Hot on the heels of the Milan and Paris menswear shows, Copenhagen Fashion Week, Berlin Fashion Week and couture week, it’s time for the Autumn/Winter 2025 womenswear shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris.
While the power of flash-in-the-pan micro-trends is waning and consumers embrace the vibe, the runway remains a key marker for what we’ll be wearing come Autumn/Winter. Focused on moods, colours, textures and silhouettes rather than specific items (or a specific TikTok video), the runway trends for AW25 leave room for interpretation, with multiple ways in. Many are revivals of more common seasonal trends like fur. Others are more esoteric, from aquatic influences to medieval escapism. Notably, designers will throw out the rule book when it comes to decade-assigned aesthetics this season, blending influences and favouring creativity above all.
Here, Vogue Business breaks down the key trends and aesthetics to look out for at the shows and on the streets.
Medieval escapism or ‘castlecore’
There’s a medieval mood brewing in womenswear this season, first building back in September when music artist Chappell Roan took to the VMAs stage in a gothic medieval gown, paired with chainmail and a sword. Roan played into the theme again at this year’s Grammys, accepting her Best New Artist Award in a tall princess hat. Lady Gaga’s gothic-inspired Samuel Lewis gown and Charli XCX’s corseted Jean Paul Gaultier by Ludovic de Saint Sernin couture look also fit the trend.
In 2025, Gen Z and millennials will take home décor inspiration from ancient castles, while fashion and accessories will lean into the gothic, according to 2025’s Pinterest Predicts report. Search is up for “medieval core” (+110 per cent), “chainmail necklace” (+45 per cent), “blue medieval dress” (+85 per cent) and “antique ruby ring” (+50 per cent).
“Presenting as a new era of escapism and a historical reference outside the 20th century, medieval aesthetics have been embraced by the fashion industry of late, noting knights in Loewe’s SS25 campaign and a chainmail-like gown at Alexander McQueen,” adds Kayla Marci, retail analyst at intelligence firm EDITED. “Metallics will be the most commercial way to pay tribute to this era.” Chainmail is still an emerging trend in the mass market, with brands mainly incorporating it into handbags, she adds. “The AW25 runway will provide a fresh perspective into how this trend will evolve across headpieces like Juliet caps, footwear, jewellery and occasionwear.”
Linked to castlecore, gothic horror is another key theme, thanks to the impact of recent horror films like Nosferatu. “This will be amplified following 2025’s releases, including Wednesday season two, 28 Years Later, M3GAN 2.0 and The Bride,” says Marci. “The renewed interest in this genre is set to influence AW25 fashion, signalling for designers to subvert beauty ideals and embrace dramatic, macabre and gothic elements.” Darker aesthetics have already underpinned pre-fall collections at Balmain, Balenciaga and Chanel, while corsets, waistcoats, ruffled shirts and voluminous dresses are expected to grace the upcoming runways. Marci adds that retailers are buying more lace trousers, lace hosiery and black fur coats to fit the theme.
Animal fever
Fur surged momentarily via the mob wife micro-trend trend last year. But after some strong appearances at the Milan and Paris menswear shows, and even Copenhagen Fashion Week, fur is set to dominate for AW25 across the ‘big four’. Fur is, of course, contentious, with both real and fake versions not without their environmental drawbacks. Faux fur is key to the AW25 trend: Copenhagen Fashion Week banned real fur in 2022, while Prada and Dolce Gabbana, two of the furriest shows, stopped using real fur in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
Stars have already jumped on board. From Hailey Bieber’s array of fur coats for her January ski trip to Aspen with Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner (who also sported a fur hat), to Kylie Jenner, who just released two long black and brown faux styles via her clothing label Khy (they’ve already sold out).
Long curly fur, typically placed on collars, cuffs and around openings, is the go-to, expected to increase 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, according to Heuritech, a trend forecasting platform that uses image recognition on Instagram to identify fashion trends as they bubble up. Looking ahead, Heuritech predicts the appearance of fur more broadly will grow 25 per cent between Q4 2024 and Q4 2025.
It’s not just coats and collars. Furry accessories, such as hats and arm cuffs, are also becoming increasingly visible across social media platforms. They were already spotted in Copenhagen, including furry hats and stoles at Rotate, alongside an abundance of furry hats on the street style set. Snow boots are expected to grow by 7 per cent from Q4 2024 to Q4 2025, with furry styles a key feature. “We already began to see this emerging towards the end of 2024, most notably with collaborations like Jacquemus x Moon Boots, which set the tone for fashion-forward, cold-weather footwear,” says Heuritech fashion analyst Frida Tordhag.
As an offshoot of the fur trend, animal prints — especially leopard — dominated social feeds and experienced 78 per cent growth throughout 2024 (also tracing back to the mob wife trend of last winter).
There were scores of prints spotted at Milan Men’s and Copenhagen, notably at Munthe, where leopard print fur coats and zebra print tops featured across several looks. And on the Grammys red carpet, Cardi B wore a sequinned, zebra print gown with a feather trim, while Kali Uchis opted for a full leopard print dress, both by Roberto Cavalli.
The trend shows no sign of slowing down in 2025: appearance of animal prints on Instagram will grow 92 per cent from July to September, per Heuritech data, while leopard print is expected to surge 84 per cent in Q1 this year, with particular popularity expected across jackets (+60 per cent) and midi skirts (+122 per cent).
50 shades of brown
According to Pantone, the colour for 2025 is mocha mousse, a light creamy shade of brown. Various brown hues appeared on the runway during both menswear and Copenhagen, incorporated into monochromatic looks or paired with denim or fur. Heuritech says the appearance of tawny brown — a similar shade to mocha mousse — is projected to increase by 15 per cent over the coming year. Other hues, such as cinnamon and chocolate brown, are expected to see significant growth, with estimated increases of 26 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
Blending various shades of brown within a single outfit is becoming a key styling approach, says Tordhag. “In the final quarter of 2025, brown outerwear is estimated to increase 47 per cent,” she adds, widespread among the mass market. Brown boots (+62 per cent) and brown lifestyle pants (+13 per cent) also lend themselves to a new monochromatic look, while fellow earthy tones like sage green and beige are set to rise due to their complimentary qualities, as seen from TG Botanical, Munthe and The Garment.
“While brown shades are predicted to peak in popularity during October, they are not exclusive to the autumn season,” Tordhag says. “Browns are expected to remain visible throughout the entire year, with growth anticipated even during the summer.”
Aquatic influence
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Aquatic and nautical themes are expected to soar among the womenswear consumer for AW25, from fashion to beauty. Already during the menswear shows, there were anchor talismans at Prada and lobster bag charms at Louis Vuitton. Womenswear will dive deeper, with aquamarine and turquoise colour palettes, mermaid-esque dresses and aquatic accents like blue sequins. Take Sabrina Carpenter in an aquamarine silk JW Anderson gown at the Grammys and several stars, from Mikey Madison to Cate Blanchett in mermaid-like, sequinned dresses at the Golden Globes.
For summer 2025, turquoise specifically is forecasted to increase by 8 per cent compared to the previous summer, while mermaid-inspired elements like sequins and fishtail maxi dresses are expected to grow by 20 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.
“The trend will be most prominent among the edgy, fashion-forward consumer, infused with a touch of fashion extravagance,” Tordhag says. “However, we can also expect to see these influences among mainstream consumers, playing with shades of blue and metallic colours alongside lustrous fabrics.”
Moto boho
The enduring boho trend will develop an edge in 2025, incorporating chunky leather handbags, biker boots, fringing and patchwork leather, as already spotted at Prada AW25 menswear. Search on Pinterest is up for “edgy boho outfits” (+40 per cent), “lace skirt outfit” (+360 per cent) and “moto boots outfit” (+445 per cent). Slouchy bags in shades of black and brown continue to rise in popularity, as searches for “slouchy bag” grow 345 per cent on the platform.
“With Chemena Kamali’s Chloé as the blueprint, boho in 2024 was pared back and sophisticated. In 2025, a grungier repackaging of boho may be expected following the cultural wave of Brat, which presented as more of an attitude than a micro-trend, toughening up the softer aesthetic,” EDITED’s Marci says.
For AW24, moto jackets took a backseat to collarless leather bombers, with intake in stores down 15 per cent year-on-year. However, biker boots remained an established trend as retailers leant into prominent hardware like buckles and O-rings. “Ruffles and frills also continue to be a key detail, with arrivals up 12 per cent across blouses and up 11 per cent across skirts year-on-year, which we can expect to see updated for AW25 through darker hues and vintage florals, styled with layered tees,” Marci says. Pinterest also predicts a “Rococo revival” for 2025, featuring frilly and flouncy fashion. In fact, search is up a staggering 5,465 per cent for “Rococo outfit”.
Broadly, the AW25 season is set to dish out some varied colour palettes, textures and silhouettes, which will span different eras and moods. In previous seasons, a singular historical period has typically emerged as the leader, whether Y2K or the ’90s. That’s starting to change, says Marci, as different houses borrow from different decades in a single season.
“Additionally, consumer tastes have evolved away from micro-trends to place a greater emphasis on developing their own personal style, so they will be looking to blend pieces inspired by various decades instead of emulating a distinct subculture or era through an outfit,” she says. “Already in pre-fall, Valentino has incorporated elements from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s in one collection, with peplums, paisley, fringed suede jackets, shift dresses and oversized sunglasses sitting alongside Victorian-inspired blouses. Designers will refine this multi-era approach in AW25.”
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