The September shows are always secretly a bit of a hoot. With freckles still speckling editors’ skin and the faint possibility of an afternoon spritz in the air, there are holiday tales to tell as well as investment pieces to discuss. The street style looks reflect this dichotomy.
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
Transitional jackets jostle for attention, while trophy bags get the fashion paps craning their cameras, but there’s still the odd color-pop friendship bracelet here, a souvenir bag charm there…
As the industry gets caught between the back-to-school mood (the promise of new knits! Shiny loafers!) and the desire for an everlasting summer of bubble skirts and boho tops, here are the serious yet ever-so-slightly frivolous looks to expect to see on the spring/summer 2025 show circuit, as dictated by the great and good at Copenhagen Fashion Week – as always, a quirky barometer of what’s to come.
Crisp classics
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
The tailored cohort do not want to be reminded that they dabbled in the rara skirt trend while lost in Worthy Farm’s fields. It’s strictly crisp cottons, sharp suiting and sensible leather goods in classic colorways from here on in. Tucked neatly in their bags, you’ll find Japanese notebooks and pencils, as per The Row’s quiet luxury diktat, while an Oura ring will be their guiding light as normal business resumes.
Back to basics
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
There’s nothing basic about dry-cleaning all your button-downs in preparation for the new season. September is all about the simplicity of a great shirt, the preppiness of a pair of polished loafers, and a pressed pair of darker wash jeans, as fashion recentres itself after a summer of bikini-ing round Hydra. Yes, there will still be the requisite ballet flats, which the industry remains charmed by, the flecks of bohemia as decreed by Chloé girls (the “hobo” bag is a good everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style to navigate show hopping), and the sportswear that bridges the gap between suiting and streetwear, but, by and large, there’s a freshening up across the board. Starched whites, after all, look wonderful with a tan.
New-old arm candy
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
We don’t need to tell you that scoring a Balenciaga City, Dior Colombus or Coach Soho for a snip of the original price is the ultimate fashion brag. Instead of new models, showgoers will be out It-bagging each other with relics from the past – better still, with toy charms clipped on to show that they and their arm candy are well-heeled travellers who have seen the sights and got the trinkets to prove it.
Return of the mac
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
Some attendees will be praying to the weather gods for inclement climes, so that they can take their new outerwear for a spin without sweating in their trenches. While we’ll have to wait for February’s show circuit to see the key coat trends come out to play, blazers, macs et al suit the school girlish mood when teamed with pleated skirts, ankle socks and flats. Pops of color are the secret to making these bookish looks feel anything but boring.
Fangirl mode
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
Autumn is when we see fashion fans double down on the brands they swear allegiance to, but were perhaps swayed from by a flirtatious summer fling. What better way to solidify your look, after weeks of lace-flecked slip dresses and three-striped sports shorts (OK, maybe wishful thinking in the UK) than buckling into that Chopova carabiner skirt (one for the craft girlies), zipping up a Martine Rose bomber or going top-to-toe The Row, as showgoers get back to what they know.
Mic-drop denim
Photo: Acielle / Style Du Monde
One of autumn’s concessions to the anything-goes summer season fading fast will be all-out denim – the fringed tinsel kind we have Undercover to thank for. Cool kids will be wearing their patchworked Comme jeans and Junya Watanabe failsafes, while others will tap into the artisan mood that’s aeons away from the Y2K look. It’s a fine line folks – no one wants to seem like they’re fresh off the Eras tour when on the front row.
Originally published in Vogue.co.uk
