2025-26 Fall & Winter Ready-To-Wear Fashion Trends
Fashion Trend Report
15. Ruffled and Ruched: The Romance Remains
Romance is still alive in fashion. Whether cascading down hemlines or sculpted in tiers on gowns, ruffles added movement and drama.
Alexander McQueen featured opulent flowing ruffles on sweeping silk chiffon gowns, each wave of fabric adding to a sense of dark romance and drama.
Chloé layered sheer lace and chiffon with a poetic touch, weaving its signature ruffles through airy blouses, dresses, and skirts.
Zimmermann channels a similar bohemian spirit, but with a more accessible price point and broader wearability. The collection featured fluttering handkerchief-hem dresses, moss-toned lace, and snake-print chiffon.
Luisa Spagnoli applied refined ruffles to skirt suits and blouses with a subtle flounce.
Alain Paul offered long skirts trailing with waves of rippling fabric.
Chanel, Giambattista Valli, Louis Vuitton, and others embraced the romance of ruffles, layering them in soft cascades that added movement to their collections.
16. Opulent Minimalism: The Silent Rebellion
In a season of maximalism, a counter-trend emerged: opulent minimalism. Designers found a way to make simplicity feel luxurious and intentional, with mostly a handful of opulent column dresses feeling particularly on point.
The shapes were clean and uncomplicated, but the materials were rich – think cashmere, silk, velvet – and the details subtle but exquisite.
This was quiet luxury that whispered confidence, a reminder that sometimes less is more, especially when it’s done this well.
Simplicity met sophistication in Michael Kors’ and Elie Saab’s sleek silhouettes, elevated by rich textures and a hint of shimmer.
His tank-style sequin dresses moved with an easy elegance—more laid-back than red carpet fare, yet equally striking.
17. Fringe & Feathers: Movement as Mood
Designers added rhythm and drama to garments with fringe that swayed and feathers that fluttered. Far from delicate, these touches were bold, confident, and impossible to ignore, turning every step on the runway into a moment.
Dolce & Gabbana channeled 1920s flapper glamour with fringe cascading from little black dresses and feathery accents on hems.
Jil Sander led with a strapless metallic dress edged in razor-fine fringe, and carried that sharp energy into tailored pieces adorned with spiky black fringe.
Etro leaned into boho-chic with fringe-draped ponchos and shawls, where long knotted yarns swayed from intricately patterned knitwear.
Erdem embraced bold metallic and colorful fringes, layering them lavishly across full coats, dresses, and skirts.
Dries Van Noten took a maximalist, artistic turn, embellishing pieces with dramatic plumes in bold, high-contrast hues.
Ferragamo closed with two standout mesh dresses, thickly fringed and draped in carnation-like florals. Feathers appeared throughout on dresses, bags, and skirts.
Sacai transformed utilitarian cargo jackets and skirts into party-ready statements using paillettes and hand-cut feathers.
Stella McCartney turned upcycled materials into playful fringe—thick yarn tassels dancing from knit dresses.
Christopher John Rogers unleashed a riot of color with rainbow-hued fringe spilling from collars and waistbands.
Kim Shui deconstructed pleather into laser-cut fringe that moved like a kinetic sculpture, fusing club-kid edge with high-fashion artistry.
Sportmax injected energy into its sleek tailoring with jittery trims on coats and knits, pairing structured silhouettes with dramatic fringe panels on skirts and jackets.
Fforme delivered a conceptual twist with precise, controlled fringe tracing the seams of monochrome dresses.
Burberry embraced fringe in full force, from subtle fringe hems to head-to-toe looks.
Fforme delivered a conceptual twist with precise, controlled fringe tracing the seams of monochrome dresses.
Christopher Esber balanced draping and sharp tailoring with strands of shimmying fringe, infusing each look with fluid movement.
Fringe and feathers this season were edgy, expressive, and kinetic. As seen at many shows, they added movement and texture to everything from dresses to outerwear.
18. Sensuous Materials: The Texture of Desire
Transparency and texture struck a poised balance, with floral lace leading the sheer-to-lace trend in intimate yet empowered layers.
Lace, tulle, silk, and crochet took center stage as designers embraced sheer, sensuous fabrics, making romance a defining element of fall fashion.
Dolce & Gabbana played with contrast, pairing sheer lace bralettes with oversized tailoring and leather. Lace was styled with streetwise ease, mixed with sporty layers.
Christian Dior layered sheer embroidered tulle skirts over high-waisted shorts and paired them with delicate lace blouses, blending medieval romance with modern edge.
At Chloé, lingerie dressing embraced a pastoral sensibility with lace-trimmed maxi dresses and silhouettes reminiscent of vintage nightgowns. Eveningwear took a more theatrical turn with pannier-style gowns, where micro crinolines gently flared at the hips.
Zimmermann delivered Edwardian elegance with lace dresses in soft ivories and creams, finished with billowing poet sleeves.
Fendi embraced delicate femininity with lace-edged drop-waist gowns.
Carolina Herrera exuded ladylike glamour with organza gowns adorned with panels of Chantilly lace, alongside fully laced dresses and elegant matching ensembles.
Elie Saab’s silhouettes remained slender and refined, occasionally indulging in sheer lace and sequinned shimmer.
Frederick Anderson powered up delicate guipure lace to craft blouses and dresses, proving that see-through lace can project authority as much as softness.
Blumarine reimagined Y2K glamour with a refined edge, blending the brand’s playful roots with sharp tailoring and daring materials. Sheer fabrics like chiffon and georgette were crafted into poet blouses tucked into sleek, studded black leather pants.
Billowy, lace-encrusted shirt dresses sustained by the rigidity of crinolines.
Chanel presented a few short tweed looks with longer over-layers of trompe l’oeil tulle.
Ermanno Scervino crafted faux lace from wool and cotton, sculpting the body with softness that felt like armor. Lingerie-inspired dresses paired with shearling or sharp tailoring blurred the line between intimacy and strength.
Bora Aksu blended vintage lace and georgette into dreamy silhouettes.
Cecilie Bahnsen sent out her signature voluminous babydoll dresses in translucent organza, adorned with delicate floral appliqués.
19. Hemline Drama: Volume in Full Swing
Exaggerated silhouettes returned to the spotlight as designers embraced volume for impact over flattery, with skirts taking on bold forms from ballooned shapes to crinoline-inspired structures.
At Saint Laurent, pleated skirts took on dramatic proportions, their exaggerated hems billowing with unexpected volume.
Alaïa engineered gravity-defying crinoline hems.
Carolina Herrera paired oversized tunics with cage-like lace skirts. Tory Burch embraced sculptural volume with cylindrical A-line skirts.
Versace’s fit-and-flare gowns felt meticulously engineered, featuring sculpted bodices paired with gravity-defying crinoline skirts. Alexander McQueen played with cylindrical A-line skirts that moved like wearable sculptures.
20. Animal Instincts: Prints That Roared
This season’s wildlife prints came in unexpected colors, mixes, and materials – and always ethically. From leopard and zebra to python and deer motifs, designers approached them with a sense of fun and scale.
Balmain brought sculptural shine to the runway with crocodile-embossed jackets and coats, while zebra-striped pieces added a wild, graphic edge to the collection.
At Roberto Cavalli, leopard print proved its status as the brand’s signature neutral, woven effortlessly into the collection.
Duran Lantink clashed multiple animal prints in one look using upcycled materials – imagine zebra, cheetah, and snake all artfully paneled into one outfit.
LaPointe showed neon-colored leopard print, turning the wild motif into a club-ready, high-impact piece.
Brandon Maxwell reimagined deer spots with a sophisticated twist, wrapping coats in dark, shadowy fawn prints.
Khaite incorporated leopard print with quiet confidence.
Dolce & Gabbana layered animalier prints over lace, retexturing the wild motif into something richly dimensional.
Kim Shui kept the leopard in its throne but introduced fresh intrigue with snake prints slithering across the runway.
21. Polka Dot Pop: The Dotted Renaissance
Polka dots punctuated many collections with whimsy and retro flair. Designers used polka dots to add a sense of play and graphic interest, proving that spots can be as sophisticated or as zany as you want them to be.
Moschino brought a surreal twist to eveningwear, spinning dots into playful, abstract silhouettes.
Luisa Beccaria infused soft romanticism into her collection with delicate pieces dusted in tiny, whimsical polka dots.
Ulla Johnson brought a folkloric touch to polka dots, casting gold lamé dots across black tulle like a constellation.
Monse gave polka dots a modern twist, cutting and reshaping the classic print into bold, asymmetrical designs.
Some designers subtly sprinkled polka dots into chic, tailored ensembles,
while others embraced the motif on gowns in rich, moody palettes, elevating playful patterns into polished sophistication.
22. Florals: Nature Reclaimed
Florals—expected, yes. But this season, they arrived bolder. Designers treated them like visual poetry: blooming in jacquards, clashing prints, and embroidered layers.
At Carolina Herrera, florals felt right at home, climbing up a strapless evening dress like vines and adorning both prints and jacquards.
Blumarine embraced romanticism with delicate floral prints scattered across airy chiffon dresses.
Erdem rendered florals with an artistic hand, using swift brushstroke prints on dresses.
Moschino turned up the drama with a floral duvet dress complete with a matching cushion hat, while other looks featured floral dresses boldly draped in mismatched blooms from the midriff.
Roberto Cavalli embraced the wild beauty of nature with prints featuring lush florals and leafy motifs.
Antonio Marras showcased romanticism through long-stemmed rose prints, delicately scattered across flowing chiffon dresses.
Color Stories
The color story of Fall 2025–26 was deep, grounded, and warm. Designers leaned into brown hues like espresso brown,
but the real hero was poppy red!
Espresso Brown
Hot Chocolate
Poppy Red
Berry Red
Bronze & Bronze Brown
Dark Forest
Fig
Wine
Primrose Pink
Crown Blue
Creamy White
Winter White