Here, British Vogue breaks down the standout autumn/winter 2025 trends to know now and where to buy the key pieces seen on the runways this season.
Autumn/winter 2025 trends overview:
High-fashion frump
“Dowdy and old-fashioned (typically used of a woman or her clothes),” is how Google summarises the meaning of the word “frumpy”. Similar suggested terms include “dowdy”, “unfashionable” and ”drab” – none of which sounds especially aspirational. And yet, in the face of AI-generated perfectionism, designers have been busy subverting traditional notions of good taste with clothing that feels awkward, off-kilter and… well… really quite frumpy. From Louis Vuitton’s lumpy gilets worn over long skirts and SS Daley’s homely knitwear, to the haphazard layering of Miu Miu and Prada’s “jolie laides”, this look is all about leaning into spirit and spontaneity over Instagrammed perfection. “A runway full of life,” is how Sarah Mower aptly described Miu Miu’s autumn/winter 2025 collection. “A characterful intergenerational cast of people wearing skewed vintage-y clothes, odd cloches, spectacles, teased bouffants, and a few apparently badly self-set 1950s granny hairdos.” Your muse? Think Jess in her OAP-coded nighties from Netflix’s Too Much (the show’s costume designer described her look as “deeply lovable freak”), or The Devil Wears Prada’s Andy Sachs, before the makeover. Frump never looked so fabulous.
Catchphrase
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the age of AI-generated imagery and deepfakes, sometimes you’ve got to spell it out – and this season, creative directors understood the brief. Some took a softly-softly approach, with Dior offering a playful nod to the Noughties with a revival of John Galliano’s famed “J’adore Dior” logo tees, which were updated for a new generation with delicate lace edging. Elsewhere, Ashish spoke his truth with a walk-of-no-shame catwalk show that saw slogans toeing the line between personal and the political, with acerbic observations such as “Wow What a Shit Show” and “Not in the Mood” rubbing shoulders with “Fashion not Fascism” and “Slut for Socialism”. Then there were Conner Ives and Willy Chavarria, who both used their bows as a moment to call out the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights: Chavarria wore a T-shirt emblazoned with “How We Love Is Who We Are”, while Ives’s simply said “Protect the dolls”. “It’s important now to wear your heart on your sleeve,” Chavarria asserted backstage. “We are people living in fear right now.”
Earn your stripes
What makes a good stripe and what makes a bad stripe? Designers pondered the endless possibilities of the pattern on the runways, realised as cartoon burglar jackets and roomy trousers by London talent Talia Byre, patchwork leather at Fendi, thick zingy stripes at Christopher John Rogers (where stripes are a signature) and enveloping fuzzy knits at Marni. The main takeaway? The bolder, the better – but be sure to pare down your stripes with a grounding basic. If loud isn’t your style, then consider Ann Demeulemeester’s fresh take on the pinstripe – courtesy of Stefano Gallici – who rid it of corporate cues with low-rise trousers. At Eckhaus Latta, “everyone walking the runway looked like they were wearing their own clothes,” as Vogue’s Laia Garcia-Furtado noted of the effortless, stripped-back approach Zoe Latta and Mike Eckhaus assumed for autumn, featuring a candyfloss-pink striped look that draped the body.
Tailoring 2.0
“Suited and booted” tailoring has come in a variety of guises over the decades: from Vetements’, and subsequently Balenciaga’s, XXL proportions to The Row’s stripped-back, stealth wealth codes, in one form or another, it has remained a consistent success story in the contemporary womenswear market. For autumn/winter 2025? New silhouettes have emerged, like Sarah Burton for Givenchy’s structured jackets and coats with nipped-in waistlines. “You can count on seeing her hourglass grey peacoat and hourglass black leather moto on the streets of Paris this time next year,” Vogue Runway’s Nicole Phelps predicted. Elsewhere at Tom Ford, Valentino and Victoria Beckham, it was a return to a more classic tailored fit – no frills, no gimmicks, just immaculately cut suiting that will look just as good in the boardroom as it does at the cocktail bar. Boom boom culture and corporate core might be trending, but you can rest assured that legitimately good tailoring will hold its own, even against the powerful tides of the trend cycle.
Undone elegance
There was nothing quiet about “quiet luxury” by the end of 2024, with the streamlined aesthetic reaching saturation point within the cultural conversation. And while designers leapt at the chance to break free from stealth wealth’s austere embrace for autumn/winter 2025, it’s clear that, in one form or another, this understated approach to style will always have cachet within the sartorial sphere. In fact, grown-up elegance was still very much present within the new-season collections, but this time around, it was underpinned by a sort of “undone-ness”; a filter-free nonchalance that saw dress straps slipping off at Calvin Klein and Miu Miu and loose layers (think shirts, roll-necks, slip dresses and coats) being thrown on pell mell at Brandon Maxwell and Khaite. Think Carrie Bradshaw slipping a faux-fur coat over a slip dress and socks in the Sex And The City film, but with undertones of “frazzled English woman”. Flyaways but make it fashion – do keep up.
Anti-algorithm dressing
Keen to get into your own groove this season? Consider the anti-algorithmic combinations purveyed at Prada. Last season, Miuccia and Raf observed that “basically it seems that we are directed by algorithms, so anything we like and anything we know is because other people are instilling it into us”, a notion that was developed for autumn with clothes that unpacked the idea of “feminine beauty”. The result: silhouettes that, as Nicole Phelps pointed out, “poked holes” at archetypical femininity, further instilled with the undone “bedroom” hair. Not one for the pristine, perfection-pushing algorithm. “We just talk about which clothes make sense now,” Prada surmised. Use these looks – and styling seen at Louis Vuitton, Rabanne, Miu Miu and Sacai – as touch points for crafting your new-season style, whether that means experimenting with ways of wearing existing wardrobe staples or investing in something that holds longevity beyond a fleeting digital moment.
Faux fur
Faux fur has, by and large, been absent from the runways for some time, but a teaser of furry textures shown for spring led to an influx of styles for autumn. The tale of the hare and the tortoise inspired Simone Rocha this season – the most obvious interpretation being faux-fur stoles, bloomers, coats and bra tops. Bally saw necklines and hemlines erupting with colourful fuzz; Gabriela Hearst mimicked furry fabrications with a clever manipulation of silk, and Chemena Kamali’s distinctly boho Chloé offering starred furry accents hanging from ready-to-wear and accessories – including the creative director’s fresh take on the Paddington.
Punk feel
Punk burst onto the scene back in the mid-to-late ’70s, with the safety-pinned Sex Pistols and Vivienne Westwood declaring “anarchy in the UK” against the conservatism of the Thatcher government. Cut to 2025, and the world’s current sociopolitical backdrop has yielded an altogether different strain of punk that is less anti-establishment and more nostalgic. Burberry returned to its roots for autumn/winter 2025 with a collection that put plaids and checks front and centre – so far, so punk – but curiously, the silken headscarves seemed to invoke the late Queen Elizabeth II. What would Sid Vicious say? Then there were the likes of Patou and Alessandro Michele for Valentino who viewed the punk movement through a 2010s lens, resulting in a slew of mashed-up “indie sleaze” staples: think military jackets paired with baker0boy hats and snake print (Valentino) and ruffled-collar blouses unfurling out of woollen pea coats (Patou). Other designers, meanwhile, opted for more classic punk motifs, such as tough leathers, with Seán McGirr for Alexander McQueen exhibiting cropped leather bombers secured with bondage-style buckles and Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford sending out zipped-up bikers with matching trousers and patent T-bar heels.
Nomadic spirit
Three seasons into Chemena Kamali’s Chloé, it’s clear her vision has resonated widely – many of the autumn/winter 2025 ready-to-wear collections channeled a similar, albeit less feminine energy that she’s explored during her tenure. Take inspiration this autumn and build a bohemian look around key items such as flowing blouses, knits, and rich embroidered jackets layered over maxi skirts. These billowing silhouettes can be grounded by flat footwear, hefty low slung belts, and layered jewellery – specifically, long pendants, which will continue to be as ubiquitous in autumn as they were throughout the summer months.
Modern prep
Scholarly-inspired ensembles subvert the prep dressing rulebook. The building blocks of the aesthetic – corduroys, collared shirts, blazers, polos – were styled in fresh, ultra-layered ways in the autumn collections. Pencils at the ready! Take direct inspiration from the runways at Miu Miu, where spectacles made for unlikely It-accessories, Bally and Polo Ralph Lauren for layering tips worth bookmarking and Auralee and Khaite for lessons in knitwear styling.
Maximalism for minimalists
Swishy fringe and tassel accents can bring new meaning to the idea of clothes that move with you. These adornments, seen on the runways in cream and black, iterated on the overarching theme of personality dressing for the season, while still appealing to minimalists who’ve outgrown the ultra simplistic blueprint of quiet luxury.
Lingerie dressing
Lingerie dressing had broad appeal this summer, embraced by both the the street-style set and celebrities, who have paired lace-trimmed slips alongside seasonal mainstays. Chloé, Givenchy, Miu Miu and Saint Laurent are the labels to reference when interpreting this underwear-as-outerwear trend.
Curious colour combinations
Offbeat colour pairings were a focus for several designers this season, including Tory Burch and Stella McCartney, who found harmony in sweet pastels with bold hues. It turns out a flash of red or a hint of brown is the perfect contrast for pale pinks, pistachio greens, and icy blues. This is a trend that’s easy to try with shades already in your wardrobe – also remember that sometimes, if it feels wrong, it’s probably right.
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