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The Surprising Trend from Fashion Month That We Can’t Wait to Wear

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Fashion Week
fall 2019 biggest runway trend
Photo: Getty
Each fashion month, along with innovative designs, we inevitably see references to past eras, be that an ’80s influence at Saint Laurent with an exaggerated shoulder, or a nod to the ’70s from Natacha Ramsay-Levi at Chloé (immediately adding that shimmering wrap dress to our online shopping carts). Because of the rate at which designers must churn out new ideas for seasonal collections—not to mention resort and pre-spring and fall—it seems only natural that trends are doomed to repeat themselves.

The fall/winter ’19 season brought with it more wearable elements to the collections that weren’t apparent in previous seasons. Case in point: Even Marc Jacobs showed a muted sweater and A-line skirt on his typically ostentatious runway. Is this a nod to the simplistic nature of the normcore era? We decided to track the overall nature of trends in the fall collections of past years to examine their cyclical nature.

 

2013: Normcore

Our Pinterest feeds—because this was 2013 and that was what we used—were clouded with grey, white, and navy. Phoebe Philo’s minimal Celine look reigned supreme. In an era that championed simple separates, we were pairing oversize sweaters with muted trousers and, of course, our Stan Smiths. The Birkenstock actually became a fashionable shoe, and sky-high stiletto heels were kicked into the depths of our closets. The athleisure movement had begun, and it seemed comfort was in style.

2016: Normcore Backlash

Alessandro Michele had recently been appointed as creative director at Gucci, taking the fashion world by storm with sequined ribbon appliques and layered accessories. Demna Gvasalia was deconstructing traditional garments, convincing us we needed layered off-the-shoulder jackets and dresses with clashing prints. In this era, we also saw the fashion blogger become a staple at fashion week, which led to a new peacocking nature of the street-style set. All of a sudden, it was fashionable to try again.

2019: Wearable Fashion

Newer designers like Gabriela Hearst, Margaret Howell, and Ryan Roche are challenging the status quo and creating items that are still fashion-forward but wearable at the same time. In Paris we saw Jacquemus shed his Riviera-ready party wear and opt for muted separates. Victoria Beckham showed us how the modern woman can dress for the office without sacrificing style in London. Even Hedi Slimane has ditched his party-girl aesthetic at Celine and returned to the label’s archival simplicity. This season we learned that it is no longer cool to layer every trend on top of one another, but instead to frame one unique piece with the rest of your ensemble. Rather than returning to the full-blown normcore look, designers are reinventing this idea of simplicity, just with the volume amped up a tad.

Shop some of our favorite wearable-yet-fashion-forward looks for the coming season:
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