9 Major Trends That Will Define Fall/Winter Fashion

It took a while—and over 1000 runway images—to finally wrap our heads around the contents of fashion month. For the first time in a long time, the runways this fall/winter season had an almost tangible air of newness to them, with a handful of designer debuts—including Daniel Lee at Burberry and Ludovic de Saint Sernin at Ann Demeulemeester—and a number of veterans successfully refreshing their brands in the eyes of the fashion community. Most substantial, though, were the trends presented by these designers and so many more, who managed to deliver some of the most unexpected groupings we’ve seen in ages that somehow still fit within the current zeitgeist.

Tory Burch, Miuccia Prada for Prada and Miu Miu, Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent, and Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta all seemed to grasp what so many have tried and failed to in the past—that is, what women actually wear. In a relatable move, Prada sent models down the runway at Miu Miu looking intentionally frazzled, having remembered to wear stockings and outerwear but forgotten pants and a hairbrush.

Elsewhere, Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent collection displayed a contrasting glimpse of the female form, one that’s strict in its put-togetherness, utilizing intensely strong tailoring and powerful silhouettes to get his message across. Finally, at Loewe, Ferragamo, and Jil Sander, our desire for comfort played out in the form of furry footwear, fashionable security blankets, and apparel fitted with oversize hoods.

Determine which of the above fits your current mindset by scrolling through the nine trends from the fall/winter 2023 runways below.

We started seeing one of the most dominant colors of the season—fiery red—at the start of fashion month in New York, and it only picked up momentum from there. Practically every fashion designer had the bold shade in the collection, from slim suiting at Ferragamo to a polished coat and gloves at The Row. We’re already predicting it will sweep fall fashion, so early adopters will want to invest in it now.

This season, designers finally seemed to get that when we have a dozen things on our plates, all spinning simultaneously, it’s hard to put together a proper outfit without forgetting a piece or two along the way. At Miu Miu, Prada sent models down the runway looking frazzled and missing a few wardrobe items, including bras and pants, and it seems underwear and tights will do. Bottega Veneta and JW Anderson featured models sans shoes, with Blazy’s take being leather socks and Jonathan Anderson’s being simple cotton ones. After all this time, it appears that fashion has finally grasped the concept of relatability without sacrificing any points in the style department.

One of the prevailing messages on the fall 2023 runways was wearability. It is the buzzy word of the season as designers are in stealth mode and are focused on pieces that are truly ready to wear. Miu Miu was a master class in casual yet directional dressing with easy legging looks. Tory Burch leaned into cool prep with tailored trousers and knits. Saint Laurent took this to an elegant, polished place with satin tank tops and pencil skirts. Perhaps the look that embodies this spirit of wearability most is the finale look at Bottega Veneta—a riff on the opening look for Matthieu Blazy’s debut F/W 22 collection featuring a white tank top and jeans—which proves that the seasonless pieces are meant to be collected and restyled season after season.

In the spring 2023 collections, we saw a focus on dress designs with built-in hoods. This detail will continuing into the fall 2023 collections with pieces ranging from industrial parkas at Prada to dramatic faux-fur outerwear at Bally to uncomplicated hoodies at Miu Miu. The hoods infuse a sense of practicality into pieces ranging from the simple to the ornate, driving home the point that wearability is one of the biggest themes of the fall collections.

If we learned anything this season, it’s that you don’t have to stay home to enjoy the luxuries we have become accustomed to after lounging on the sofa in our comfiest loungewear. Instead, all you need is a pair of hyper-stylized heels and an oversize clutch made of soft shearling or fuzzy faux fur. Thanks to labels like Burberry, Gucci, and Khaite, comfort is now officially an anytime, anywhere state of being and one that doesn’t require a single ounce of style sacrifice.

If you were still under the impression that wearing loungewear to work from home makes no difference to your productivity levels, this season’s take on power dressing will make you do a complete 180. From the needle-sharp shoulders at Saint Laurent to the sculpted skirt suits at Versace, the office attire presented over the last month could make anyone feel like the chicest, most admired, and most powerful person in the boardroom and beyond. It’s time to ditch the Superman pose and invest in a tie, sleek pencil skirt, and blazer that looks custom tailored for your exact measurements.

If there is one jewelry piece to buy for winter 2024, it is the chunky earring. Hot on the heels of the viral Bottega Veneta Drop Earrings that continue to be sold out everywhere and found in the wardrobes of celebrities such as Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner, we’re seeing a rising appetite for outfit-finishing statement earrings that designers are delivering for fall. On the runways, designers styled them with everything from elegant eveningwear to simple tank tops, so they’re intended to be worn for practically any occasion.

There’s a reason retailers can’t seem to keep Toteme’s scarf-jacket in stock. We want to feel comfortable 24/7 without looking like it, which is only really possible when you’re wearing a wildly chic piece of outerwear that drapes around you like a tight hug. Other designers see and understand this, which is why they’ve taken it upon themselves to level up in the comfort department this season, securing blanket-like shawls to outerwear with an elevated brooch (seen at Saint Laurent) and wrapping models in butter-like heavy-silk fabric (displayed at Loewe).

We’ve already seen evidence that hosiery is on the rise, as tights have made a major impact in the wardrobes of celebrities and fashion insiders on the street style set recently. Whether or not you’ve test-driven the piece, the fall 2023 runways are solidifying the trend even further with styles such as opaque tights worn as pants at Alaïa, fiery-red colorways at David Koma, and fishnet textures at Victoria Beckham. Gucci and Miu Miu also offered up new ways of styling them—instead of tucking them discreetly underneath the outfits, the designers made a point of styling them with low-slung skirts and cardigans tucked in so they’re intentionally visible.