The ‘big 4’ fashion weeks, wrapped: 8 things that caught our eye from New York, London, Milan and Paris, from Saint Laurent’s sheer fabrics to Nicolas Ghesquière’s FW24 finale at Louis Vuitton
New York, London, Milan and Paris: the big four fashion weeks just wrapped after a month of almost consecutive shows, and we were there to see it all. Style was front row at more than 100 shows across the four cities – and these are our editor’s picks of the most memorable moments and trends from the autumn/winter 2024-25 collection runways.
1. Screening rooms: video projections are now a fashion staple
From Miu Miu’s video created by artist Cécile B. Evans to Chanel’s giant screens depicting recreations of the boardwalk of Deauville, France – not to mention the brand’s surprise short starring none other than Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz – video projections were plentiful at the autumn/winter 2024 shows.
2. Fur real: real or fake, fur is back for good
3. Knot happening: fun with fibres and knitwear at Stella McCartney, JW Anderson and more
It might have been unsurprising to see plenty of knitwear ready for the autumn/winter season, but the best pieces were from brands that had fun playing with fibres. Knit tops were knotted and bundled around the upper torso at Rick Owens in Paris, while Jonathan Anderson knotted, folded and pleated knit dresses, treating them almost like sculptures for his JW Anderson imprint, unveiled in London. Back in the City of Light, Stella McCartney had the most fun with knits, offering pieces made by hand-knitting looping ropes in responsible alpaca yarn, in bright hues like cerulean.
4. New kids on the block: Diane Chiu and América González were everywhere
5. The measure of a man: Daniel Roseberry’s heel homage
Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry often uses his accessories to make statements about his role as a dressmaker. For the autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris, the designer introduced a sandal with a curved heel and leather straps looking like a tailor’s measuring tape. It was a cute homage to the work of the couturiers, seamstresses and the likes who work behind the scenes to make magic happen.
6. Sheer delight: Saint Laurent leads the risqué wave
7. Waisted: statement belts are still a thing
Statement belts have been a thing for a few seasons now, but for autumn/winter 2024 designers had a field day playing with buckles and the like. We loved the gold chain belts with the Chloé logo in cursive script introduced in Paris by Chemena Kamali for her debut at the French label; Jonathan Anderson’s maxi buckles cinching the waist of those cut-out dresses at Loewe; and Victoria Beckham’s wire hanger-inspired brooches that, while not technically belts, were pinned to the waists of fluid jersey dresses.
8. Nicolas Ghesquière’s 10th anniversary at Louis Vuitton
- The big trends for autumn/winter 2024-25? Fur is back, Stella McCartney and JW Anderson are having fun with fibre, bold belts rule at Chloé and Loewe, and brands from Valentino to Givenchy are in on the sheer-fabric trend
- Style’s editor sat front row at more than 100 shows during ‘fashion month’, spotting new top models Diane Chiu and América González, and a surprise short film starring Brad Pitt and Penélope Cruz