Under the motto “Catch my Fall”, the German Fashion Institute (DMI) presented the fashion trends for the autumn/winter season 2024/25 during the Online Fashion Day. While spring fashion was still all about enjoyment, the latest trend seminar predicts a reset for the autumn/winter season. FashionUnited explains what’s behind the motto and has summarized the four fashion trends for the FW24/25 season.
“We were so looking forward to the time after the pandemic, and during the lockdown we kept imagining how nice it would be, and then that” – trend researcher Carl Tillessen used haunting words in his zeitgeist analyzes and thus the basis of the trend topics of the German Fashion Institute. The fashion phenomena that the trend team prophesied in the course of the lecture differ greatly in appearance, but they are “all an expression of a great nostalgia that has affected our entire society and fashion,” says Tillessen.
“Because we experience the present as troubled, we try to return to the light-heartedness we felt in the past. In retrospect, our previous life seems like paradise,” explains the trend expert. “A paradise we were evicted from for doing something wrong and now we wish nothing more than to have a second chance to go back to the starting line and start from scratch.”
Back to the basic ingredients of fashion
Even if the words sound pessimistic, the fashion designers take them as an opportunity to reflect on the essentials. The first of the two zeitgeist analyzes of this year’s Fashion Day is themed “How do we package people?” – in German, “How do we pack people?”. A question also asked by designer JW Anderson when he sent an underwear-clad model down the runway with a roll of fabric under her arm for his FW23/24 collection. The human body and fabric are the basic ingredients from which all fashion is created, explains Tillessen – and it is also the blank slate on which fashion can now reinvent itself again.
But it’s not just human packaging that’s being rethought for autumn/winter, gender roles are also being questioned. “Undeniably, our clothing, which for thousands of years has always been designed to accentuate the primary and secondary sexual characteristics of men and women, carries a not inconsiderable contributory role in the fact that we are always first perceived as man or woman, and only then as human beings ”, says the trend researcher, who explains that future generations do not want to continue living like this.
A wish that some designers are complying with. “Gender shift – equality instead of travesty” is the title of this second zeitgeist analysis. Fashion designers such as Anthony Vaccarello – whose Saint Laurent menswear and womenswear for autumn/winter 2023 were already cut from the same cloth – but also Alexander McQueen by designer Sarah Burton are cited here as examples of the increasing change.
“In order to change the entrenched ideas of women’s and men’s clothing, you first need a certain amount of travesty,” says Tillessen, because in many a trend of the season the woman is more masculine than the man in many places, or the Men more feminine than women. However, this is not about provocation or irritation, but about the self-evidence that is to be achieved in the future. “It’s about the fact that at some point it should be just as natural and normal for men to wear skirts as it is for us to be natural and normal for women to wear trousers, because not so long ago that too was a reason to Excitement,” says the trend expert at the end of his analysis, which leads into four defining trends for the coming autumn/winter season.
Four fashion trends for autumn/winter 2024/25
Bettina Hauff, DMI trend analyst for womenswear, and Winfried Rollmann, menswear expert, explain how the spirit of the times is emerging in fashion. Despite the changing gender roles, the four trend topics of the online lecture at Fashion Day will be considered separately.
Solitaire—The Allure of Radiant Darkness
The Solitaire theme focuses on tailoring for both men and women. It is, explains Bettina Hauff, the smartest and most elegant trend for autumn/winter 24/25, but it is not for people who want to blend in with the crowd. “The look shows the desire to shine and to outshine everything around you with your own shine,” emphasizes the trend expert.
The trend in womenswear can be strict and masculine, but also provocative. Blazers and long, dramatic, sometimes shiny coats with powerful shoulders and eye-catching cuts, leather pencil skirts or skirts with dramatic flounce or couture-like volume characterize the style. In terms of material, it can sparkle, have a metallic or satin finish and also be transparent. Colors are no less exciting, as the color palette of Solitaire is reminiscent of sparkling gems. “There is the blue of the sapphire, the green of the emerald, the violet of the amethyst, from the clear red of the ruby to the impenetrable black-red of the garnet,” says Hauf. “But also more black than ever. ”
For men, the look of the solitaire trend sets the special against the banal, the rebellious against the conformist, Winfried Rollmann introduces menswear. In times of precariousness, men also look for security in their wardrobe, according to the expert, which means that clothing with substance and value – also in the name of sustainability – is gaining in importance. Visually, this is expressed in long coats and the art of tailoring, similar to womenswear. In particular, double-breasted suits, all-black looks and loose ready-to-wear clothing for the next generation of suit wearers have the edge here. In terms of materials, fashion focuses on variety – from rebellious leather and shiny silk to velvet and fur, there is almost nothing that Solitaire does not have.
Feminintuition – The strength of poetic neutral
Comfort dressing is growing up, according to the Femintuition trend. The looks of this poetically neutral trend radiate calm, but are not intended to soothe, but rather to reflect the inner calm that is settling in.
According to Hauf, the look is cool in two senses: “The colors look as if they have been bathed in cool morning light, an unexpected cold snap and hoarfrost seem to be lying over the pastels.” In terms of shapes, the cosy, easy cuts of lockdown are now taking shape, whether as fitted knit dresses or in sensually draped dresses.
The highlight of this trend, however, are the fabrics, because there is a lot to explore here, from frosty metallic surfaces to loop and fringed yarns as a cozy alternative to fur and pearl-studded fringes. “Materials are supposed to warm our bodies, but no longer comfort our souls,” explains the trend analyst of women’s fashion fabrics.
Knitwear is becoming a key player in this topic for men – jackets and even trousers made of knitwear invite a new self-image in men’s wardrobes, explains Rollmann. Softness is combined with self-confidence and is reflected in soft silhouettes and influences on women’s fashion.
Coexistence—The Evolution of Natural Belongings
Coexistence is the trend for autumn/summer 2024/25 in which the genders, true to the aforementioned gender shift, are becoming even more blurred.
The colors were once too earthy, the materials too rough, the cuts too robust and the overall picture too unadorned, now womenswear uses exactly these elements of menswear and focuses on closeness to nature and an outdoor effect, according to the introductory words of Hauff. “In this context, outdoor no longer means high-tech. On the contrary, we no longer seek the maximum contrast between nature and culture with our clothing, but rather adapt to it”. So it’s no wonder that camouflage colors and earth tones are particularly important in this trend. Vintage leather, especially lambskin tanned by life – in aviator or classic style – skins and mossy knit structures as well as mohair looks are considered to be some of the most important materials of the coexistence theme. In addition, cargo trousers, blousons and sporty knee-length skirts should not be missing.
Outdoors remain a strong element for men, too, and similar to womenswear, it is vintage materials that give the coexistence trend character. Materials that show life and see wear and tear as something positive are of particular importance here. “Tonal looks in calm layers with authentic, high-quality materials have a relaxing effect in their calm power. It can be Shetland, leather, lambskin or mohair,” explains menswear expert Rollmann. As with women, cargo pants and shearling jackets are key pieces, but flannel lumberjack shirts, duffle coats and a touch of the Wild West also make an appearance here.
Quiet meets loud – the vigor of unexpected contrast
The crowning glory of the DMI Fashion Day is the trend theme “Quiet meets Loud”. The topic is dedicated to the fast pace of fashion and sets an example, because, according to the theory, in order to restore the longevity of clothing, not only more solid qualities are needed, but also a timeless design. According to trend analyst Bettina Hauff, it is time to return to the “virtues of 20th-century modernism, which has created almost systematic design classics” and the associated fashion classics.
Fashion is rediscovering the “discreet charm of the bourgeoisie”, but in womenswear, too, classic does not always mean classic. The styles brought back to life vary greatly, depending on the designer. From the “New Look” established by Christian Dior in 1947 to the sporty hoodie, there is a lot to discover visually in this trend for women.
“Quiet meets Loud not only characterizes the interplay of plain colors with striking constructivist motifs, but also the new color harmonies that combine neutrals or pastels into strong colours,” says Hauff, summarizing the color world of the theme. Visually, the trend breaks up classic looks with contemporary accents. Be it a hoodie with a trench coat with brogues, newly interpreted leggings with a knitted look and the “No Tourser” looks with fine knitted tops with tights or knitted panties that are already making waves on social media. In addition, of course, the interplay of loud and soft colors also plays a major role.
Turning everyday things into eye-catchers like Andy Warhol or Roy Lichtenstein once did, that’s what Quiet meets Luxury is all about, in the words of trend expert Rollmann. “Architectural clean colors and shapes speak of modernism and clarity,” he explains, but streetwear also continues to play an important role. Dynamic stripes bring color into play, casual sportiness and racing also influences the designers. The boxy, compact tailoring of modernism is also making a comeback in the world of menswear.