Looks from the Fall/Winter 25 collections (from left) Akris, Valentino, Chanel, Saint Laurent, Prada, Etro, Miu Miu.
At the just concluded Fall/Winter 2025 runway shows, there was a freshly kindled frisson in the air.
Designer fashion has adapted a kind of onslaught mentality of late–there’s so much of it, all the time, and it’s viewable from every angle and vantage point with enough social media sleuthing. The oversaturation has, in turn, dampened fashion month’s impression. But something in the ether is changing–the vibe, as the internet says, is shifting.
This new spark occurred in large part due to the highly concentrated energy of the moment–glamorous appearances by Doechii, Chappell Roan, and The White Lotus cast members on the front row garnered more chatter than your usual celebrity arrivals–and a number of well-received designer debuts, like Sarah Burton’s at Givenchy and Haider Ackermann’s at Tom Ford. (Though we’re still waiting for Matthieu Blazy at Chanel and Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta). At Valentino, Alessandro Michele upended convention by staging his runway in a mock public restroom, which, even if kind of gross in premise, got people talking. Burberry’s Daniel Lee walked out what many are calling his best collection yet for the house–his buzz is building. And generally, there seemed to be more positive discourse than there has been in recent rounds. The Cut, for example, sent out an email headlined “Paris Fashion Week Is Getting Interesting Again.”
But nothing heard through the fashion grapevine means much if the clothes don’t deliver. For Fall, they mostly did, though there was still an overabundance of merchandise and relatively loose editing across the board. Even so, there was also an uptick in chicness, a skew towards relative wearability and pragmatism, and maybe a bit of nostalgia, too–these days, it’s tempting to look back at (and long for) stabler times. While Fall collections aren’t always easy to pull off in Miami, see our highlights, below, for whether you’ll be staying put in the Magic City or jetting off to cooler climes.
From left, looks from Miu Miu, Valentino, and Prada.
Miu Miu
Leave it to Miuccia Prada to go for simplicity–necessity, even–but still come up with something intriguing and layered. For Fall, she sought “the everyday,” and wound up with buzzy bullet bras (editors were all about them), fur sashes, and a touch of the desihabillé that was present in mainline Prada, too. It takes real sartorial genius to come up with a look such as this; it’s familiar, yet totally new in tandem–and, in Miu MiuPrada’s labyrinthine mine, it’s seductively simple indeed.
Valentino
Alessandro Michele has enjoyed a lot of media attention since landing at Valentino, where his maximalist maxim, first witnessed at Gucci, is going strong. The staging here was wild: a public bathroom, to transmit a (bit squirmy) feeling of intimacy. He makes beautiful pieces, though, even if his shows are… a lot. This dress is a winner, and a scene-stealer.
Prada
At Prada, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons did what they do best: mined a concept instead of tackling a literal theme. Their thinking this year applied to notions of feminine beauty in our current age, when surface impression and perfect aesthetics are a high societal priority. The designers toyed with what it all means to them, and how subverting our obsession with gloss might manifest in clothes. This look is my favorite; it’s “pretty,” but with attenuated colors and finishes, and a little bit of knowing deshabillé. The result is coolly smart.
From left, looks from Fendi, Loro Piana, and Etro.
Fendi
Speaking of nostalgia, Fendi hosted its 100th Anniversary show this season. If you buy just one thing from any label for Fall, we’d argue you should look to this Italian powerhouse. There’s always a subtle element of the offhand-cool and artsy-confident in Silvia Venturini Fendi’s work, and this collection, including this pleated leather dress, lovingly captured a century’s worth of her family’s style in what was ultimately a timeless capsule. Well done.
Loro Piana
As is the company’s way, Loro Piana has softly and quietly been building a more design-forward ‘runway’ collection over the past few seasons. Their basics and staples will always be top-of-mind (nothing better than a Loro Piana baseball cap), but if you’re a superfan, this full, loose, and luxe suit makes for a statement in… let’s call it emboldened subtlety.
Etro
Marco De Vincenzo really is a good fit at Etro, where color and maximalism reign immemorial (he’s a proven color specialist). This season, the house’s paisley motifs were supersized, and there was a fair amount of zoological symbolism, too. This look, with its pattern-on-pattern styling, has flair and fashion in spades.
From left, looks from Lanvin, Chanel, and Ferragamo.
Lanvin
While shown during the menswear circuit back in January, Peter Copping’s Lanvin debut also included womenswear. It was a great start–full of the ribbony, velvety, lushly-hued savoir-faire that the late Alber Elbaz rendered so intrinsic to Lanvin’s legacy. Copping can even make a black dress look elegant and sultry and fresh.
Chanel
Virginie Viard has departed Chanel, and Matthieu Blazy has not yet “arrived.” He’s currently working on his debut collection for the house–it’ll be seen later this year. But, Chanel is and always will be iconic, and for Fall, the maison’s studio worked with a ribbony theme to nice and failsafe effect. We love the abstract and painterly way the strings loosely form the house’s “CC” logo here.
Ferragamo
At Ferragamo, Maximilian Davis was influenced by the work and discipline of the late choreographer Pina Bausch, the late choreographer. The fluidity of this long-sleeved mini-dress, as mercurial as ice at midnight, evoked feelings of sophisticated, sultry dancing in the moonlight.
From left, looks from Saint Laurent and Akris.
Saint Laurent
Anthony Vaccarello is in a groove at Saint Laurent. For Fall, he pulled back a bit on literal inspiration and instead focused on (fabulous) hues, pure cuts and a hint of nineties-era styling. Here’s our favorite from that proposal: a strong shouldered, high-necked top with a sleek (and maybe even a little sexy) pencil skirt in the best color block of the entire season.
Akris
Albert Kriemler looked to blend day and night tenets in his Fall collection for Akris. He also played with the color blue–all manner of it. We liked this Yves Klein-recalling set, which can be easily de-styled and worn as standalone pieces, too. A nice impression.
