The Fall-Winter 2024 fashion season may mark the end of extravagance

Another fashion season has passed, as usual heralding the arrival of new trends that promise exciting changes for the future of fashion.

Summary of content Seriousness from Corpcore Classic scent from the plum print Reversed collars The art of camouflage Playing with silhouettes The obsession with fur coats Broad shoulders defy time Glittering “feather” sets The legendary “Le Smoking” silhouette revived

Following the strong wave of quiet luxury across trend rankings, the fashion landscape is becoming more practical, no longer as extravagant as in legend. In contrast to the dazzling skies of the unreal world of Haute Couture just recently, the Fall-Winter 2024 fashion season depicts a more practical scenario for fashion.

Matthieu Blazy, creative director of Bottega Veneta, once shared: “I care about creating extraordinary things from everyday details.” And perhaps that is the guiding principle for the moodboards of the Fall-Winter 2024 fashion weeks.

Instead of focusing on surreal or even “unrealistic” silhouettes, designers this season invest more in high-quality materials and versatile garment functionality. Roaming through the four prominent fashion weeks worldwide, we notice a combination of traditional tweed and fishbone fabrics, pinstripes, Aran knits, and argyle patterns, reminiscent of a weekend in the English countryside. Oversized outerwear made of sheepskin, faux fur, feathers, etc., provide the necessary warmth for the characteristic Fall-Winter weather. The positive presence of materials and sparkling sequin details perhaps heralds a more festive Winter than usual. The legendary Le Smoking suits by Yves Saint Laurent, originally dedicated to women in the late 60s, still grace the runways. All of this continues to be revealed in the trend highlights of the Fall-Winter 2024 fashion season below:

Seriousness from Corpcore Corpcore – a fashion trend beloved by young people, inspired by office wear as well as employee uniforms. After a period of dominating the streets, Corpcore is “revived” on numerous high-end runways. With the cold weather, classic suits with traditional silhouettes also become ideal clothing choices. They maintain their normal shoulder pads, neither too bulky nor too bold, under the influence of contemporary fashion trends.

Meanwhile, the waistline remains present, and the trousers remain straight, rather than the prevailing oversized silhouettes. Timeless pinstripe patterns also appear on classic suits by Dilara Findikoglu, Ottolinger, Giorgio Armani menswear, etc. The familiar tie in the DNA of office wear also becomes a spotlight accessory at LaQuan Smith, Hodakova, Ludovic de Saint Sernin shows. At Schiaparelli, traditional ties are playfully transformed into fake hairbands.

Classic scent from the plum print The runways of the Fall-Winter 2024 fashion weeks transport viewers to the serene English countryside. It’s those weekend days when people stroll around town wearing thick, warm layers made of tweed, fishbone, and classic plum-printed fabrics. These styles evoke images of Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited, scenes from Jeeves and Wooster, the wardrobe of the Mitford sisters, and the relaxed royal style of Balmoral. Chloe and Burberry dye these outfits with a nostalgic mix of moss green and golden hues, on long coats and thick scarves. Sweaters with hidden plum print patterns are found at Coperni’s futuristic show, worn like scarves at Fendi, and extended to wear with long skirts at Tommy Hilfiger.

Reversed collars To cope with the cold of Fall-Winter, designers have perhaps “enlarged” the collars, cutting them horizontally, lifting them up, and even flipping them over the back, creating a new batwing collar style in their latest collections. Not unreasonable or defiant, the new collar styles in the Fall-Winter 2024 fashion season create a highly seductive back-cut detail. Chanel applies the flipped collar on a long white tweed dress extended on the runway, accentuated with a long cut up to the hips. If Carven “reverses” its thick shoulder work dress, Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini dresses its models in a luxurious brown trench coat, complete with bold studded belt.

The art of camouflage The enthusiastic promotion of camouflage patterns by numerous brands in the Fall-Winter 2024 season is perhaps their response to the ongoing warfare issues worldwide. Pharrell Williams may be leading this trend. Continuing his grand debut of the damoflage pattern at the Louis Vuitton Menswear show, Pharrell showcases the art of camouflage with a new pattern in his second collection at the French fashion house. It depicts a desert scene in the Wild West similar to the backdrop of the show.

The Institut Français de la Mode connects with nature with a giant, raised jacket, resembling a pile of dried leaves where soldiers often hide on the battlefield. Marni interprets camouflage in a softer, more feminine way with a pink and white camo-patterned pinafore dress. Meanwhile, Knwls’ co-ord outfits are adorned with traditional green moss camo patterns.

Playing with silhouettes Layering is one of the most beloved clothing combinations when Fall-Winter fashion season begins. However, the layering combinations in this Fall-Winter are not as heavy as tradition; instead, they are ironed flat to create eye-catching trompe l’oeil patterns. Bold visual illusions are found in a variety of famous shows, from Balmain’s suits to Undercover’s paper-flat jeans, to Sacai’s coats worn with short-sleeved tops.

Not only trompe l’oeil details, the Fall-Winter 2024 fashion season also brings exquisite silhouette play. Deconstruction is found in reversed collars, detachable garments like skewed stickers, and even more extreme “slashed” styles. This helps us “distinguish between humans and machines” – as Balenciaga’s Demna shares. Yohji Yamamoto’s intricately cut and stitched coats are a prime example. Meanwhile, dresses or trench coats hung loosely on collars by Balenciaga, or mismatched tops worn by models at Victoria Beckham, provide a lighter, more comfortable yet still interesting feeling. Perhaps contemporary fashion still “nods” to the principles of Martin Margiela, the legendary designer who once shared with Vogue magazine: “When I cut clothes, whether old or new, it is to transform them, not to destroy them.”

The fur coat obsession As an eternal law, with the beginning of each Fall-Winter fashion season, massive fur coats shine like a “main character” on the moodboards of famous brands’ collections. Not only the wearers but also designers go crazy for fur coats made of various faux fur types. For example, soft sheepskin coats at Simone Rocha or Givenchy; or versions with fluffy, shaggy fur fibers at Erdem, Stella McCartney. Meanwhile, classic colored fur coats at Helmut Lang and Miu Miu bring a more subtle spirit. Diesel and Knwls offer a visually stunning sight with partly dried fur pieces.

Broad shoulders transcend time Many fashion seasons have passed, but the square, broad shoulders without limits in “Working Girl” have always been an abundant source of inspiration, dominating the trend cycle. The Fall-Winter 2024 season is no exception. Bold shoulders, borrowed from the shapes Claude Montana pioneered in the 80s, are recognized in numerous collections. Besides straight, square shoulder lines at Stella McCartney, Mugler, Vetements, the power in the feminine fashion language is also embedded in rounded shoulders like American football uniforms at Collina Strada or cleverly curved ones at Luar.

Glittering “feather” sets Although neutral color palettes are on the rise, the Fall-Winter 2024 season cannot “give up” the prominence of glittering materials, shiny sequin threads that attract every gaze. From New York, London, Milan to Paris Fashion Week Fall 2024, the typical “dreary” picture of the cold season becomes significantly more dazzling due to the sparkling reflections from sequin dresses or feathered jackets. Mugler, Tory Burch, Valentino, and 16Arlington bring “glamorous feather sets” under the morning dew light full of sophistication. Subtle, flexible, highly functional yet eye-catching, warm sweaters at Dries Van Noten or long dresses at LaPointe evoke images of a fresh green lawn recently soaked by the early season rain.

The legendary “Le Smoking” silhouette revived “Suit up” may be the dress code for late-night parties this Fall-Winter 2024 fashion season. The spirit of Marlene Dietrich and Yves Saint Laurent still exists in all Le Smoking styles at recent runways. Despite debuting in the late 60s, the classic allure of the legendary Le Smoking suit remains timeless and suitable for every era, every new fashion age. In addition to classic pinstripe suits suitable for office fashion, the shows in the Fall-Winter 2024 season also bring more relaxed suits like GCDS, as well as modern ones like Vivetta. Le Smoking suits break through with extended hemlines like Loewe’s, or even transformed into dresses like Valentino’s and Versace’s, which are equally interesting. Meanwhile, Thom Browne, Dolce & Gabbana, and Khaite bring classic and luxurious versions.