The Fall 2024 season is a study in style contrasts: hard with soft, refined with relaxed, contemporary with classic—often all at once. Presented side by side, the runway collections might seem all over the map, but pinning down the throughline proved easy: outright permission to oscillate between opposites without raising eyebrows, to eschew trends as we know them for a more elective approach to dressing.
We noticed five sartorial thought-starters emerge from this season’s designer offerings: patterns, adornment and layering techniques you’ve likely encountered before, but reimagined to suit the multifaceted modern woman.
Here’s what stood out from the Fall 2024 runway trends, and how to incorporate them into your own dressing algorithm this fall.
The transitional jacket: Cropped leather
Crisp fall air calls for one thing: the timeless leather topper. According to the FW24 runways, the definitive jacket du jour is cropped and cut close to the body. A belted beauty by Marques’Almeida was finished with a peplum-like flourish, and called to mind worn-in gems you’d find while rifling through vintage racks. Prada took a distressed approach to a leather jacket so fitted and formed that it resembled medieval body armour. But it was Celine’s archive-inspired piece—’60s in style, emphasized by gold buttons—that most strongly possessed that perennial effortlessness.
The standout moment: Hermès
French house Hermès undeniably knows its way around a hide, and the fall collection’s luscious offering of leather jackets proves it again. A perfectly constructed, oxblood-tinged biker was all Upper East Side polish. No doubt it’ll run a small fortune, but we honestly can’t think of a more worthy investment piece.
The jewellery piece: Long pendants
Ever witness a trend and wonder, How did this get overlooked for so long? That’s precisely how we’re feeling about long pendant necklaces. While we’ve all been piling on everything dainty and layered, this one-and-done adornment strategy has been patiently waiting in the wings. No longer though: power players including Dior and Bottega Veneta leaned on this streamlined statement to punctuate their looks. Whether it was a gleaming orb or coloured key, singular pendants were exceptional all on their own.
The standout moment: Givenchy
Our favourite version appeared at Givenchy, where a metallic sculptural objet hung from rope tied with a simple lark’s head knot. It’s easy to picture the high-low, textural contrast of it worn with a crisp tee, tight turtleneck or relaxed-and-rolled button-up.
The layering strategy: Knitwear on knitwear
In a season that often yields some decidedly unrealistic garments (barely there lace dresses in zero degrees, anyone?), designers finally delivered on winter-weather functionality in a big, actually achievable way. The ingenious layering method: Taking two similarly knitted pieces, and wearing one the regular way and the other wrapped around you in cozy, editorial fashion. In Milan, Gucci executed it beautifully: a deep ochre romper topped off with a cardigan, buttoned only at the bottom and draped completely off the shoulders, down to the elbow. Another compelling case was made at Michael Kors with two perfect grey sweaters: one tied asymmetrically at the neck, vaguely resembling a cape.
The standout moment: Tommy Hilfiger
The most wearable interpretation of this style tactic was spotted at Tommy Hilfiger. The look was black, white and red on the bottom: a striped sweater, encircled by a striped, Lenny Kravitz-esque scarf, punctuated by apple-hued lounge pants. Comfort and cool factor—now who says fashion with a capital F can’t be practical?
The pattern: Leopard
There’s a well-known reputation that precedes leopard print: unrepentantly sexy, a touch tacky, the kind of thing you’d expect from certain corners of the fashion world, most likely Italian (looking at you, Dolce & Gabbana). But this season saw designers revamp the familiar feline print, aligning it with a cooler, more grown-up aesthetic. A perfect example came at Michael Kors: Outfitted in a razor-sharp leopard overcoat and a slicked-back bun, Amber Valletta could’ve easily blended in with the Bay Street crowd. Other wild cat wonders worth noting: Alexander McQueen’s jacquard pencil skirt and Zimmermann’s billowy mini dress with matching tights.
The standout moment: Marni
Leopard’s remaining risqué overtones were whisked away at Marni where an exaggerated chrysalis-shaped coat and accompanying high boots completely obscured the human form underneath. Consider it cool camouflage for the current day.
The era: 1960s femme
You can always count on nostalgia to be a brimming well of design inspiration. For fall, designers rewound to the Sixties, unearthing quintessential silhouettes from the decade: scoop-neck shifts complete with a string of pearls at Miu Miu, furry pencil skirts at Carven, and luscious faux fur coats at Simone Rocha. Yes, the prim and proper, woman-of-the-house style is perfectly timed to our recent “trad wife” fixation, but we’re inclined to view this renaissance from a more modern lens: that good old-fashioned glamour deserves a little more real estate in our everyday rotations.
The standout moment: Marc Jacobs
A cartoonishly proportioned skirt-and-cardigan set at Marc Jacobs was the kind of thing you could picture a Betty Draper type in, clutching a martini-filled coupe and lounging around a sunken living room.
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