From the boho to the batty, Eurotrash to Euphoria, and, erm... Oliver Cromwell-core?
Courtesy of Marc JacobsFUCK OFF COATS
Models weren’t just cocooned in outerwear this season, they were swallowed, enveloped, and swaddled. Blanket puffers at Acne Studios, enormous blazers at Hed Mayner, great hulking furry things at Diesel – it felt more charged than protective, all imposing silhouettes and bulwark-shoulders. It was about power and wealth at Prada and Saint Laurent, whose looks were bulked with fur trims and wide lapels, while Y/Project and Marc Jacobs presented a subversive, somewhat futuristic take on the trend, with hoods, pockets, and swathes of fabric twisted up around the body to statuesque effect.
Courtesy of Di PetsaTHE PREGNANT AGENDA
Have designers joined an alliance with government agencies to tackle the declining birth rates? AW22 certainly seemed that way. This season, the runway proved a boon to the bump, with bare bellies borne at Di Petsa and Nensi Dojaka, while a real life baby closed the show at Elena Velez in New York. Perhaps the great “mystery” of the baby slump has nothing to do with the increased cost of living and the slow erosion of tradition, but that, up until now, pregnant women have had no protagonist to hitch themselves on – like Rihanna, whose presence on the front row has surely opened the drawbridge on a new era of salacious maternity wear.
Courtesy of LoeweQUIRKY! RANDOM! LOL!
Having emerged from years of lockdown-included boredom and crumbling geopolitical relations, there was always going to be some kind of emphatic – if not psychic – break on the runway. The ground zero garment was no doubt JW Anderson’s egg-splattered heels of SS22, which then gave way to this season’s berserk pigeon purse, Loewe’s balloon heels, hunchback hoods and glass-blown bags at Coperni, handbag doilies at The Row, and king size pillow clutches at Bottega Veneta.
Courtesy of Miu MiuTHE MICRO-MINI IS MACRO-MEGA
Last season’s micro-mini skirt has gone macro-mega. In the years to come, AW22 will be remembered as a fevered jostle for the Miu Miu set’s crown, with pretenders to the throne materialisng at Ahluwalia, Maximilian, Courrèges, Coperni, and just about everywhere else. Perhaps the most successful example of this was at Diesel, though, where Glenn Martens had hoicked a chunky belt around the hips and sent it out as if it were a standalone garment – poking at this season’s obsession with a wry little smile.
Courtesy of MarniWHAT A SAD LITTLE SLEEVE
A sorry silhouette emerged this season as long, lolloping sleeves hung from arm cuffs like quivering bottom lips. They slumped their way down the catwalk at The Row, Rick Owens, Vaquera, and Acne Studios, often fashioned from battered and tattered knitwear, like at Marni, where they trailed behind Francesco Risso over grassy knolls and autumnal debris. But they were flirty, too, as part of the sinuous, bell-bottomed two pieces seen at Blumarine and 16Arlington.
Courtesy of LoeweANYWHERE BUT ON THE FEET
Shoplifting ishot for AW22. Shoes, for example, were worn on the head at Schiaparelli, dangled from the crook of an arm at Balenciaga, and shoved inside mesh dresses at Loewe. Sure, it might make more sense to shuffle out of a shop with display shoes on your actual feet – but fashion is nothing if not a performance, and these cramped heels created a jaunty, angular silhouette that felt expressive and silly.
Courtesy of Conner IvesBOOHOO! IS BOHO BACK?
Given the tireless Y2K revive-all, it was only a matter of time until a bevy of 2003 Sienna Miller-types began to manifest on the runway, decked in gypsy skirts, folksy prints, and open-knit shawls. Conner Ives made a strong case for spiritual travellers with wanderlust tattoos, as bolstered by DSquared2, Acne Studios, and Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood. Delicate, embroidered skirts were worn over light wash denim, blankets were worn as coats, sequined amulets dangled from the neck, and disc belts(!) were worn over a-line hippy skirts. The mood wasn’t quite as polished as it was in the early 00s, though, with pieces piled into multi-layered, multi-patterned, and multi-embellished patchworks.
Courtesy of Marine SerreNUNNISH HOODS
There’s always been something quite punishing about The Row and, this season, the Olsen twins leant full tilt into 17th century reserve, conjuring the spirit of Oliver Cromwell in high-necked collars, winged caps, and austere, churchly coats. That same kind of puritanical spectre cast a shadow over Coperni, Marine Serre, Burberry, Alaïa, and Vaquera, all of which decked models in nunnish little hoods. Consider it an evolution of all the crocheted balaclavas which have materialised over the past year or so – for those who can’t quite fathom pulling fuzzy little ears over their heads.
Courtesy of PradaLESBIAN TANK TOPS
There is a tendency within womenswear to describe any kind of divergent or tomboyish dress as ‘lesbian’ when, sometimes, it’s just a woman wearing a suit. That being said, the white tank top is a time-worn sapphic trope and was reproduced at Prada, Bottega Veneta, and Acne Studios this season. It’s unlikely that designers were riffing on any gendered codes, here, though, insead drawing closer inspiration from a Calvin Klein-era Kate Moss, worn back with indigo denim and 90s, shin-length skirts.
Photography Charlie EngmanASHLEY TISDALE-CORE
Beyond Oliver Cromwell, an unlikely style icon appeared in, erm, Ashley Tisdale, with Collina Strada, Marine Serre, and Andreas Kronthaler styling pastoral dresses over jeans with a certain Teen Choice Awards attitude. While the suggestion to wear skirts over trousers has been brewing for a couple of seasons, it was corroborated this season by menswear labels Aaron Esh and Stefan Cooke, in pleated wool and cotton candy tulle, respectively.
Courtesy of AlaïaBONKERS BELTING
The star of Pieter Mullier’s AW22 collection at Alaïa was, without doubt, a body-sculpted dress forged from 39 leather belts – each of which could be unbuckled to reveal a sideways slit. At Peter Do and Miu Miu, garments were hoisted onto the hips with a pile-up of belts, the tails of which had been folded in on themselves to swashbuckling effect. Elsewhere, Diesel and Coperni incorporated the belt into mini skirts, while they snaked upwards from waistbands at Ninamounah, latticing themselves around the stomach like a girdle. Shout out to Avril Lavigne-style studded numbers at 16Arlington and Coperni, too.
Courtesy of DiorPUMP IT UP
There’s not a fashion week that goes by when designers aren’t imagining what life will look like after the definitely-on-its-way apocalypse ravages the globe. AW22 saw Demna consider a world in which snow has become near obsolete, while Marine Serre continued to serve up protective, crescent moon-emblazoned all-in-ones dotted with artefacts from a distant past. Meanwhile, at Dior, Weinsanto, and Diesel, Maria Grazia, Glenn, and co. were seemingly considering deeply shit 90s movie Waterworld and whether or not, in a century or so’s time, we’d be traversing the oceans with not a stretch of land in sight, with all three brands turning out bulky blow-up pieces for the new season. While that whole scenario remains to be seen, you might want to free up some (okay, a lot of) wardrobe space right now, with these hefty looks otherwise ideal for claiming back some serious space on the morning commute.
Courtesy of VersaceYES, MISTRESS
Sorry, but looking like a hard-as-nails dominatrix ready to smulch her sub’s face into the ground under a sharp AF stiletto heel will never, ever, ever go out of fashion, so this point is pretty much redundant. Still, the lewk is enjoying something of a surge in popularity right now, thanks, in part, to former IRL domme and Uncut Jaaaahms star Julia Fox. From Versace’s slippery latex corsets and bold-shouldered coats, to Schiaparelli’s hard-edged lace-up minis and conical bras, the vibe also infiltrated runways at Ambush, Blumarine, and Raf Simons – although it was Pieter Mulier who took the biscuit this season, with his sexy, subversive belted leather Alaïa pencil dress doing endless rounds across social media.
Photography Christina FragkouY2K (STILL!!!)
It’s the trend that keeps on giving! (Or taking, depending on your opinion of low-rise jeans, UGG boots, and Juicy Couture sweatpants). Y2K is still going strong for AW22, baby, with Diesel debuting the kind of dramatically distressed denim minis your mum would deffo label a belt, Kim Jones churning out a collection that drew on archive pieces from Fendi’s early 00s era, and Nicola Brognano just going absolutely ham with Y2K references once more. There was a clue we’d perhaps hit the zenith of the aesthetic however, as Balenciaga turned out a garish neon yellow bag in the shape of a boot, a style somehow impossibly popular at the turn of the millennium. With that finally making a comeback, the only question that remains: where do we go from here?
Courtesy of BurberryBIG BIRD
With each season comes an entirely unexpected fashion icon, and this season, it seemed like a bunch of designers had Sesame Street legend Big Bird pinned to their inspo boards. At Ninamounah, models stormed down the runway in feathered minis, as the Amsterdam-based label imagined the aftermath of a pack of animals on the hunt (look away Big Bird). Meanwhile, Burberry’s models tramped over crisp white table clothes in voluminous gowns, Mrs Prada finished sleeves with a smattering, and Andreas Kronthaler was at the craft box, too, as he whipped up a collection of playfully theatrical looks strewn with Swarovski crystals and more than a few fluffy accoutrements – though thank god, not a scratty chicken feather in sight.
Courtesy of Simone RochaTHINGS GOT TUTU TWEE
They say those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And, TikTok’s trend forecasters have been threatening the return of ballet flats for a while, whipping 30-something millennials – who have already lived through the back-ache inducing trend – into a mad frenzy. Though they’d probably baulk at the sight of what Miuccia Prada, Simone Rocha, and Andreas Kronthaler strapped onto their models feet this season, they can at least take refuge in the fact that the whole twee thing has not veered into Charlotte Olympia flats. What’s more, Ballet manifested as a theme beyond footwear, like at Maryam Nassir Zadeh, who produced a jaunty, dance teacher leotard as part of her AW22 offering.
Photography Christina FragkouUGLY STAINS
At Marni, silk slips looked as though they had been dashed with a glass of red wine – a technique beloved of John Galliano during his tenure at Dior – as ink pooled over pastoral prints in big, amorphous spillages. We saw the same kind of thing at Acne Studios and Diesel, too, where everything was torn, tattered, and grubbly-stained. With plenty of pieces barely held together by sinuous strands of yarn, it was part of a raggedy new mood that emerged on the runway, on the backs of gross, sexy slobs. Call it ‘goblin mode’... or something like that.
Courtesy of GCDSSTUPID CATSUITS
If SS22 was a clarion call for sexuality then AW22 loosened up even further, poking fun at last season’s try-hard sensuality with ridiculous, retina-burning catsuits. Jonathan Anderson, for example, packaged men and women in skintight silver numbers, while Dior, Marine Serre, GCDS, and Vaquera were just as futuristic with their iterations – all neon inserts, space padding, and alienoid lattices. Though these clung to the body, they did so with a sense of humour, like Borat budgie smugglers. Meanwhile, at Y/Project and Balmain, clingy columns were blasted with trompe l'oeil prints, which felt like a deliberate riff on and a breakaway from the flesh-flashing silhouettes that have otherwise dominated.
Photography Adam Katz SindingCUT YOU OUT
16Arlington, Ambush, Blumarine, Coperni, Courrèges, Eckhaus Latta, Ester Manas, Nensi Dojaka, Acne, Alaïa, Ami, Vivienne Westwood, Balmain, Ottolinger, Supriya Lele. All that is to say… cut-outs were everywhere this season. Across the AW22 season, collections full of revealing cut-outs, exposed straps, and loose hems suggestive of a permanent state of undress. While the cut-out trend has been gaining momentum since SS21, these slinky pieces began to advocate for the feminine form in all its guises this season – courtesy, mainly, of Paloma Elsesser, who must be absolutely knackered after all the shows she was made to walk.
Courtesy of Miu MiuLITTLE MISS FASHIONISTA
The school girl is, for obvious reasons, a contentious motif within fashion, but if Euphoria taught us anything, it’s that most young women would shudder at the sight of a cardigan. Still, tennis skirts, Mary Jane pumps, thick tights and thigh-high socks were sent out at Miu Miu and Coperni, all of which were still provocative enough to make it onto Heidi Bivens’ costume racks – clock Lila Moss looking like a Cassie doppleganger at Coperni. Otherwise, Maryam Nassir Zadeh and Chanel made a case for bookish frump, if you consider yourself more of a Lexi.