FALL / WINTER 2025 TRENDS
NOVEAU DOWDY AS AN EARLY RECESSION INDICATOR
Fashion week writers and trend forecasters live for the chance to consummate a looming recession into a macroeconomic metaphor—one that perfectly captures consumer sentiment confronted by trade reconfigurations, shifting values, and a reevaluation of what "disposable income" even means. It’s the esoteric writer’s ultimate release. A marketplace pipeline that rebooted itself post-pandemic with dopamine dressing segued into the leisure-hacking of gorp-core and took a detour through quiet luxury, only to arrive—right on time—at its historic default: recessionary style. It goes without saying that the single most talked-about movement, the undeniable elephant in every FW25 room, was skirt length. Gone are the Miu Miu micros. Forget the hot pants of Gucci's past. FW25’s skirts found their place in the quietly anxious, stock-market-downturned, mid-calf “trad” zone area. It’s a skirt length that makes you think, Wow, my groceries have been expensive lately. This season particularly brought the 1940s and '50s into question in an effort to quietly reimagine styles we’ve long deemed dowdy, injecting them with power and sophistication. The result? A matured, clean-girl aesthetic rebranded into simply being the chicest woman alive. Just look at the silhouettes: no-fuss bias-cut slip skirts, an onslaught of every-inch-covered tights and hosiery, and those c*nty little chapeaux. FW25 made clear that embracing timeless fashion might just be the most revolutionary act of our generation: A-lines at Lacoste, cinched waists at Tod’s, beaufonts and stripped-back styling at Miu Miu, knee socks everywhere, and even a quiet return of Calvin Klein monotony. There’s an undeniable attitude at play that is offering a liberating “who cares” sensibility. We’re stripping costume from clothing. To think so far as not to think about microtrends? That might be the most radical expression of femininity and self-assuredness we have right now. The nostalgia isn’t subtle. It’s purposeful. It’s interesting to see how intergenerational this movement is. You can watch a show that exudes sensuality while parading models in chaotic, vintage-inspired, overly styled looks—messy girls in fake fur stoles pulled straight from a grandmother’s attic—and it still feels fresh. It still feels cool. In fact, she is the ultimate cool. There’s a renewed appreciation for individualism—how the FW25 woman can start with a blank canvas of mundanity (a lurex sweater and a midi skirt) and, through personal embellishment and styling, turn it into a manifesto of self. Archival referencing was inescapable this season: the return of Anna Sui and Armani’s tiny hats, the resurrection of Chloé’s Paddington bag, Sarah Burton’s nod to a legendary 1952 Givenchy collection, and of course, the cinched waist—a “New Look” revival that anchored so many collections. This interest in referencing is what carries the FW25 woman into creating the world she lives in. She creates her everyday. This is why the new wave of interest in archival fashion and accessorizing feels so essential, even political. It’s intimate, it’s ethical, and it’s necessary. How many times must Prada and Miu Miu spell it out lately? Eliminate the obsession with cost, reclaim the need for personal style, and liberate the cyclical fashion cycle. Be messy— it’s charming.
THE FEMALE BODY AS A MEDITATION
FW25’s hero was the hourglass shape, with Miuccia Prada herself reaffirming what history has long understood to be true, powerful, and beautiful about the female body: “the identification of the feminine is synonymous with the curve.” The curve of a woman’s hip has carried many meanings across time. In ancient cultures, it symbolized fertility—the body as a vessel for life and abundance. During the Renaissance, it reflected wealth and indulgence. In the Victorian era, it became a modest expression of sensuality and class status. More recently, it’s been a sign of rebellion and ownership—think: the low-slung waists of the early 2000s, Kim Kardashian’s massive silhouette blown up in Times Square. The way fashion shapes the female form over time has always mirrored our relationship with feminine strength—both in its exaggeration and in its erasure. FW25 challenged us to reconsider the waist as a pointed site of significance. The contrast of narrow waists and full hips represented more than symmetry; it was a visual language of discipline and biological allure. Together, they imply a quiet, commanding power. No one studied this more iconically than Christian Dior with his “New Look”—a silhouette that didn’t just mold curves but reshaped cultural ideals in the process. Beauty is a construct, sure, but what happens when that construct is the natural female form? It’s been a long time since the runway has genuinely celebrated womanhood without venturing into caricature or cosplay. FW25’s subtle nod toward classicism—seen in the revival of belts, lace dresses, and corsetry—felt like a reclamation. In doing so, FW25 reduced the female body shape into two radical forms: hyperbole and silhouette. The more rigid approach came through the return of the peplum. Its influence was widespread across FW25: crimson peplum dresses at Alexander McQueen, Dior’s New Look refresh, and most notably, Sarah Burton’s debut for Givenchy, where the dialogue between art and anatomy created her “modern woman.” Conversely, at Alaïa and Tory Burch, the hourglass was softened. She was draped and swaddled in goddess-like references, presenting the female figure as a monument. She’s Venus: sensual, idealized, and entirely her own. Each curve intentional, each fold considered. Whether shown as a muse, divine force, creative agent, or cultural icon, the focus on the female figure and its anatomical clarity offered a larger meditation on the contemporary woman. Further, when we place the historical celebration of the hourglass in dialogue with today’s values, its resurgence becomes more than aesthetic. It feels emotional. To accentuate and affirm the body in this way is to resist any narrative that divorces beauty and identity from womanhood in favor of domesticity or neutrality. It’s an unspoken statement of power: my body is the essence of my form, my beauty is my self-expression, and the structure in which I present it is my declaration of total ownership.
THE WOMAN DESTROYED
FW25’s most compelling narrative revolves around femininity in the context of the female gaze and the manosphere. There isn’t a woman today who wouldn’t blindly follow Miuccia Prada anywhere, as her FW25 collection of “femininities” advanced the conversation on the complexities of womanhood and the art of dressing. Here, we meditated on what our personal style communicates. Who are we dressing for, and what does the act of dressing reveal about us? Femininity is multifaceted, and within those layers, we’re asked to understand what elements of historic female coding we want to retain and if it is the notion of desire or decidedness that is driving us forward. Hats, brooches, bullet bras, frills, and stoles—if we examine each element, can we understand its purpose? More importantly, does it serve us? Miu Miu’s FW25 collection unpacks this in a celebration of eclectic fashion and a rejection of conformity. The "undone" style Miu Miu has coined—seen also in the kitschy-print long skirts and quarter-zip layering at Sandy Liang—has left nothing to the imagination, as every stylistic choice covers female form head-to-toe. The FW25 generation, particularly Gen Z, has shifted the conversation around sex and seemingly rejected traditional notions of sex appeal in favor of countercultural dressing that challenges the historic concept of femininity. By dressing women in absurdly detailed, layered, and intentionally exaggerated ways, who does she become in the eyes of men? FW25 answers: She becomes repulsive, and in that repulsion, she reclaims her womanhood. From incel culture to red pill ideologies, the menacing influence of the manosphere is being reckoned with by those who command our visual platforms today. Miu Miu’s midi dress and knee-high stockings aren’t meant to invite the male gaze. Louis Vuitton’s array of “everyday excess” can’t be reduced to a singular, palatable trend. Ganni’s Parisian woman, covered head-to-toe, isn’t dressing to please anyone’s aesthetic; it simply is. It’s intentionally bizarre and, altogether, weird. When femininity is no longer tied to the need to please male desire or match beauty standards, the FW25 woman emerges. She’s not performing femininity; she’s reconnecting with herself. Now more than ever, she communicates this reconnection through thoughtful, individualistic dressing. This shift is her demonstration of confidence and complete ownership of identity. There is protection in chaos—this is her shield.
FUR’S RECOVERY PIPELINE
If FW25 is having a conversation about nostalgia and protectionism, fur is its loudest, most luxurious player. This season, any hesitation around the ethics of supply chains seems to have taken a backseat to the enduring power and timelessness of fur. Whether faux or an animal derivative, fur showed up in nearly every designer’s vocabulary, across every silhouette and styling form imaginable, adding a welcome dose of loud panache and theatrical grandiosity to the runway. The opulence of long, trailing fur coats at Ferragamo and Schiaparelli offered a sumptuous blend of playfulness and heritage, which was especially notable in an industry currently obsessed with signaling depth and non-superficiality. There’s a wink in grabbing a cropped little fur jacket from Prada, there’s cheek in wearing an exaggerated Fendi overcoat that demands the attention of a room, and there’s commitment where we need it most in Stella McCartney’s head-to-toe faux cowhide. It wasn’t just the coats, either. Faux fur and shearling accessories draped models across the board from Chloé’s vintage-inspired fur stoles, Gucci’s fuzzy pouch bags, and Simone Rocha’s detachable collars and fur-trimmed bralettes all contributed to a fully tactile runway experience. This collective solidarity on fur gave FW25 a kind of textured femininity that complements today’s “everyday eccentric”—the woman who dresses head-to-toe in vintage, doesn’t overthink the extra, and is probably the weirdest person in any room. Grandiose frivolity is back— an untamed, maximalist spirit that fits perfectly with the chaos and eccentricity of FW25 styling.
HORSE PLAY
Reflecting on heritage during the window of opportunity that a recession provides, especially when designers play musical chairs to secure their next house for the long haul, can feel tongue-in-cheek, even indulgent. And yet, FW25’s poetic country calls ushered in a season less obsessed with brand signaling and more preoccupied with the return of the socialite and her equine advantage. When we think of brand heritage, it’s often filtered through a lens of mid-century romanticism: countryside estates, leather, tweed, herringbone, and fur. It’s Burberry’s unmistakable check, Hermès leather, and Brunello Cucinelli’s Italian craftsmanship paired with a devotion to family and legacy. You can’t help but smile at something so classic. FW25 honored these codes but turned elitism on its head in favor of contemporary dandyism, a historic posture of both rebellion and self-promotion. Dandyism is exuberant but intentional, a self-fashioned strategy that challenges exclusionary aesthetics while still playing with what's "in vogue.” More so aggressively in Vogue when it will be the highlight of the Costume Institute's 2025 exhibition. The season’s collective nod to heritage revealed a respect for rustic completeness, with equestrian aesthetics standing in as symbols of tradition and quiet luxury. Anna Sui and Brioni’s modernized riding boots became countryside staples; Daniel Lee’s Burberry barn coats and Bora Aksu’s historical riding habits offered tactile escapism. Outside of literal horse-girl codes, the yearning for reservation and refinement showed up in the aristocratic high neck seen in McQueen’s Elizabethan cuff collars, Chanel’s delicate ruffles, and Ann Demeulemeester’s gothic layering and flouncy tunics that felt Renaissance in nature. Maybe it’s a nostalgia for romanticized, unhurried countryside living. Maybe Bella Hadid was just ahead of the curve. Either way, the houses of FW25 are leaning into heritage, their untouchable codes, to create enough visual space to reintroduce newer, more diverse narratives. There’s room now to rewrite what legacy looks like. But for now, it's horse girl.
I THINK MANY OF YOU ARE LIKING CUBISM IN A PERFORMATIVE WAY
If one end of the FW25 runway spectrum leaned into nostalgia and self-reference, the other veered toward geometry in art—shapes crafting a portrait of “meta in the madness.” Perspective became a pillar of the season—its own multi-hyphenated, distorted form. The philosophy of Cubism, once a radical break from traditional aesthetics, resurfaced here as a conceptual framework: a way to reconsider how we see the world and the body within it. In dialogue with a generation questioning gender, identity, and presence, FW25 offered a kind of trompe l’oeil: What is the human body, really? Junya Watanabe delivered a masterclass in Cubist silhouette—angular, architectural, unexpected. It was less fashion and more sculpture. Courrèges brought a flirtier interpretation with a nod towards the shape of the shift dress, the flatness that symmetry imposes, and the way hoods and capes can fold into the body—embellished or armor-like. At Vivetta, sharply pointed A-line minis looked like they were slicing through air as they walked. FW25 suggests there’s reason and form if we focus on chaos. That by looking at your everyday, normcore realities with a sense of hyperbole, we can discover new perspectives on craft and our very own existence. The body is multitudes: it’s exciting, alluring, and incredibly functional. It’s also weird how we adorn it daily. That’s a nature Thom Browne studied on runway with coats “wearing” dresses, or Vaquera pointed to with rigid, high-neck shoulder silhouettes and massive pearl necklaces that begged Photoshop-level existence. FW25 suggests that if you know where to look, there is logic in chaos. Hyperbolizing normcore realities—everyday shapes, daily dressing rituals—offered new perspectives on function, form, and existence. The human body is multitudes: sensual, strange, capable. It’s also a bizarre ritual that we dress it every day. That strangeness was fully explored at Thom Browne, where coats “wore” dresses, and at Vaquera, where rigid shoulders and oversized pearls suggested a reality so absurd it felt photoshopped. The presence of that amplified shoulder is especially important here, as broad, sharp shoulder silhouettes call to mind 1980s female corporate ladder climbing, its dress-for-success bluntness, and a “borrowing from the boys” mentality. In there lies the construct of who possesses power with form, that if Saint Laurent can send down woman after woman in fuss-free, power shoulders, is that the purest form of a strong woman? This was also seen in the Stella McCartney and Versace women: a pointed silhouette, a cubist shoulder. It’s sturdy and uncompromising. It asks you what this woman, who can easily occupy space and encompass your perspective, is to you. The strong shoulder became especially telling in this narrative. Its return recalled 1980s corporate feminism—the era of “dress for success,” shoulder pads, and “borrowing from the boys.” It raised the question: who gets to hold power through form? When Saint Laurent sent model after model down the FW25 runway in sharp, uncompromising shoulders, can we reduce that to the purest expression of female power? The same energy pulsed at Stella McCartney and Versace: pointed silhouettes, cubist shoulders, women who take up space. There was also a deliberate goofiness going on—especially in footwear. Puffy wedge shoes at Louis Vuitton made models float; witchy high-pointed toes at Marc Jacobs made them fight for their lives to walk. Marc, of course, is a whole other conversation on shape and absurdity. His SS25 and FW25 collections have inflated volume to the point of parody—pulsating, stiff, cartoonish, defying logic, and collapsing structure into cardboard-like absurdity. And yet, in that tension lies a truth: the FW25 woman seeks fluidity and ease, but Cubist fashion reminds us that beauty, identity, and function are not always easy to reconcile. Sometimes, silhouettes hurt to look at. Sometimes, a new perspective forces us to see ourselves and the modern sentiments we hold.
THERE’S A COLOR STORY I WANT TO CLOCK WITH YOU BUT I’LL LET YOU LIVE
The idea of “maximalism” as a trend in FW25 flirts with uncouth territory. Over the past few seasons, we’ve seen narratives attempt to push hyper-joy and rebound aesthetics, reverse rubber-band responses to post-pandemic consumer sentiment. Others embrace the more grounded realities of the fashion marketplace. Either way, calling this current moment a “maximalist movement” feels overly optimistic—and increasingly disconnected from the messaging designers are actually sending. There’s no real sense of celebration or camp this season. But there is fashion as a form of escapism and resistance—particularly in the way color was weaved into FW25. Not maximalist color for the sake of chaos, but a color-led maxim that grounded collections in emotional clarity. Saint Laurent embodied this POV perfectly, sending model after model down the runway in strong, color-blocked, power-shouldered silhouettes ranging from Violet to Kelly Green, Fuchsia, and Tangerine. Elsewhere, Prada flirted with an acidic Green Glow, Balenciaga doubled down on Hot Pink, and Acne wove in Violet and Crimson Red with the chaotic spirit of Björk in the background, a nod to the randomness of human behavior and expression. What was most striking wasn’t how much was on display, but how little needed to be. There was emotion in the place of decoration. These collections leaned heavily into FW25’s broader themes: the importance of silhouette, the quiet power of modesty, and the beauty of turning a manufactured product into something deeply personal. There’s a tenderness, a kind of honest intentionality, behind much of what was shown this season. In that, FW25 reflects an emotional appetite clearly mirrored in the culture of consumption right now. So, power to the color stories everywhere; never leave them behind in the narrative.
THE GOTHIC GIRL THAT WILL DISRUPT YOUR HEALING
There’s always a seductive undercurrent driving women’s runway each season. We’ve seen her emerge as the barely dressed tease, the boudoir muse, the noir vixen, and the coquette flirt. In FW25, she evolves into a siren—part romantic gothic, part moto-boho revivalist, part punk-inflected rebel. She embodies the raw, subversive femininity that’s always lived just under the surface. She’s darker. Grittier. Lace-adorned and leather-bound. She’s messy and medieval. Her ascent from dreamy bohemia to something rock-ridden and nostalgic is built on flowing sheer dresses, thick belting, and an aura of rebellion. What stands out most this season is the volume added to lingerie dressing. FW25’s layered maxis aren’t screaming for attention but are quietly commanding the room with movement and mystery in place of overt provocation. It’s in the details: lace-up elements at Sinéad O'Dwyer and Dilara Findikoglu, sheer stockings at Isabel Marant, aviator toppers at Burberry. At Ann Demeulemeester, pinstripes, rockstar tailoring, and intricate fringe dusted off the archives for a new edge. It’s all stitched together by a “couldn’t care less” attitude that makes the FW25 woman feel truly untouchable. Valentino, in what now feels like a trilogy of seasons, continues to perfect this woman. Romantic lace layers, vintage adornments, and an iconic red-lit room created a mood that balanced dark melancholy with radiant, feminine allure. Haider Ackermann’s debut at Tom Ford added even more range. His vision of leather-bound sensuality was pared back, restrained, and all the more potent because of it. What’s sexy, after all, might just be a perfectly tailored crimson leather coat. FW25 feels like a fantasy written by women who know their power. It’s a charisma that fuses softness with toughness, romance with rebellion, and seduction with total self-possession. The FW25 woman isn’t trying to be seen. She already is.