10 Best Fall 2024 Trends From Fashion Week ·

18 Aug 2024, 00:00

With a prolific changing of the guard at legacy houses in Milan—Sabato de Sarno at Gucci, Matteo Tamburini at Tod's, and Simone Bellotti at Bally—and Paris Fashion Week—Chemena Kamali at Chloé and Seán McGirr at Alexander McQueen—the fall 2024 trends included a bit of everything for everyone. There were smart wardrobe investments at Max Mara and The Row, clothing that toked the wearing vs. styling trend debate at Fendi, unconventional pairing ideas at Loewe and Dries Van Noten, and fur or faux fur coats just about everywhere you turned.

If you want quirk and kitsch, you can find them within the biggest fall 2024 trends where the embrace of personal style and maximal accessories was a repeated theme. A great coat, a beautifully tailored suit, and a luxurious knit were equally prioritized, all within arm's reach. "I was interested in making a monument out of the everyday," Bottega Veneta's Matthieu Blazy told a group of journalists backstage in Milan. A lesson that seemingly ordinary pieces, like a leather skirt or a button-down shirt, can still be extraordinary with a bit of innovation and well-executed techniques.

With social media bans implemented at The Row and charming glimpses of the past brought forth at Altuzarra and Prada in the form of vintage-inspired tea-length dresses, cheeky hat trends, and lady coats, it's more apparent than ever that clothes don't actually need fashion TikTok validation or party tricks up their sleeves to be valued in the modern world. Great clothes speak for themselves.

Coat of Arms

Fall 2024's coats are a testament to both design and functionality. These overachievers will provide warmth, but they contain other great qualities, too, as each designer offers their take on fall's omnipresent staples. Victoria Beckham's runway featured double-lapel peacoats, shearlings, and moto-style leather jackets. Loewe re-introduced us to Victorian-era swallowtail coats, and at Bottega Veneta, there were multiple standouts, from cocoon-shaped jackets to wooly cape outerwear.

Toteme Draped Fringed Wool-Blend Jacket

Barbour. Cordelia Quilted Longline Jacket

J.Crew Collection Jodie Leather Lady Jacket

Feather Weather

Once indicative of social status, feather embellishments give clothing an innate sense of drama. But for the fall of 2024, feathers infiltrated in unexpected ways. Feathery textured hems and necklines clung to dresses at Ferragamo and Bottega Veneta. Full-on feather coats flocked the Tory Burch runway, and feathered skirts were casually styled, peeking out from beneath sweaters at Brunello Cucinelli.

Sleeper Boheme Ostrich-Feather Embellished Slip Dress

La DoubleJ Fancy Feather-Trimmed Cropped High-Rise Slim-Leg Jeans

Cinq à Sept Feather Trim Crop Top

Fur Frenzy

The discourse around fur and faux furs can be contentious, but with a surge in popularity, designers are innovating with novel fabrics and silhouettes that transcend the fleeting mob wife aesthetic. Prada artfully fused shearling to mimic fur on dress hems and shoulder sleeves. At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson offered an alternative to the conventional fur jacket with a cropped pullover, and at Bally, furry backs adorned sheath tops and gave an unexpected update to asymmetric mini skirts.

Apparis Stella Plant-Based Faux-Fur Coat

Stella McCartney Oversized Faux Shearling-Trimmed Two-Tone Vegan Leather Jacket

Mango Faux Fur Jacket

Green with Envy

There's always a color or grouping of color trends that prevail over the season: red, butter yellow, Barbie pink. This season, green—a symbol of renewal—is staking its claim. A retro 1970s green enveloped suiting and jackets at Gucci, while Fforme showcased slinky emerald green dresses and suiting separates. Saint Laurent embraced the lush hue as the show backdrop, with hints of olive and khaki green peppered throughout the collection.

Nili Lotan Gaby Cotton-Blend Twill Straight-Leg Pants

Staud Wells Cotton-Blend Poplin Midi Dress

Banana Republic Linen-Cotton Boxy Sweater

Wild Card

The animal print trend never went dormant, but it has become a major thread across the fall 2024 collections, bringing boldness into neutral territory. An amalgamation of leopard print was prevalent at Marni and Versace and Seán McGirr's debut season as Creative Director for Alexander McQueen. Theory's collection also offered a palatable approach to leopard care of swing dresses, smart suits, and trenches.

Favorite Daughter The Josie Leopard Print Maxi Skirt

Isabel Marant Lonea Animal-Print Ruched Blouse

Ulla Johnson Cai Jacquard Wide-Leg Pants

Ladylike Suiting

Vintage lovers will rejoice in the runway's classic offerings from the past. Several designers, including Altuzarra and The Row, shifted toward salon-style showings this season. And notoriously offline, The Olsens enforced a no social media policy at their fall 2024 Paris show. Mimicking old-fashioned (albeit very much in fashion) mindsets, it was no coincidence the collections also revisited retro styles.

Banana Republic Siena Wool Pencil Skirt

Chloé + Atelier Jolie Wool-Gabardine Blazer

Rixo Moss Pussy-Bow Polka-Dot Silk Blouse

Layering Pro

Designers are taking a new approach to modern layering, making it foolproof to achieve a nonchalant cuffed sleeve or a perfectly rolled pant leg. Many of the fall 2024 pieces have the styling details already built in. At Bottega Veneta, several of the collection's doubled-up button-downs, cowl neck knits, and jackets are attached at the seams. At Gucci, shrunken-style polos come sewn into companion cardigans that drape ever-so-slightly on the cusp of the shoulder.

Cos Asymmetric Wrap Pants

Victoria Beckham Layered Wool-Blend and Cotton-Blend Turtleneck Sweater

Favorite Daughter Kelly Contrast Layered Blazer

Luxurious Knits

Not so long ago, there was a time when cozy clothing reigned king. But now, with places to go and people to see, we’ve pivoted away from cocooning ourselves completely. Still, getting dressed doesn’t have to undermine the importance of comfort—and designers are approaching leisure apparel with a luxury mindset. The Row offered sophisticated cashmere pants that can easily double as cocktail attire paired with a slightly oversized blazer and some pearls. Pop on a kitten-heeled boot or a mule, and Jil Sander’s knit sets can easily take you into the boardroom.

Jil Sander Brushed-Wool Sweater

Frame Rib-Knit Cashmere-Blend Flare Pants

The Row Chevro Cutout Cashmere Sweater

No Pants? No Problem.

On the fall 2024 runways, there were more new pant silhouettes than ever—ballooning cargo pants at Loewe and high-waisted, long-legged "elevator" pants at Victoria Beckham— and new ways to approach the no-pants trend. Altuzarra suggested a monochromatic pop of red with a cropped jacket and tight combo, Gucci offered barely there micro short options in knit and leather fabrications, and Ferragamo designed sturdy opaque tight-legging hybrids for those on the fence.

Elce Sol Ribbed-Knit Shorts

Dôen Nuage Cable-Knit Alpaca-Wool Sweater

Alex Mill Poolside Shorts In Positano Stripe

On the Fringe

Fringe was one of those trends that kept popping up on the runways, but it was also a common thread amongst the dress codes and street styles of editors, buyers, and influencers attending the shows. Bottega Veneta continues to drive home its artisanal prowess with micro leather fringe atop statement jackets, on skirts, and throughout their accessories. Dries Van Noten strategically placed tinsel twinkling fringes on suiting. At Ferragamo, elongated fringe strips framed bare legs on skirts and dresses.

By Malene Birger Iggie Double-Breasted Fringe-Trim Blazer

Another Tomorrow + Net Sustain Fringed Draped Knitted Tank

L'Agence Karolina Fringe Vegan Leather Skirt

Sheer Force

You can't talk about Saint Laurent's fall 2024 collection without broaching the topic of sheer, but the French fashion house wasn't the only designer tackling "naked dressing" head-on. From completely translucent tunic-style dresses at Proenza Schouler to shots of sheer at Gucci and sheer skirts at Fendi, those who buy into the trend can layer strategically or bare it all.