Good morning from London. I’m Kay Barron.
Welcome to Style SOS,
where we solve the season’s biggest fashion dilemmas.
Today, I’m going to be showing you how to work
the fall/winter ’21 trends into your wardrobe now.
The first mood that we’re going to talk to is investment pieces,
and I am delighted that brands are still showing a lot of love
for the classics that never go out of fashion.
For example, Valentino
opened with a black tailored jacket and a white shirt
and continued to pay homage to it throughout the entire show.
Tailoring is key in this, and especially the blazer.
Personally, for me, I love a slightly boyish tailored jacket,
just because I’m quite small,
but the oversized silhouette continues to be really popular
for fall/winter ’21.
For example, this one by Jacquemus,
which is a much more relaxed fit.
That looser shape
actually looks great with a much narrower tailored pant.
I think if you wear it with a wider-leg trouser, like these,
it might get slightly overwhelming.
And again,
just with that white silk shirt underneath looks incredible.
For investment pieces, accessories are key.
Designers are continuing to make their own forever pieces.
For example, Saint Laurent,
who always design an incredibly classic handbag,
have got this new shape for the season,
and it’s actually quite nice to avoid going for black,
even though I know that is the safest option for a lot of people.
But actually, if you wear quite a lot of black,
the best thing to do is go for a different kind of neutral tone.
You may not think that green is a neutral,
but it’s something that actually will go with every single piece
that you have in your wardrobe,
from suiting to your classic denim
and your favorite pieces of knitwear.
And while it’s not revolutionary,
fall/winter ’21 is also about a really great coat.
I know that we have all spent most of the last year at home
and not really thinking about outerwear,
but now is the time to change that mindset.
We’ve seen some great trenches,
some oversized, full-length, kind of ‘manish’ coats,
but the one that I’m really excited to see the return of is the cape.
Again, Valentino dedicated their show pretty much to the cape,
and something like this, which is from JW Anderson,
again, in that classic camel
that really does work with every single skin tone.
You can throw that over any look, from day to evening.
It’s something that you'll continue to love in your wardrobe
for many, many seasons to come.
The second piece we’re going to talk about,
and it might be quite obvious
because we are talking about fall/winter ’21,
is knitwear,
but this isn’t knitwear as you know it,
this is much more statement pieces.
Kim Jones for his debut at Fendi this season cropped it,
and JW Anderson created the most amazing
sculptural shapes with it.
It’s a great place to play with color
and just have a bit of fun with it.
These are not the jumpers and the knitwear
that you have been sat at home in for the last year,
this is knitwear that makes more of a statement,
that you will want to take out and show off when we can.
The designers really have gone for it and had a lot of fun
with knitwear over the past few seasons.
I mean, Gucci has fun with everything.
I mean, who knew we would be coveting cardigans this season?
I am definitely coveting this,
and there’s also a long-line one from Saint Laurent
that has my name on it,
but with the cropped again,
I think that the best way to wear them
is with a pair of high-waisted jeans.
The flare is definitely back for fall/winter ’21 as well,
so it’s now back into a high waist, belted,
and just a long line straight to the floor.
But this season as well
there’s actually something quite sexy about knitwear,
which might sound like a contradiction, but it’s not,
and that is the knitted dress.
This is something that we’ve seen become incredibly popular
over the last few seasons,
because it’s actually super-flattering.
And actually, this one by Khaite is incredible.
It’s a stretched rib knit
and it does amazing things for your body,
and also has this incredibly flattering neckline.
I think now it’s time to start revealing some skin again.
I know that when you are maybe considering a fitted dress
you would probably go for something black,
Because you think it’s more flattering,
but actually, in this chocolate
it’s actually gorgeous against every skin tone,
so I would encourage you to try that, too.
While you may want to wear a fitted dress for evening,
it actually works incredibly well for day,
especially if you pair it with over-the-knee, second-skin boots,
which are huge this season
and will continue to be
a key investment piece
and a forever piece in your closet for time to come.
And the final mood for fall/winter ’21 is leather,
or, more specifically, everything black leather.
There are so many iterations of it
and you can play with it in any way that you feel comfortable.
You could go super-sexy, like Tom Ford did – of course he did:
that’s exactly what we want from Tom Ford;
you could do more of a punk-girl,
as Simone Rocha did, with biker jackets with tutus,
or you could go quite feminine and pretty
with leather and lace, as Gabriela Hearst did.
Or you could go for something in the middle,
which is what I actually prefer to do.
I do love the idea of black leather coming back;
I don’t feel like we’ve actually worn black leather for a while,
or you can mix them all together.
I do love the contrast of black leather and lace –
maybe in not such a pretty way,
but something that’ a lot more versatile,
especially when you’re playing with something like this,
which is actually quite a denser lace,
so it doesn’t feel as transparent.
Personally, with these culottes,
I do like to wear a boot that
basically disappears underneath them,
but of course they do look as good with a pair of heels.
For somebody who does feel more
in the Gabriela Hearst world,
which is more feminine, romantic,
then I do urge you to try the leather dress.
It’s something quite unexpected,
especially for evening, but it’s so beautiful
and I think you will feel like the coolest person in the room as well.
You would definitely not be able to get away from patent leather
for fall/winter ’21.
I do love it –
I love that there’s something quite brilliantly ’80s about it –
but the best way to play with it I think is in accessories,
especially in boots and in outerwear,
because actually you can just throw that over jeans
and just a simple knit
and, yeah, it feels a little bit ’80s,
but there’s something quite brilliant about that, too.
And finally, as a four for the price of three trend for fall/winter ’21
there is a mood of heritage,
and I think it’s really exciting
because it feels that it nods to craftsmanship,
it nods to the classics, but also it feels quite uniquely British.
I do love that there’s so much tweed
and Prince of Wales check around.
Chloé have done this amazingly this season,
and actually, as soon as you put this on,
it turns this look into a much more kind of
daytime-appropriate dressing,
and actually it also works with a statement knit,
so everything’s coming together.
In terms of accessories,
I think that, for day,
it’s always all about an oversized Row tote,
and that instantly creates a much more kind of like practical
and workable outfit.
I hope that answered your Style SOS
and thank you for watching.