Fast fashion slows down as timeless elegance becomes the watchword for this season’s couture.
September is fashion month around the world and Vogue World: London dominated the headlines at the 2023 London Fashion Week, promising to deliver a star-studded “fashion fantasia” in the capital’s theatrical district. Held at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in the West End, Vogue World: London brought together all of the biggest names from show business for a celebration of fashion and art, raising funds for a variety of charities and kicking off London Fashion Week in exquisite style.
The cutting-edge concepts that sweep down the runways at Fashion Week can sometimes seem impossibly remote from the clothes we might choose for our own collection, despite Vogue emphasising regularly now the ‘shoppable’ credentials of designer collections. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that haute couture can and does influence our fashion choices each year. So, what can we expect to find on the High Street influenced by this year’s Autumn/Winter trends?
To do that, we need to skip back in time to the shows held earlier this year – Autumn/Winter designs are revealed in the springtime – fashion is always nothing, if not forward!
Writing in Vogue, fashion journalist Ellie Pithers said was struck by the humanity on display on the catwalks, claiming that the biggest trend on display was not an item of clothing, but a pose.
“From the model clasping her crimson edge-to-edge coat at The Row, to the girls illuminated by the glow of the iPhones clamped in their palms at Courrèges, to the woman grasping her ivory liquid-silk dress round her shoulders as she’d just stepped out the shower at Loewe, the meaningful gesture was everywhere,” she said. “All conspired to make the autumn catwalks feel a little more human.”
All good news, so far, for those of us stepping out of a car onto the high street in Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon, or Henley-in Arden rather than a red carpet at a premiere.
Zoe Anastasiou at Marie Claire agrees. “The trends of Autumn/ Winter 2023 are set to be more wearable,” she notes, “featuring impeccable tailoring, timeless silhouettes and the kind of closet staples that would actually feel at home in your everyday wardrobe.”
And the fabric choices revealed for the 2023 season just keep the good news coming.
Commentators agree this season’s looks are all about everyday wearability: effortless style – worn with confidence. Pared-back, everyday clothes executed in best-in-class fabrics.
The runways last spring, now informing the collections in the shops, were all filled with autumnal outfits you could easily imagine throwing on before heading out to take on the day. High-quality takes on everyday essentials – casual black leggings, white t-shirts, luxurious autumnal coats, and cozy, oversized jumpers – arranged into pared-down ensembles you can wear to work and will carry over seamlessly into winter.
Autumn/Winter is also the party season, though, and among the classic daywear looks the designers did not disappoint. Shimmering metallics, draped liquid lamé, and of course, sequins, set the scene for Christmas festivities to come.
Sparkle aside, sustainability remains an important factor in 21st-century fashion design and so this focus on high-quality investment pieces over disposable ‘fast’ fashion suggests that couture is catching up with the rest of us. When the season’s hero pieces include a white shirt, a black coat, and a long woollen scarf, it’s clear that looking on-trend and curating a future-proof wardrobe have finally become one and the same.
Far from being simply monochromatic, though, designers have worked with a colour palette leading with dynamic colours, blended with subtle and refined shades for unconventional pairings and witty mixes.
Pantone, the organisation respected across the world for providing a universal language of colour, monitors designer choices to create a palette for each season.
Pantone, the organisation respected across the world for providing a universal language of colour, monitors designer choices to create a palette for each season.
Their take on the palette for Autumn/Winter 2023 are colours which “rejoice in individuality and creativity, blending our need for a vibrant, joyful colour that actively vies for attention with essential, yet refined subtle timeless tones. Celebrating a sense of freedom, spontaneous colour expressions, and unorthodox colour pairings, these chosen colours expand our understanding of colour, driving us toward a new openness and promoting a message to stay true to oneself.”
For key investment pieces and your own take on the timeless, immaculately tailored style that the catwalks have inspired this Autumn/Winter season, why not spend an enjoyable morning browsing in some of the area’s independent boutiques?
Solihull town centre’s Drury Lane is home to established brands like Katherine Draisey, Sophie Bea and ONU Solihull, as well as designer shoe store Le Scarpe, while just over the M42 in Knowle you will find the likes of Be-Ju, Cristal Boutique, Belle Diva and the Closet Boutique.
Cristal Boutique, on Knowle High Street, is owned by Becca Webb and both she and colleague Hannah Adams have become well known for their social media videos featuring the latest season’s key pieces.
Hannah said: “Autumn is always my favourite season. I love chunky knits, coats, and boots! British brand Onjenu & Desigual from Spain have gone with red, the colour of the season. Beautiful knitwear and dresses that are on trend, but still sticking to our ethos of timeless dressing and picking quality pieces that will forever be in your wardrobe.”
Check out Hannah and Becca’s top picks and the latest collections in store at
www.cristal-boutique.com