Real-world wardrobe predictions from the AW 23/24 collections
The focus is on practical, elegant clothes, sharp shoulders and great coats for AW 23/24.
It’s curious that the biggest watchword from the fashion season that has just wrapped up in Paris is wearable. It ought not be such a shock, given the entire event is about clothes.
Yet even a glance at runways past can leave one with this distinct and somewhat mealy-mouthed thought: Who on earth would wear that?!
The outre has its place, of course; after all, fashion is also about fantasy and entwining with culture and art and distilling ideas of the world around us.
Mostly, though, we want things to wear. The best part of taking in the fashion season that was is that while these clothes won’t land inshops for six months or so, there’s plenty of inspiration to glean and, best of all, often with pieces you already own.
This season had a particular focus on practical, wearable, useful and elegant clothes. Muted tones, with occasional bursts of saturated colours such as fire-engine red were on high rotation. This all may say a lot about the world around us anyway – that times are uncertain and, for some, straitened. People want to get dressed properly again and they’re back in the office. In topsy-turvy times you need clothes that swaddle, protect and make you feel invincible.
To wit, there was plush swathing in autumnal hues at Hermes; extreme power shoulders at Saint Laurent; a slew of designers inspired by the cinched-in and feminine silhouettes of the 1950s, from Ferragamo to Dior; and smart tailoring at the likes of Proenza Schouler, Alexander McQueen and The Row.
Many designers – from Givenchy with sharp black overcoats to Max Mara’s endless ways with camel, the shearling at Chloe and Isabel Marant, and leopard print at Ferragamo – reminded us that if in doubt, simply throw on a good coat. Others, such as Valentino, Dior and Burberry, made the implacable case for feathers.
Meanwhile the silhouette of the season, Prada’s midi-length circle skirt and crew neck jumper, is one you can emulate the minute the mercury drops. The bold among us could try the other – going completely pants-less as per Miu Miu and Sergio Hudson.
Matches Fashion head of womenswear Liane Wiggins says this season was about “amazing, strong wardrobe building with a modern twist”.
“Across the AW23/24 runways we saw a new, redefined, modern elegance,” she says. “There was a clever wearability to a lot of the collections, empowering clothes for women but nothing that feels too dressed up or ostentatious.
“Christopher Kane’s collection perfectly spoke to this trend – a strong, wearable collection without feeling overtly sexy. The latex peplum bustle pencil skirt with the slightly oversized cashmere cardigan was one of my favourite looks.
“Jason Wu and Carolina Herrera both showed their heritage with great occasion collections – the mood was slightly cleaner, more pared back and less flashy but equally fabulous.”
The Outnet style director Sinead Cutts says this past season has been an extension of the “quiet luxury” trend – pared-back, quality pieces, a lack of flash – that has been building in previous seasons.
“I love how the autumn-winter 23/24 season exuded wearable, grown-up glamour, providing high-impact pieces with both quality and craftsmanship,” she says. “Think Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl as autumn-winter season muses. Feminine and powerful day-to-day, these looks mean business.
“I also enjoyed the after-dark ’80s cocktail dresses and suiting at Balmain and Saint Laurent. These styles are bound to add an edge to party wear this season, not to mention the return of feathers as the embellishment of the season.”
As for what Australian customers should think about adding to their wardrobes as the weather cools, Cutts suggests going for one of the new takes on leather that plenty of designers have been offering up, and going for head-to-toe black.
“Watch out for leather this winter,” Cutts says. “Draped leather pieces at Loewe and Stella McCartney offered a fresh perspective on the timeless fabric, while Gabriela Hearst’s leather trench wrapped in cherry red offered the perfect pop of colour to the autumn-winter 23/24 colour palette of blacks and greys which cemented the catwalk this season.”
Cutts suggests making sure you have the basics covered, too.
“Be sure to build your winter wardrobe on investment pieces consisting of a charcoal-grey crew neck jumper a la Prada, an oversized grey check blazer as seen at Stella McCartney, and baggy pants as seen at Gucci.”
Suited and booted
From Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen examining the anatomy of suiting and referring back to the Savile Row influence under Lee McQueen to the wide lapel jackets at Proenza Schouler (“just clothes” is how the brand’s designers put it backstage), the always precise tailoring at The Row and the pleated and slightly puffed cinched-in jackets at Louis Vuitton, tailoring was a focus.
Add to that the nipped-in jackets at Versace and plaid double-breasted ones at Stella McCartney. This season, while tailoring still remains slouchy and oversized, there’s a little more structure, a lot of strong shoulders and sprinklings of embellishment.
A touch of elegance
Anthony Vaccarello said of his ’80s-inspired high glam collection for Saint Laurent, “I wanted to do something around the world of elegance. It’s maybe something we don’t have a sense of today, that world.”
Vaccarello wasn’t the only designer to riff on elegance, albeit with a twist. This was as evident in the midi-length circle skirts at Prada worn with crew neck jumpers as it was the turbans and gold-button embellished skirt suits at Schiaparelli, the cropped little jackets at Dior and the tweed shorts at Chanel.
The best way to think about this trend for your own wardrobe is to be deliberate in your styling (why not add leather gloves or a hat?), opt for a boxy top handle bag and do consider the fit-and-flare cropped jacket skirt suit.
Cosy factor
As the weather cools, the desire to be at one with your doona is strong. The next best option is soft, swathing clothes that are cocooning while still looking smart, such as Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski at Hermes with her textured (extremely luxurious) layers and the exaggerated sleeve slouchy cardigans worn with midi-length (the hemline of the season) at Loewe. A key take-out here is that wearing knitted pieces in the same, or similar, colours makes for a smart and comfortable look. Meanwhile, the kooky little cardigans and knits at Miu Miu worn with sheer skirts added to the skewiff ladylike sensibility of the show.
Shirt stories
The button-down shirt, that ultimate workhorse piece, was ever-present in a season that focused on wardrobe essentials.
A few highlights from the most recent season include the pinstripe ones (that were actually, mind-bogglingly, made of leather) at Bottega Veneta’s chic collection, the slouchy ones at The Row and the many iterations, including the sheer and feathered ones, in Valentino’s Black Tie collection. Here, too, a recurring tie motif unpicked ideas of dress codes.
Anna Hoang, creative director and founder of Australian label Anna Quan, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary, started her brand with one piece – the Anne shirt. With its distinct exaggerated sleeves it quickly became a favourite and one she has, on the advice of a Net-a-Porter buyer, reworked every year. For Hoang, the appeal of a shirt lies in the versatility. “Shirting is a cornerstone product,” she says. “I think it’s an enduring product because all the basic features (be it the cuff, collar, sleeve) are timeless and classic. They can be applied to so many looks.”