8 Trends Set to Define Fall 2025 Fashion

Throughout fashion month, discussions were swirling about all of the creative-director shifts at the top and which direction that will take fashion. We have yet to see what that will look like at some major fashion houses—including Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Michael Rider at Celine, Demna at Gucci, and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe, to name a few, who will present their debut collections later this year. However, we saw some of the much-anticipated debuts at the fall/winter 2025 shows—including Sarah Burton at Givenchy, Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford, and Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten, who interpreted the house codes from their distinct points of view. While the fashion-house shake-ups will lead to further changes that we can't predict now, what we do know is the direction fashion will be heading in 2025.

Conversations throughout fashion month centered on ideas about femininity in fashion, including backstage at Prada and Schiaparelli. There was also a sense of nostalgia that has been driving style as designers looked back to different style eras. Vibrant Technicolor shades injected color into the minimal fashion landscape. Peplum shapes and curved silhouettes commanded the runways, and faux fur dominated in an unexpected way. Ahead, read more on the eight fall/winter 2025 trends that are set to dominate fashion in the coming year and the key pieces to shop now.

Designers are going back to the archives, really digging into what makes their brands distinct, and reinterpreting that for today. In the landscape of quiet luxury and minimalism, a lot of brands started to look the same, but now, some of the strongest collections of the season feel rooted in what makes them stand apart. People want an emotional connection to brands, and designers are starting to carve that out again as fashion is making moves to a space of authenticity. In some cases, we are seeing this on the runways with a sense of heritage and history. Silvia Fendi's celebration of her family brand's 100th anniversary felt personal, intimate, and on point. We are also seeing this more as new designers are appointed to the top spots at major fashion houses. With all of the big shifts happening with creative directors, this is coming into focus more as designers figure out how to distill their distinct points of view within the house codes that define some of the biggest maisons. This is a shift that will continue to take shape as designers step into new roles and carve out how they interpret the house codes.

Conversations throughout fashion month centered on ideas about femininity in fashion. This came up both in terms of the clothes on the runways as well as the collections we saw from female creative directors. "What does femininity mean today?" read the show notes at Prada as Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons set out to examine the archetypes of female dressing and poke holes in the notion of feminine perfection. The concept was explored at Miu Miu as well with a show titled Femininities that was "an evaluation of the feminine" as expressed through clothing—a theme that carried across the collections this season. Prada and stylist Lotta Volkova explored different notions of femininity throughout the show, including emblems such as brooches, stoles, and bullet bras. For her debut collection at Givenchy, Burton paid homage to the atelier's origins through a distinctly female point of view, reinterpreting iconic silhouettes from the archives such as hourglass shapes and evening gowns. At Schiaparelli, too, the collection was centered on women, and Daniel Roseberry reimagined Old Hollywood glamour through a female lens.

After studying thousands of looks from the fall/winter 2025 season, one concept made its existence abundantly clear. Silhouettes were far from consistent, with everything from hourglass and peplum waists to barrel denim appearing on the runways, but curved lines and voluminous shapes remained ubiquitous. At Givenchy, Schiaparelli, and Duran Lantink (one of the season's most talked-about labels), hypersculpted midsections brought all eyes to the waist. Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent show closed with a handful of drop-waist gowns with roomy and rounded ball skirts. Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham took an even more novel approach, rolling up pressed hems and collars into perfect cylinders and turning her garments into dramatic works of art. Straight and sharp designs clearly weren't top of mind as fashion's brightest minds gave curvature a try for fall 2025.

If the spring/summer 2025 runway collections hinged on soft, ethereal fabrics and romantic moments, consider fall/winter 2025 the opposite. Unlike the romance that reigned for spring in a season filled to the brim with flowing, sheer gowns in pastel shades and pretty touches made to make wearers swoon, fall's offerings were darker—almost gothic. In Paris, brands like Alaïa, Dior, and McQueen dipped into a moodier pool of inspiration, leaning on black lace and sheer chiffon; Victorian ruffs; and tight, tough leather. Milan's Ferragamo and Alberta Ferretti, though noticeably less intense, gave off the same beautifully melancholy air. Of course, fashion, like all industries, follows society's course. Look around—we're living in the dark ages, and come fall, our wardrobes will accurately match the vibe.

In a surprising move, just years after much of the industry banned real fur, one of the most dominant trends across fashion month was the resurgence of furry details. But it showed up in a different way, as the industry has largely turned to faux fur, upcycled vintage fur, and shearling. During the earlier days of fashion month, we began seeing the rise of furry pieces on the runway. At Altuzarra, plush shearling jackets landed on editor shopping lists. In Milan, furry details appeared in the form of coat collars at Prada and Giorgio Armani. In Paris, it made an impact on the runways at Miu Miu with stoles worn as accessories, Chloé with fur-trimmed coats and bag charms, and Valentino in a variety of ways.

Minimal, neutral shades of black, white, and camel have dominated in recent years with the rise of quiet luxury and pared-back dressing. Despite the cool sophistication of muted tones, it begs the question, Where is the color? This answer arrived in the fall/winter 2025 collections, where designers not only showcased color but also embraced powerful, vivid, and saturated shades. At Tory Burch, it was an electric-orange quarter-zip knit. At Givenchy, a voluminous blazer in chiffon yellow. At Alaïa, an aqua-blue skirt set. At Dries Van Noten, a royal-purple trench coat. The move toward maximalist color was truly cemented on the Saint Laurent runway, however, where Vaccarello sent models out wearing look after colorful look in shades such as violet, tangerine, kelly green, fuchsia, scarlet, and countless more powerful hues. The glory of Technicolor may no longer be found on the big screen, but come fall, it will be in our closets.

In a typical runway season, one or two eras always stand out, from '80s-inspired leather jackets and suits to '60s-esque miniskirts and prints. Fashion, after all, is cyclical—trends always come back around. This season, however, took this tradition to unprecedented new levels with references to practically every relevant sartorial decade, dating back to the Victorian era at McQueen and looking forward to the future at Tom Ford. In between, Fendi celebrated its 100th anniversary by bringing back looks from the '30s. Meanwhile, Prada and Miu Miu returned to the '50s and '60s, and Chloé combined the '70s with the mid-2010s in a shockingly tantalizing fashion, even going as far as reissuing the brand's iconic Paddington bag. At Saint Laurent, jawbreaking pops of color brought back memories of Yves Saint Laurent's work from the '80s, while Veronica Leoni's debut at Calvin Klein was a trip to the '90s, the American fashion brand's heyday. In other words, next fall's aesthetic is firmly rooted in the past and future. The present? Sorry, but it's on its way out.

We're not the only ones looking for somewhere to unwind or, better yet, unplug after a long fashion month. (Correction: It's been a long year, and yes, we're aware that it's only March.) Designers, too, appear to be hunting down a simpler, more rustic lifestyle come autumn 2025, and Max Mara, Burberry, Altuzarra, Hermès, Calvin Klein, and more top brands leaned on woodsy materials and silhouettes for the season ahead. Think Fair Isle sweaters styled with riding boots, quilted outerwear and shorts paired with hearty knitwear, and lots and lots of plaid. Fashion is heading into the woods, and with it comes a bevy of on-theme ensembles to wear while it's OOO.