Fall/Winter 2025-2026 fashion weeks wrapped up earlier this month, revealing a quiet season that feels like its building up to bigger and bolder ideas.
In a recent webinar called “Runway to Retail: Fall/Winter 2025,” Kendall Becker, Trendalytics fashion and beauty director, dissected the most important themes, colors, material and details seen on the runway.
Becker pointed out how F/W 25-26 fashion weeks didn’t produce the type of viral moments or spectacles they usually do. There were no ‘It’ items. Instead of focusing on exciting debuts, Becker said there were more conversations about creative directors departing fashion houses. Rather, newness came in the form of colors, materials and textures, as well as a blend of aesthetics that have been growing in women’s fashion over the past few seasons.
Here’s a closer look at the trend intelligence platform’s takeaways for the season.
Themes
Styling is taking on a bigger role and making fashion feel more personal for F/W 25-26. Designers stepped out of Covid with loud and shiny fashion. A couple of years later, they pulled back with elevated basics to create “wearable wardrobes.” Now Becker said fashion is entering a new stage that focuses on bringing an emotional element to staple dressing. “I think we’ve nicely swung into the middle,” she said.
This theme was evident in the way designers layered different materials, mixed prints, paired contrasting colors and deconstructed silhouettes. Other styling tricks included whimsical touches on simplified outfits such as oversized scarves, bag charms, layered belts, fur accessories and extravagant strands of pearls.
Depression era influences were strong in the European market—perhaps a dark nod to the current dark times, Becker said. The trend was two-fold, she added. On one hand, there were shift dresses and beaded details that felt flapper-esque. On the other hand, the rough wool and tweed fabrics and a somber color palette of grays and muddy browns brought a level of seriousness to women’s fashion. However, vintage accessories like brooches, colorful stocks and “cheeky hats” added touches of fun and romance to the theme.
Meanwhile, combination of grunge and bohemian is ushering in a witchy era. “A lot of people are being exposed to different forms of healing and religion… there’s a lot of mind-opening happening right now,” Becker said about the external factors behind the trend. In fashion, this is translating to a lot of leather and chiffon looks. Black leather, along with other dark moody hues like purple and navy, are bringing a mystical element to fashion.
Becker sees the aesthetic morphing into one that is more pirate-inspired for spring, especially as consumers add more bohemian items to the leather pieces they invest in during the fall. “We’re adding all our elements together. That’s really how we get these [style] evolutions,” she said.
Color
New York Fashion Week was brighter than usual for fall.
While Becker said designers went overboard with various shades of teal, yellow, red and purple, there were some standout colors including baby pink and baby blue. The pastel hues provided an alternative to the icy blue hues and bright pinks that have trended for several seasons. Becker said to consumer more muted and gray tones, so the colors serve as a “near neutral.”
Royal purple and bright magenta also proved to be a powerful color duo. “I wouldn’t necessarily say it was one was the biggest, but I did think that this was interesting, and one that we haven’t talked about,” she said of the happy and cheerful pairing. Becker added that the duo will transition well into spring.
Bordeaux red and orange-toned crimson are replacing cherry red, which Becker said is beginning to feel tired and overdone. Yellow-toned greens like chartreuse and citron continue to be the go-to hues in this color family. A lot if happening with chestnut brown as well, especially when it comes to color combinations. Becker said brown hue plays nicely with teal and baby blue and pink.
Other key neutrals are navy (especially paired with crimson), olive (for a pop of nostalgic color) and gray and black.
Fabrics and Prints
In addition to leather, Becker said tweed was a major fabric on the runway. While the Chanel signature is most saturated in the luxury market right now, she said there’s a “big opportunity” for designers to build out the trend and put their own spin on it.
Lace continues to be important, but it’s being used in ways that are less dainty and romantic compared to previous seasons. Instead, Becker sees designers shift toward darker hues like navy for lace. This brings a cooler and edgier vibe to it and ties lace back to the witchy aesthetic.
In the print world, alternative animal prints are booming. “There was a lot of like distortion, whether it was to a zebra or to a leopard print,” Becker said. Plaids were also prominent on the runway—from New York to Paris—and resonates with the season’s tougher themes.
Details
If one item was going to nab the award as the season’s must-have, it might be the skirt suit. “It was the star of the season,” Becker said, adding that designers are taking the set into a less sexy, less Y2K direction for F/W 25-26. Jackets were demure and covered up and pencil skirts added a ’80s look to silhouettes.
Fur was unmissable, but Becker called out how designers were using it as trim on unconventional pieces like bag charms, on collars and the hems of denim skirts.
Cinched waists introduced a new look to blazers, which have been worn boxy and oversized for years. Bodysuits were all over the runway, styled in a myriad of ways including worn exposed over leggings. Becker said layered knits is opening the opportunity to play with color and texture mixing, while practical canvas fabrics and waist-length jackets give workwear a fresh look.
In accessories, statement scarves are gaining traction. Becker said searches for faux fur scarves are up 18 percent compared to last year. Statement belts were impossible to overlook as well. The accessory is a key part of the boho revival. Colored tights and stockings, A-frame bags and flat workwear boots are also on the upswing, Becker reported.
