Although the leaves may still be on the trees, we can sense the feeling of fall in the air, and winter is lurking just behind. Some of us may be working from home, but it’s still time to think about what to wear in the colder months as we try to stay comfortable while also looking good. This fall/winter season, womenswear is seeing a renewed emphasis on both comfort and practicality, color highlights to add vitality, a tailored look to express new femininity, as well as classic materials and rich detailing.
Lim Ji-yeon, director of the Samsung Fashion Institute, says, “This season, begun in the midst of the pandemic, emphasizes the values of stability and protection, and the style also highlights comfort wear through comfortable materials, silhouettes and stable colors,” adding, “The kind of women’s fashion that will be in the spotlight is the kind that expresses modern feminine beauty, which embraces both strength and tenderness, or one that re-interprets classic styles and details borrowed from history.”
Focus on comfort and practicality
This year’s fall/winter season is seeing a greater focus on “comfort wear,” with easy-to-wear materials and fits that give a sense of safety and stability amidst the current pandemic and related slowdown.
Garments like sweater dresses, cardigans, knit set-ups and cape coats that wrap around the body and keep it warm like an embrace but hang loose enough not to be restrictive are popular. Equally worthy of attention are practical items that are right for any time, place or occasion, like shackets and shirt-dresses that can be worn by themselves or under a jacket or coat.
Warm and soft cardigans, knit dresses and pants comes with increased practicality at KUHO. Slits on both sides and elastic waists enhance wearability and movability. LEBEIGE has also expanded its cashmere line to include dresses, pullovers, long cardigans and wide pants – all made of 100% light and soft cashmere.
Meanwhile, designers at kuho plus are looking at what is not only practical but also versatile, such as a shacket and a waist-belted dress that can turn into a coat.
Splashes of color adding vitality to a solid background
Stable neutral colors are in this season, like a warm, embracing brown, but to keep things interesting splashes and highlights of vivid blues, greens, and reds are used to bring vitality.
OIAUER has selected natural brown, beige, and ivory as the background colors upon which a soft blue is added as a highlight. It also offers a short jacket with wide pants set-up pair featuring various shades of brown with different color saturation, and also a half-double jacket and long skirt pair-up.
A collection of vibrant greens and blues on neutral color backgrounds has been released by kuho plus as well. To create a more cheerful atmosphere this fall, try a beige trench coat with a blue stripe T-shirt, or an ivory sweatshirt and khaki skirt combined with a green bucket bag.
Tailored look expresses new femininity
It is time to take a look at the new femininity that combines both strength and softness. Major luxury brands are incorporating feminine elements to tailored clothes for this season, such as Prada matching a belted jacket with fringed bottoms and Fendi’s coats with exaggerated sleeves and an hourglass silhouette.
Instead of a strict division between the genders and what they wear, what we are seeing here is a reinterpretation of the typical male tailored look from a feminine perspective and an expression of femininity that suits the modern context in a way that emphasizes a woman’s own inherent beauty.
KUHO’s top item this season is also a tailored jacket and pants set-up in blue that is slim fit to make the waist and leg lines stand out. A well-tailored black jacket and matching mid-length skirt also makes an eye-catching skirt suit.
8seconds brings powerful and feminine colors to suits. A double jacket with big exaggerated shoulders has been reborn soft in beige, while a pink-colored jacket with oversize shoulder pads and a straight silhouette has been paired with wide-fit slacks to create a strong tailored look.
Classic materials and rich detailing
Following on from the previous spring/summer season, a trend continues that shines a contemporary light on classic archetypes and aesthetics. Along with timeless materials such as tweeds, checks and leather, romantic details such as volume sleeves, ruffles, frills, and pleats, familiar to us from costume dramas and period films, have once again emerged as major design elements.
Different shapes, sizes, colors and tessellations of check and tweed patterns come to life in Beanpole Ladies’ jackets, shirts, dresses, and bucket hats. A timeless rough-textured brown tweed jacket gives a classic feel, while to create a more casual look, a jumper-type jacket that transforms the traditional tweed style can be matched with denim pants.
Meanwhile, OIAUER has put together a look for this season that neatly expresses feminine details such as colorful ruffles, puffs and gentle shirring. To give one example, a romantic atmosphere can easily be created by matching a black tweed jacket with a white ruffle collar blouse or adding volume sleeves as a detail to a striped T-shirt.
