I started wearing all black at the start of my fashion career. Mostly, it was because I didn’t have any money and it’s easier to make black look expensive. I’ve largely stuck to it, because I spent years building a black wardrobe and now I’m too far down the rabbit hole. But according to the Autumn/Winter 2025 shows, I’m now on-trend.
In Paris and Milan, black looks dominated many of the shows for AW25 — more so than the typical Autumn/Winter season. 198 looks (8 per cent of total looks) at Milan Fashion Week were entirely black, up 16 per cent on AW24, according to data from Tagwalk. While at Paris Fashion Week, 247 looks (8 per cent) were entirely black, up 17 per cent on AW24. It’s likely reflecting dark times, amid sociopolitical uncertainty worldwide. But as consumer spending slowly recovers and the luxury market stabilises, is all-black fashion truly going to inspire us to shop?
The majority of shows in Paris opened with one or more black looks, including each of the debuts at Tom Ford, Givenchy and Dries Van Noten, setting the tone for darker collections. In London, a sombre mood was felt. And even in Copenhagen, a fashion city known for its colourful collections, black looks represented a third of the CPHFW total on Vogue Runway, up from 25 per cent in AW24, according to Vogue Business calculations.
It’s not just the runway. Several outlets noted the dominance of black looks on the red carpet this awards season, especially the Baftas, where scores of stars wore black gowns. Often an arbiter of trends, Kylie Jenner wore black looks at most of her award ceremony appearances, alongside boyfriend Timothée Chalamet. At the Grammys, Miley Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo wore black leather dresses, while Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski opted for all-black lace.
From a psychological perspective, the resurgence of black in fashion may reflect collective mood shifts influenced by economic, social and political uncertainty, says fashion psychologist Carolyn Mair. And judging by the awards season acceptance speeches and AW25 fashion show notes, which addressed important issues like LGBTQ+ rights and immigration, creative people in all fields are feeling solemn about the state of the world today. “Historically, dark fashion has often emerged in response to challenging times, offering a sense of grounding, resilience and sophistication amid instability,” Mair adds. “Black is also linked to emotional depth and realism, which might resonate with consumers seeking authenticity in a world dominated by rapid change and digital saturation.”
In Milan, Prada opened its show with four black dresses and closed with two black coats, to reflect the dark times we are living in. “We are in a real black moment,” said Miuccia Prada backstage after the show. “These dresses are very today.” When asked what times in particular, she responded that she reads the newspapers.
“In the past year, collections have definitely shown more black or darker colours in general,” says Maud Pupato, buying director for luxury womenswear at Printemps. “The trend matches the general mood. During such a complex period, garments have to be easier to [interpret], trends have to be more accessible and more wearable. I also believe that a touch of darkness is necessary to honour the atmosphere.”
Marine Serre showed a largely black and red collection for AW25, opening and closing with black looks. “[For me] there’s something about [black] that feels unapologetic, even radical. It’s a colour that embodies a bold, uncompromising attitude. The minimalism of black allows for experimentation, pushing boundaries in a way that’s both striking and meaningful. These references connect to the way I approach fashion — radically, with a sense of clarity and defiance,” Serre says.
London-based designer Sinéad O’Dwyer is known for her neon, often contrasting colour palettes. But for AW25, she showed a much darker collection, featuring lots of black. It was inspired by the photography of O’Dwyer’s wife Ottilie Landmark, but there was also a commercial consideration. “I was thinking about what I needed in my wardrobe; more dark, easy-to-care for pieces,” O’Dwyer says.
Playing it safe
So it’s also a commercial play. Black is the most reliable colour when it comes to sell-through, particularly in the winter months, says Net-a-Porter fashion director Kay Barron. And amid continued economic challenges, brands are playing it safe.
“[Black] is a consistent bestseller in most categories,” says Lisa Aiken, executive fashion, beauty and lifestyle director across Condé Nast titles, formerly fashion and buying director of Net-a-Porter and Moda Operandi. “As a result, black is almost always offered as a colour option, and core collections often feature bestsellers in black, too. We see a quieter aesthetic winning with consumers right now, so dark and neutral palettes have been a consistent theme throughout AW25. It’s the idea of investing in timeless luxury.”
Retail intelligence firm EDITED is already seeing high street retailers embrace darker palettes for SS25 versus SS24. At Mango, women’s black apparel arrivals are up 20 per cent this season, while black womenswear is also up 12 per cent at Revolve and 27 per cent at Abercrombie Fitch, compared with this time last year. “For SS25, tops are the dominant black product and dresses continue to show the strongest growth. T-shirts remain essential, and we’re seeing a notable increase in black cardigans (arrivals up 18 per cent so far for SS25),” says Krista Corrigan, retail analyst at EDITED. Satin and lace are also key black fabric trends, she notes.
EDITED expects the popularity of darker tones to rise further as cultural trends lean towards gothic horror. “Looking ahead, upcoming releases like Wednesday 2, M3GAN 2.0 and Frankenstein in 2025 will reinforce black’s prominence in autumn assortments,” Corrigan adds.
But, as Aiken notes, it could be counterintuitive. In a market where consumers are pulling back spend, is another black sweater truly going to inspire them to buy?
Striking a balance
In 2021, consumers were all about dopamine dressing. With more disposable income post-lockdown, they were willing to take risks with fashion, buying into fun, colourful pieces, buyers agree. But once ‘real life’ recommenced and they began re-evaluating their fashion spending, the focus shifted to investment pieces and quiet luxury, which largely focused on black, dark colours and neutrals.
“Darker or neutral colours always have good sell-through, because they are versatile and can be worn everyday, in many ways,” says Printemps’s Pupato. “Brands have understood the context that today, every decision is rationalised and every purchase is strategic, at both levels: buyers and final customer.”
“Many consumers want to experiment with their style, but within boundaries they’re comfortable with,” says @DataButMakeItFashion’s Madé Lapuerta, who notes that navy is another important colour, with popularity in navy sweaters up 274 per cent this year. “If I love wearing just one colour, that’s fine, I can still keep my closet interesting and fresh.”
However, as fashion slowly stabilises after a slowdown, it’s important to inspire people to shop again, Aiken says. Brands need to consider the balance between commercial black pieces and more creative uses of colour to avoid homogenisation. At New York Fashion Week, while black wasn’t as prominent compared to the European fashion cities, Vogue Runway’s José Criales-Unzueta noted a lot of repetition between collections, as designers played it safe and shot for commerciality, creating fashion uniform pieces like black boxy blazers, navy coats and grey sweaters.
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But having invested in their black or neutral pieces during the quiet luxury boom, consumers are perhaps less likely to shell out for yet another black piece. And brands that offer exciting, colourful looks on the runway, in addition to more commercial colours in-store, may feel more compelling, says Aiken. “When there are economic pressures, and consumers pull back on purchases, you need to inspire and evoke an emotional reaction to the product to drive sales,” she continues. “After several seasons of quiet luxury, I believe we are reaching a point where creativity and originality will win with the consumer.”
It checks out. Miu Miu sales continue to surge, and while its black Beau bag, grey cardigan and navy polo shirts are heavy hitters, the brand’s shows are always colourful, with contrasting shades of pink, yellow and green styled together to inspire and delight the viewer. “As well as dark colours, we saw more embellishment and pops of colour in some collections this season, offering balance,” Pupato says. Even megabrands that sell a lot of leather goods and carryover styles in dark tones are smart to employ colour to offer newness. Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent, known for its LBDs and big-shouldered black jackets, opened the show with a series of jewel-toned and bright-coloured separates this season, before ending the show with nine voluminous skirted gowns in black and dark brown.
For buyers, it’s important to balance these kinds of inspirational, colourful pieces with safer-bet black clothes. “At Printemps, we sell a lot of ready-to-wear, it’s one of our biggest strengths and quite unique in Paris, so we also sell a lot of prints, fresh colours and creative pieces,” says Pupato. “We like to think and make selections as proposals to the customer to dare more while feeling safe, to be singular, to feel empowered by their style. It’s our promise to deliver custom-made fashion with the right dose of reassurance and creativity.”
Alyshea Wharton contributed research for this story.
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