Six key items you'll be wearing next season, from granny jackets to goddess dresses
The overriding message at London Fashion Week’s biggest shows on Saturday was that it’s time to forget about thinking in trends and instead focus on those key pieces which bring you wardrobe joy and feel genuinely useful.
There was choice galore on the catwalks, but these are the items which stood out, some of which you might already own.
The goddess dress
At Roksanda, dresses were slippery, slinky and just body-con enough. These pieces don’t cling to every curve but create a smooth and sensual silhouette. Draped and often caped, the goddess dress looks at once dramatic and insouciant with that sense of effortlessness which so many of us crave in our clothing.
They also work across a delicious palette of hues, from peach and silver to lemon and mauve. ‘I really wanted to capture that summer atmosphere with pastel shades and quite soft, feminine colours,’ the designer said backstage after the show. ‘I like to make people excited and propose something new.’
Cargo trousers
Have you shaken off fears that you may look like you’re off to an All Saints fancy dress party and indulged in pair of cargo trousers this season? If the answer is yes, then congratulations because those cargos will see you through at least another year. And if not, there’s time yet to try the trend (or even better, dig out the ones you had the first time around).
At JW Anderson, silky oversized cargos with giant pockets were styled with sleek feather-adorned tank tops and fisherman sandals. Whoever said they were the preserve of gen Z and their crop tops?
The granny jacket
Prim jackets were made to feel as comforting as an old cardigan by Molly Goddard, who made hers in the guise of traditional wool felted blankets trimmed with satin tape. ‘They just feel so familiar and comforting,’ Goddard noted. Amidst the tulle dresses which made her name, Goddard’s focus is now on pieces which elevate the everyday - these ‘granny jackets’ felt like just the thing to pair with a dress or jeans next season.
The blazer
The tailoring trend has gone mainstream this autumn but designers at London Fashion Week were still offering up new updates on the blazer. Some of the most compelling came from Roksanda who matched the architectural precision of her Barbican venue with jackets which looked beautifully modern. The standouts were a nipped-waist cream design and another in pale grey daubed in a faded lime colour (described as ‘perruche’ in the show notes) and pink.
Bomber jackets
The bomber jacket has been given a luxe upgrade which makes it more sophisticated than sporty. Once again, JW Anderson was in a mood to go oversized here and showed bombers which read as mini dresses, nodding to the current vogue for eschewing bottom halves entirely (see Emma Corrin in Miu Miu at Venice Film Festival earlier this month).
Never fear though, the upscale bomber will look great with a slip skirt or tailored trousers, no leg baring required.
The petticoat skirt
‘I got obsessed with turning everything inside out and looking at those handmade garments you find in vintage shops where you can see the hand-stitching and personality within them,’ explained Molly Goddard of her collection, which began with a rifle through the National Theatre’s costume hire facility, where she ‘looked at everything from the Regency Period onwards.’
There was nothing period about the results though, which took these historical references and rendered them polished yet pretty, like the elegant midi-length skirts with cascades of ruffles bursting out from underneath an a-line top layer. How to wear them? ‘I always wear trainers, I like to make the shoe a bit sporty,’ advised Goddard.