Fall 2024's Top Fashion Trends: Showcase Designers' Vision

The predominant theme of the new season's fashion is authenticity, rather than fantasy. Bottega Veneta’s Matthieu Blazy expressed his interest in elevating everyday items into something monumental, encapsulating the essence of fall 2024. The focus lies not so much on silhouette, although there are hints of Claude Montana–inspired proportions, but rather on materials and texture. The amalgamation of heritage tweeds, herringbones, plaids, and knits evokes the ambiance of an English country weekend. This outdoorsy yet non-gorpcore theme is further emphasized by an abundance of ski sweaters, hinting, perhaps, at a nostalgic yearning for snow, which has become increasingly scarce due to climate change in certain regions. Outerwear crafted from shearling, faux furs, feathers, and yarn offers more than just warmth. These often voluminous, tactile pieces effortlessly elevate any look, whether you're aiming for retro glamour à la Diana Ross or Carrie Bradshaw, or embracing.

While focusing on daywear and mix-and-match separates, designers are not detached from the world's harsh realities. The abundance of red-wine-colored garments serves as a comforting escape. Amidst ongoing wars, growing populism, and looming significant elections, the luxury fashion industry's response appears to be a deliberate disengagement from politics. Instead, fashion aims to provide solace through protective garments that offer a sense of embrace and security. Henry Zankov, the designer behind the collection Hold Me Closer, expressed a desire for wearers to experience the sensation of being hugged and having someone with them through their clothes. Additionally, innovative approaches to camouflage and high collars that offer anonymity further contribute to the theme of protection and security.

Tinsel decorations, suitable for both daytime and evening wear, provide an opportunity for more bold and expressive fashion choices. In lieu of extravagant formal gowns, the revival of Le Smoking—a pinnacle of masculine formal attire popularized for women by Yves Saint Laurent in the late '60s—lends a Gatsby-esque elegance to evening ensembles. While Dolce & Gabbana pays homage to this iconic style, other designers are deconstructing it, using satin-lapel jackets and cummerbunds to challenge traditional formalities and gender norms. Of particular note is the way designers have reimagined pinstripes and neckties to subvert ideas of capitalism and authority. It appears that fashion continues to draw inspiration from the Working Girl aesthetic that Saint Laurent's Anthony Vaccarello introduced in his fall 2023 ready-to-wear collection, despite the designer's departure from it, at least for women. Intriguingly, Patrick Bateman, the impeccably dressed and sociopathic antihero from Bret Easton Ellis's novel, serves as one of Vaccarello's references for the house's fall 2024 men's line.

In the fall season, designers are incorporating physical elements into their creations, such as garments that stretch, twist, and spiral around the body. The pursuit for beauty within chaos is evident at Balenciaga, where Demna emphasized the value of imperfection, failure, and irregularity as defining human characteristics, setting us apart from machines. This concept is reflected in various design elements, ranging from subtle backward collars to more bold deconstructions.

Corporate Values

In the realm of corporate culture, traditional symbols such as neckties are experiencing a revival, serving as a reflection of the current state of capitalism and the evolving dynamics of the workplace.

Flyte Patterns

The resurgence of country-house aesthetics, featuring tweeds, herringbones, and argyles, evoke a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of iconic literary and royal figures, adding a touch of sophistication to contemporary fashion.

Neck-Up Fashion

2024 is poised to showcase extravagant collars as the trend to embrace, akin to the prominence of voluminous sleeves in 2023. Additionally, there's a growing interest in backward button-downs, signaling a shift in fashion norms.

Outward-Bound

Drawing inspiration from Pharrell Williams's groundbreaking Louis Vuitton "damoflage," designers are delving into nature-inspired themes, reinventing traditional camouflage patterns with expressive and bold interpretations, resulting in visually captivating pieces that defy the norm.

Flat Out

Apple's Vision Pro may be bringing spatial computing to life, but fashion is embracing the two-dimensionality of flatness through spliced garments, the use of wire, and paper-doll-like tabs. The effect is to create an unexpected and visually appealing space between the body and the garment.

Piled High

Come fall, you'll go crazy for voluminous, pettable outerwear made of faux fur, feathers, fabric, shearling, or yarn.

Off-Piste

Ski sweaters are both cozy and fashionable, making them suitable for both the slopes and the streets.

Go Wide

Anchoring the silhouette in a tactile season is the bold shoulder, which frequently borrows from the shape pioneered by Claude Montana in the bigger-is-better '80s. Big shoulders command space, whether they are straight, sloped, or rounded.

Made for Magpie

A little sparkle can go a long way, and in this season of softness, glittery tinsel really pops.

Smoking Allowed

Suiting is the new way to dress for the evening. The spirits of Marlene Dietrich and Yves Saint Laurent are present in all of the season's Le Smokings.