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Everything you need to see from the catwalk
After a very strange few years, a relatively normal schedule of fashion shows wrapped in March. For autumn/winter 2022, plenty of designers were back on the physical schedule after taking a few seasons off due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while more international editors and influencers also flew around the globe to sit front row at the major shows as restrictions eased.
That did not mean however, that we didn’t see some digital presentations, as many designers continued to adopt less traditional ways of presenting their designs, whether through imagery, film or something else unique. However, the emphasis was definitely on the traditional catwalk presentation.
With the shows now officially wrapped up for another season, scroll down to see every major moment that took place on the catwalk. From New York, London, Milan and Paris, here is what autumn/winter 2022 is looking like.
With thanks to Mercedes Benz UK
As is his tradition, Simon Porte Jacquemus showed away from the usual fashion-week schedule, this time choosing to take the fashion pack (which included Victoria Beckham) to the salt mountains of the Camargue Park in Arles, Provence to check out his new collection. Entitled ‘Le Papier’, every piece was in white or cream, while linen dominated the collection, helping it to blend perfectly into the breathtaking setting.
Trend takeaway: Statement neutrals
This week, Marc Jacobs returned to the New York Public Library to present his autumn/winter 2022 collection, choosing again to show away from the official NYFW schedule. The designer recruited supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid to walk in the show, where they strutted their stuff in enormous platforms, elbow-length gloves, layered knitwear and duvet dresses. The collection was inspired by a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “We have art in order not to die of the truth.”
Trend takeaway: Exaggerated volume, mega platforms and vinyl
In May, Hedi Slimane has presented his latest collection for Celine, for autumn/winter 2022, which he chose to stage in two historical monuments in Paris, the Hôtel de la Marine and the the Hôtel National des Invalide. Entitled ‘Dans Paris’, the show was filmed by Slimane, off the usual Paris Fashion Week schedule and starred Kaia Gerber.
Trend takeaway: Cool classics
Ralph Lauren opted to show away from the traditional fashion week schedule for autumn/winter 2022, instead holding an elegant evening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
“When I decided months ago to share my new collection in this intimate experience, there was no war in Ukraine,” said the designer in a message to show guests. “The tragedy and devastation we are witnessing now was unthinkable. Back then all I could think about was coming back together with my teams and all of you to share the hopefulness that collaboration and creativity can inspire.
“So, in the midst of this sadness, we go forward united in our hope for peace, and our hope for the end of this pandemic and a return to being together. I am so proud to be with you again sharing
not only a collection, but an optimism for living that respects the dignity of all.”
That optimism was reflected in a completely timeless collection of monochromatic pieces – punctuated with occasional bursts of red – in the sleek lines and tailored silhouettes that the label does so well.
Trend takeaway: Enduring elegance
“I am so happy to be back in New York, a city that has always been close to our hearts,” said creative director Sarah Burton of the house’s first show in the city for more than 20 years. “We showed the Dante collection here in 1996, and then came again with Eye in the autumn of 1999. It is part of our community, a place that has always welcomed us, and this season I want to honour that.”
“So, this collection is inspired by that idea of community, and specifically by mycelium, by the reality of nature as a community that is far, far older than we are. Mycelium connects even the rooftop of the tallest skyscraper to the plants, to the grass, to the ground, to animals and to human beings. Mycelium has the most profound, interconnecting power, relaying messages through a magical underground structure, allowing trees to reach out to each other when either they or their young need help or are sick. The idea is humbling – beautiful – and, of course, a metaphor for interconnection and for community between people, between us all. We exist as single, individual entities on one level, but we are far more powerful connected to each other, to our families, to our friends, to our community. Given everything that has happened over the past two years, that seems more important than ever. As a community we are infinitely more able to restore, reinvent, rejuvenate – heal.”
Trend takeaway: Beautiful embroidery
“It was important for me to explore what it means to belong, how our roots influence our identity and how the power of community and togetherness is what truly brings meaning to the world,” said Riccardo Tisci, Burberry’s chief creative officer of the AW22 collection, which was unveiled in Westminster today. “Therefore, I wanted this collection to convey that intensity of feeling and to celebrate not only coming together, but the city in which we come together today; the city in which Burberry grew and established a family. To me, London is a place of dreams, a capital building on its heritage and unified by its diverse community and an attitude of moving beyond boundaries – of pursuing limitless potential.”
The collection was a celebration of British culture, contrasting city with country, pageantry with punk, and exploring the concept of Britishness not as a fixed idea, embracing potential.
Trend takeaway: Tartan and sequins
It was the final show on the Paris Fashion Week schedule – and of a month of shows, and Miu Miu did not disappoint. Presenting more teeny, tiny mini skirts (following the brand’s viral SS22 piece), the collection was sporty and preppy, and was inspired by tennis.
Trend takeaway: Schoolgirl style and micro minis
Chanel’s autumn/winter 2022 collection was all about one of the house signatures, tweed.
“Devoting the entire collection to tweed is a tribute,” explained creative director Virginie Viard. “We followed the footsteps of Gabrielle Chanel along the River Tweed, to imagine tweeds in the colours of this landscape… This is what Gabrielle Chanel would do on her walks through the Scottish countryside: she would gather ferns and bouquets of flowers to inspire the local artisans for the tones she wanted.”
Trend takeaways: Tweed, jumper dresses and jumpsuits
“This collection is dedicated to youth, in hopes that it can keep the unresolved poetry of adolescence like a flawless garment – in all its vivid romanticism, inspiring idealism, hope for the future, for a better world, and its dreams of perfection,” said Nicolas Ghesquiere of AW22.
Trend takeaway: Unexpected layering
The AW22 Balenciaga show was a powerful one, as Demna Gvasalia made a comment on climate change (with the models walking through a fake snowstorm) but also paid tribute to those currently suffering in Ukraine, both on the catwalk (with blue and yellow finale looks) and with the show’s message of “a fearlessness to resistance” and “the victory of love and peace”.
“The war in Ukraine has triggered the pain of a past trauma I have carried in me since 1993, when the same thing happened in my home country and I became a forever refugee,” read a personal note from the Georgian designer that was on every seat. “This is why working on this show was so incredibly hard for me. Because in a time like this, fashion loses its relevance and its actual right to exist. Fashion week feels like some kind of absurdity.”
Explaining why he chose to go ahead with the show, the designer explained: “Cancelling this show would mean giving in, surrendering to the evil that has already hurt me so much for almost 30 years. I decided that I can no longer sacrifice parts of me to that senseless, heartless war of ego.”
Trend takeaway: Head-to-toe black and oversized tailoring
This season’s Valentino show was a total pink-out with almost the entire collection being made in the same shade of pink, one chosen by Pierpaolo Piccioli in collaboration with the Pantone Color Institute.
“Pink as a manifestation of the unconscious and a liberation from the need for realism,” explained the show notes. “The accumulation of pink elements is such as to eliminate the visual shock to bring out, together, the unique character of the person, expressed by the face and the eyes, and the work on the pieces of clothing: the signs that shape them into a silhouette, the textures that give them consistency, the decorations that are part of the construction…The pink-out is an experimental yet deeply human gesture that enhances individuality, capturing values and feelings.”
Trend takeaway: Bright pink everything
“I really wanted to create a synthesis of powerful, sophisticated femininity, with an interplay of multiple American and Parisian influences, sports and craftsmanship,” creative director Matthew M. Williams said of Givenchy’s new collection. “Next to her stands a contemporary man with an instinct for chic nonchalance. On the runway, both are grounded by a sense of reality.”
Trend takeaway: Pearl jewellery and giant sequins
For Isabel Marant this season, there was a little Y2K inspiration and a “desire to focus on the essentials”. “Getting dressed in a simple and comforting gesture, putting on a men’s jacket or an oversized coat over a skinny little dress, betting on the cosiness of a cuddly knit dress paired with Motocross-inspired thigh-high boots.”
Trend takeaway: Stonewash denim, thigh-high boots and leather layering
Gabriela Hearst is choosing to focus on a specific climate solution in tandem with an overarching aesthetic reference each season. For AW22, this theme was ‘Rewilding’.
“A progressive approach to conservation that centres on allowing nature to take care of itself. By enabling natural processes to repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes, wildlife’s natural rhythms can ultimately create more biodiverse habitats. As part of her research, Hearst spoke to the British author Isabella Tree, whose latest book ‘Wilding — the Return of Nature to a British Farm’ charts the story of her pioneering Rewilding project on the West Sussex farm where she lives. Hearst asked Tree how she deals with climate anxiety, to which she replied, ‘By living in the solution.'”
Trend takeaway: Buttery faux-leather and colourful knits
Creative director Olivier Rousteing returned to the catwalk last night, presenting a collection which was designed as a response to his own suffering after being burned and scarred as a result of an explosion in his home in 2020. It was a message of the power of hope and truth, he said and, while not originally intended as a response to what is happening in Ukraine, those are two things we have never needed more than we do right now.
“These runway offerings were not designed as a direct response to the recent horrific invasion of our neighbours and I would never dare to even think of comparing the suffering that they are going through right now with the problems that I have had on social media. Still, as we watch the news, my team and I do keep in mind this collection’s message: united in solidarity, we can rely on the power of hope and truth to push back against hate, lies and aggression.”
Trend takeaway: Futuristic silhouettes
Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen had her Paris Fashion Week catwalk debut yesterday, after being invited to join the schedule during the pandemic. The show opened with a reading of Tove Ditlevsens ‘Night Wandering’, which was translated for the first time into English by Michael Favala Goldman.
“Cecilie first began to read Tove Ditlevsen’s poetry as a teenager,” the brand explained. “Later, in her 20s, she identified with Tove’s search to find her voice. Tove was a prolific chronicler of girls and women, writing fearlessly about their complexity and waywardness and struggle for a place in the world.”
Trend takeaway: Elegant layering
Nanushka chose to celebrate the creative study of functional and intuitive design for AW22. Entitled ‘Industrial Craft’, the message behind the collection was that if a garment is designed to function well, it will, by definition, be beautiful.
“The way in which Bauhaus created a bridge between the Arts and Crafts movement and the era of Industrial Design was an initial point of inspiration – set against the almost surrealistic aesthetic of the 1922 Triadische Ballet, choreographed by painter, sculptor and dancer, Oskar Schlemmer. In ‘Industrial Craft’, we’re continuing to push the boundaries of what makes a garment functional, compounding an aesthetic style with a dynamic yet elevated relationship to our key values of practicality, comfort and tradition.”
Trend takeaway: Layered leather and wrap skirts
“The radical elan of Art Deco permeates the Saint Laurent AW22 women’s collection,” said the house. “The reference is not literal, informing the show more in essence and overall outline than in direct quotations.” In the show notes, Anthony Vaccarello also referenced Nancy Cunard, an independent-minded activist publisher who dressed ahead of her time, using her “intrepid ethos” and embedding it in our current moment.
Trend takeaway: Floor-length faux fur coats and pared-back suiting
“Maria Grazia Chiuri is opening the doors of a new era,” explained Dior of the AW22 collection. “The mesmerising silhouettes are set against the backdrop of The Next Era, a gallery of paintings signed Mariella Bettineschi and composed of large female portraits borrowed from the history of painting from the 16th to the 19th century. Their eyes, cut and duplicated, question the judgment that has conditioned – and still conditions – women…From clothing to accessories, the creations combine aesthetics and technology, revisiting the Dior heritage. A fascinating exploration between past, present and future.”
Trend takeaway: Feminine tailoring and futuristic accessories
Taking place on the opening night of Paris Fashion Week, Off-White (with a little help from Naomi Campbell, Serena Williams, Cindy Crawford and more) paid tribute to its late and great founder, Virgil Abloh, who sadly passed away last year. Entitled ‘Spaceship Earth: an Imaginary Experience’, the show began with the designer’s final ready-to-wear collection for the house, and ended with a number of beautiful couture gowns. Read more about the emotional show, here.
Trend takeaway: High-low eveningwear
The AW22 collection from Tod’s was a celebration of Italian beauty. Creative director Walter Chiapponi aimed to reimagine icons of Italian beauty, transforming them into modern, versatile objects for everyday use. “Italian heritage reverberates in this collection’s aesthetic research, examining Italy’s culture, highlighting tradition that has always been rooted in the mission of Tod’s.”
Trend takeaway: Toned-down tailoring
After taking over from Daniel Lee in November, Matthieu Blazy’s first collection for Bottega Veneta certainly made for one of the most highly anticipated shows of the season. Through it, Blazy addressed the question ‘What makes Bottega Veneta?’
“Bottega Veneta is in essence pragmatic because it is a leather goods company,” said Blazy. “Because it specialises in bags it is about movement, of going somewhere; there is fundamentally an idea of craft in motion. It is style over fashion in its timelessness. That is part of its quiet power.”
Trend takeaway: Thigh-high boots, elevated basics, statement leather and ‘It’ bags
“Our cast of Versace Women for AW22 is exciting,” Donatella Versace said of the show. “Girls like Avanti, Anyier and Tilly perfectly represent a Versace with new generation attitude and they champion diversity. They embody the energy running through the collection and the looks built on contrast and tension — like an elastic band pulled tight and about to snap-back with a build-up of energy. That feeling is just irresistible to me. It opens new possibilities and makes things happen.”
Trend takeaway: Corsetry and high-octane glamour
For Moschino autumn/winter 2022, creative director Jeremy Scott looked into the archives, specifically, the 1989 and 1990 collections, which had seen Franco Moschino introduce cutlery brooches and hot-and-cold faucet handles as accents in his ready-to-wear. Scott used this as a base, and then found more inspiration in the stately home.
“A close to home feeling ensued, yet it became complemented by a study bordering on the unusual, if not the Kubrickian: If someone, or something, was tasked with creating the clone of a grand manor today, would baroque picture frames, stately armoires, grandfather clocks and crystal-dripped chandeliers still mark the trappings of a monied dwelling?”
Trend takeaway: Embroidery
Lucie and Luke Meier embraced “an overarching feeling of elegance” for their new collection, they explained in their show notes of the slick, modern and sophisticated designs.
“Confidence: the voice of a woman with inner strength and conviction. Every garment has the dignity and subtlety of couture, in fabrics and construction, and the vitality of the shifts between our need to glow and connect, the reality of our daily lives and our desire to play and change.”
Trend takeaway: Sculptural tailoring and flat ankle boots
“In the 13th century, Vincent de Beauvais’ Speculum majus endorses the mirror as an essential knowledge instrument,” explained creative director Alessandro Michele of the inspiration behind Gucci’s AW22 collection, entitled ‘Exquisite Gucci’. “Through the mirror, it is, in fact, possible to reach a transparent and exact comprehension of reality.”
“Therefore, I use the metaphor of the magical mirror to approach the phantasmagorical power of fashion. A sacred power that radiates from the surface of the fabrics. And there I work, on this tactile surface, through cross references, alterations, loopholes and grafts. Juxtaposing worlds and meanings. Altering the stability of perception. Manipulating and magnifying the existing. Through these interventions, I celebrate the clothes as real optical labs: magical machines that can give birth to fairy tales of metamorphosis and re-enchantment.”
Trend takeaway: Sporty elegance
Dolce & Gabbana embraced the metaverse with a collection that was part real-life, and part virtual. The show was complete with avatars wearing the collection, who then appeared to morph into real models on stage, strutting down the catwalk. It was the Italian label’s latest embrace of a new form of technology, a brand which has never been afraid to experiment like this when it comes to its catwalk shows.
Trend takeaway: Eighties’ power dressing
“In fashion, the word glamour has become synonymous with sparkle, seduction and allure. In keeping with the Armani mindset, this collection takes glamour back to its roots: personal charm. And it does so the Emporio way: playing with an eclectic equilibrium of contrasts.”
Trend takeaway: Lots of layering
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons continue to delight and surprise with their joint collections, this season opening and closing the show with a simple white tank top (worn by none other than supermodel Kaia Gerber and Euphoria star Hunter Schafer). The AW22 collection was all about this, described as: “Pragmatic pieces given new emphasis and significance”.
“A fascination with and reflection of humanity is a fundamental principle of Prada,” the duo wrote in the show notes. “This collection is a commemoration of life and living – of the occasion of the everyday, affording importance to each moment.”
Trend takeaway: Grey Nineties’ tailoring and elevated basics
Roberto Cavalli’s AW22 collection was inspired by Maria Sophie of Bourbon, the last Queen of Naples.
“In the heart of seduction, individualism and such total freedom, you can even play with cage dresses,” the show notes read. “Cavalli’s magical cut-out thus becomes scaffolding made up of fabric bars that are assembled and disassembled on the body with a gesture of feminine self-affirmation.”
Trend takeaway: Cut-out dressing and lots of leather
This season, Max Mara paid homage to architect, dancer, textile designer, painter and sculptor, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, who the house describes as “a creative polymath whose oeuvre was overlooked for decades, and is now rediscovered…a modernist who invested even the most everyday objects with a sense of magic and mystery.”
Trend takeaway: Statement winter accessories
“It is how one looks at things that changes reality, or simply gives it new nuances and possibilities. As ever light and romantic as she is softly grounded, this season Alberta Ferretti observes the feminine wardrobe under a new light, reinterpreting it in enveloping volumes, in a sensual immediacy that is expressed through layering and transparencies, lighting it up in a metallic sparkle that starts in the morning and lasts all day, and gives everything a sidereal glow and tangible preciousness.”
Trend takeaway: Metallics and the red-carpet hood
“The best way to explore the Fendi archives is through the Fendi wardrobes,” said creative director Kim Jones of the AW22 collection.
Inspired by Delfina Delettrez walking into the Roman headquarters dressed in a printed blouse stolen from her mother’s wardrobe, Jones excavated the house’s history to rediscover spring/summer 1986: a celebration of Karl Lagerfeld’s love for the artistic movement. “These are collections which, although they come from the past, feel very now.”
Jones reworked and paired the geometric prints and sartorial styling of 1986 with the lightness of autumn/winter 2000. “It’s a wardrobe designed for every aspect of a woman’s life, for every generation,” Jones says. “And it all started with Delfina.”
Trend takeaway: Leather corsetry and sheer, lingerie dressing
“The power of Diesel is that we talk to so many people,” said creative director Glenn Martens of his first catwalk show for the brand, which he aimed to be disruptive, sexy, fluid and fun. “We can push sustainability and innovation, and we can push experimentation and concept. It’s pure Diesel – you need put it on in two seconds and live your life.”
Trend takeaway: Denim, denim and more denim
“In the early 1930s a new band of female artists and photographers captured the fringe culture in the underbellies of the glittering capitals in mainland Europe. Jeanne Mammen, Madame d’Ora, Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler, Anita Berber and Valeska Gert each pioneered a particular vein of avant-garde expression. For AW22, we are with them, underground in a club that could be in Berlin, Vienna or Paris.”
Trend takeaway: Thirties glamour
For autumn/winter 2022, Supriya Lele was inspired the mood of a free-spirited motorbike girl. “Speeding into the new season with a tough, confident femininity, that riffs on Lele’s signature Nineties and Noughties-inflected silhouettes, a sophisticated interpretation of sportswear and boldly-hued, body-celebrating sensuality.”
Trend takeaway: Clingy dressing
“This season continues to play on subversive undertones with provocations in texture and colour,” explains Christopher Kane of his AW22 collection. “A nod to sexual selection within the animal world, where males change their postures, colours and behaviour to compete and attract females.”
Trend takeaway: Latex, tulle and cut-outs
Described as “a love letter to silhouette and craft”, Richard Quinn’s autumn/winter ’22 collection showcased the designer’s couture sensibilities, featuring the intricate fabrications, detailed embroidery and elevated shapes that he’s come to be known for. “Structured volumes create a fashion armour, engulfing the figure in beauty and colour,” explained the show notes.
Trend takeaway: Regal silhouettes and very little skin on show
16Arlington paid an emotional and powerful tribute to the late Federica “Kikka” Cavenati, the co-founder of the London label, who sadly passed away late last year. Entitled ‘Tears’, the collection was worked on by both designers (herself and her partner Marco Capaldo) before her untimely death.
“Marco Capaldo and Kikka Cavenati were inseparable in life, and remain so beyond the physical partition of death,” said the brand in the show notes. “She is everywhere in this work: her playful wit lives in turbo-charged monster-marabou coats, waistcoats and bucket hats; her boundless laughter in the wet-look feather scarves slung across smoked topaz sequins. Many of this season’s feathers were unearthed from 16Arlington’s archive – treated with dye by Kikka herself, years ago.”
Trend takeaway: Shimmering sheer dresses and separates
It was all about Bollywood and Nollywood for Priya Ahluwalia this season with a collection inspired by the heady imagery and dramatic plots of traditional Indian and Nigerian storytelling, taking from the designer’s cross-continental heritage. “Bollywood to Nollywood, then, is Ahluwalia’s love letter to the films that informed her youth, placing them on a shiny pedestal for all to enjoy.”
Trend takeaway: Graphic prints
For autumn/winter 2022, David Koma was inspired by Britain’s favourite sports, football and rugby. After 20 years of working in London, the designer (who was born in Tbilisi and raised in Saint Petersburg) was this year granted British citizenship, which inspired his reflection on British dressing mentality.
“The collection embraces the archetypes of England with equal adoration: the upper class, the working class, and the sporty. From the ladies of London’s stately ballrooms to the party girls of the city’s dance floors, occasion-wear traverses silhouettes from the sculptural silk taffeta volumes of haute couture to the skimpy hemlines of little club dresses. Infused with the spirit of sportswear, the codes of both territories are diluted into daywear embellished with the regal sparkle and colours of precious stones.”
Trend takeaway: Sporty separates
After winning the LVMH Prize and the BFC Foundation Award in 2021, Nensi Dojaka has become one of the most exciting names on the London Fashion Week schedule – and, for AW22, she did not disappoint. Sending her now trademark lingerie-inspired dresses down the catwalk on the likes of Paloma Elesser and a pregnant Maggie Maurer (who revealed her bump for the first time as she closed the show), Dojaka also embraced tailoring and leather, and will no doubt remain a red-carpet fixture for years to come.
Trend takeaway: Sexy, cut-out dressing
Michael Halpern has become the name for partywear in London, and, post-pandemic, his world is looking glitzier and more fun than ever. The autumn/winter 2022 collection – which was presented in the heart of Brixton – was all about reflecting on the past two years.
“With light at the end of the tunnel, our collective experience over the last two years can often feel surreal. The demi-couture at the heart of Halpern was never about escapism, but on the contrary, about infusing real life with a kind of glamour that lifts the spirits. During the last 24 months, this premise gained new relevance for the designer, who dedicated his two pandemic-era films to the community spirit. So when, for AW22, Michael Halpern asks the question, ‘What if it was all a dream?’ it isn’t to escape the reality of our surreal collective experience, but to accentuate the fact that it happened.
“With that in mind, the collection takes its departure in a dreamlike narrative. Halpern imagines Angelica Houston – an eternal inspiration – waking up from a deep, two-year sleep to find herself in a 1970s’ party version – via 2022 – of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1930 classic Madam Satan starring his illustrious daughter Katherine DeMille.”
Trend takeaway: Eighties’ animal prints
“The collection is based on Portobello and Camden market in the late Eighties and Nineties,” explains Molly Goddard of her autumn collection. “Our mum’s best friend when we were younger was very central to the Portobello social scene then and the collection is somewhat based around her. I would describe her from what I can remember as a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jones — big bleached blonde hair with a flower in it, red lipstick, a Fifties dress with an army jacket and trainers…The overall look is eclectic, here’s-what-I-found-down-the-market. There is a familiarity to this collection and the objects in it — each garment having a simplicity to it but each elevated into something special.”
Trend takeaway: Dressy for any occasion
For autumn/winter 2022, Simone Rocha was inspired by ‘The Children of Lir’, an Irish fable about a group of children who are turned into swans for 900 years, across three different lakes, but when they come back to human form, they pass away. “Two sons and two daughters. A dark lament. Crushed taffeta wings, and exploration of outerwear and what lies beneath. Bloodline and quilted blankets. Bitter sequins, blue velvet.”
Trend takeaway: Dark romanticism
“The collection was inspired through looking at celebrations of the past, we loved the glamour and opulence of the 1930s and this has a strong representation in the pieces,” co-founder Orlagh McCloskey told us of the collection entitled ‘The Golden Age’. “The print inspiration kickstarted from a vintage scarf we found in Portobello and the Rixo vintage aesthetic is showcased in the different silhouettes featured in each story in the collection.”
Trend takeaway: Vintage glamour
Kicking off the AW22 shows in London, Harris Reed’s ’60 Years A Queen’ collection was inspired by the 1897 book of the same name, written by Sir Herbert Maxwell, on the reign of Queen Victoria. “This isn’t so much a direct interpretation of the British monarchy’s sartorial inclination, but instead a look at how the club-kid scene has long borrowed, loaned and built upon the regal wardrobe — whether that’s in necklines of ruffs, masks and takes on ceremonial crowns or through evocative Elizabethan-era painted faces. 60 Years A Queen is a queerer interpretation of kings and… kweens.”
Trend takeaway: Jewel tones and dramatic silhouettes
“For this show, I wanted to bring the excitement and energy of a night on the town to life — because I think right now, no matter where you are, we’re all craving that,” Michael Kors said of his sparkle-filled autumn/winter 2022 collection. “And the clothes are really everything you need for stepping up, stepping out and making an entrance.”
Trend takeaway: Head-to-toe, post-pandemic glamour
“The power of this pandemic drew parallels to the upheaval and reformation of society seen during the Industrial Revolution,” the brand said of its inspiration for the new season. “This autumn/winter 2022 collection sartorially animates the stark class divide during this period where working classes laboured to develop new manufacturing processes and environments that seemingly benefited only the elite.”
Trend takeaway: Head-to-toe sequins
Stuart Vevers’ latest collection for Coach was inspired by the suburbs or was, as he described it, “a love letter to somewhere in America”. Dedicated to small-town style, there was plenty of leather, shearling and graffiti prints, all styled together in unexpected ways.
“My collections often begin with a feeling, and for fall, the feeling was love,” he added.
Trend takeaway: Unexpected pairings
The ever-so-cool Khaite customer will be embracing a touch more glamour next season, with Catherine Holstein’s latest collection embracing everything from sequins and silk slips to corseted dresses. This was all contrasted though with extremely oversized tailoring, slouchy leather two-pieces and the most beautiful statement coats.
“Another facet of the Khaite world is revealed,” the designer said of the new collection.
Trend takeaway: Gothic glamour
“We are grounded in the notion that great design starts with intuition and emotion and then layered with logic and functionality,” described Amy Smilovic of Tibi’s latest collection. “Taming the extremes into pieces that manage to be utterly wearable and speak to our style and who we are. Balanced, but with opinion.”
Trend takeaway: Sleek fits and Nineties silhouettes
“For our autumn/winter collection we found inspiration in the stars,” creative director Nicky Zimmermann said. “There’s always been something so fun and intriguing to me about pop astrology and the idea that our personalities are influenced by our birth signs. We worked with artist Anita Inverarity on twelve key prints that represent each sign of the zodiac and have incorporated these across a variety of looks across the collection. We wanted it all to feel really eclectic with a sense of fun. We picked up the symbols and icons of the zodiac in our detailing and finishes and there’s a conscious clash of fabric textures in each look. It’s a collection that’s high on finer details. Maybe that’s a bit of the Virgo in me coming through!”
Trend takeaway: Ethereal gowns
“I wanted the collection to not only evoke the intrepid and adventurous spirit of sailors and world travellers, but also the mystery and darkness of the oceans depths, populated with mermaids and mythological creatures,” Joseph Altuzzara said of AW22, dressing the likes of Gigi Hadid in his mermaid-inspired sparkles.
Trend takeaway: Oversized sequins
Gabriela Hearst quoted Professor Emanuele Lugli (who teaches art history at Stanford University and writes about the history of painting, gender, politics, and science) in her show notes, where he discussed our changing relationship with androgyny.
“Today, sexual and gender labels are no longer seen as natural, and their politics have been rejected. Young people especially explore androgyny to access the vital power and truthfulness to which androgyny can gain access. They rediscover cultures and voices for which androgyny was not just a feature of the past but has been, and still is, embodied in the everyday…Fashion is thus rediscovered as a privileged field of inquiry precisely because often it is the very practice that reiterates sexual and gender binaries.”
Trend takeaway: Cool classics
Wes Gordon brought some bold splashes of colour to a grey day in New York with his autumn/winter 2022 collection, which featured a series of elegant gowns in striking, often unexpected colour combinations, and graphic florals, with an emphasis on statement-making silhouettes.
Trend takeaway: Old-school elegance and clashing colours
The big talking point from the LaQuan Smith show was who the designer cast as his opening model: actress Julia Fox, who just that day had confirmed the end of her very public relationship with Kanye West. Her opening look was indicative of the rest of the collection: fearless, skin-baring looks made for standing out from the crowd.
Trend takeaway: High hemlines and strategic cut-outs
Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez presented Proenza Schouler’s AW22 collection at The Brant Foundation in NYC, which was dominated by fluid tailoring and an effortless, almost sporty take on workwear.
Trend takeaway: Relaxed suiting
Christian Siriano injected some serious colour into NYFW with an almost entirely blue collection. Meanwhile, super shiny patent leather and latex also dominated his catwalk, feeding into his ‘Victorian Matrix’ theme. Models Coco Rocha and Karen Elson were among those to take to the catwalk.
Trend takeaway: Matrix latex and bright, bright blue
Always one of the prettiest shows of NYFW, Jason Wu did not disappoint for AW22 with a ladylike collection of ballgowns and dresses. Inspired by graphic, hand-drawn fashion illustrations from the 1950s, the collection was an homage to American couture craftsmanship, Wu explained in his show notes.
Trend takeaway: Bows
Another favourite on the New York Fashion Week schedule is Brandon Maxwell whose supermodel-filled catwalk show, as always, delivered on the glamour. But, the clothes felt more wearable than ever as he paired his signature ballgowns with oversized knitwear and dressed up some denim, making the clothes feel very versatile.
The collection was a personal one, dedicated to and inspired by his grandmother, who is suffering with Alzheimer’s.
Trend takeaway: Dressed-up daywear/dressed-down eveningwear