on the shoulder of a jacket, while ribbons “like horse-riding rosettes” streamed from models’ hips at JW Anderson.
