NYFW AW20 came to a close earlier this month.
It may have rained for almost the entirety of fashion week (or so it felt like), but that didn’t put a damper on the season. Once again New York Fashion week brought together an amazing roster of designers and some of the most beautiful winter collections.
Maybe you’ve been following along with the shows this whole time —or maybe you’ve missed them — either way, chances are you could use a recap!
Below I’ve put together an Illustrated trend report highlighting some of this season’s best and boldest trends right off the New York Fashion Week Runways.
Ready? Here we go!
1- Pleats
In the past few seasons we’ve already been seeing an influx of pleats on the retail floor. This season’s collections continued to evolve the trend through new applications, combinations and placements. Some of the looks illustrated below show pleats being incorporated as a sleeve cuff, as an all over pleated slit skirt, and asymmetrically pieced into a structured silhouette.
(The ‘Pleats’ category in this report overlaps with some of the other categories and you’ll see other pleat looks further down the page too!)
Pleated Sleeve Detail - Alicia Perrillo AW20
Pleated Inserts - Yiyi Kwok AW20
All over Pleated Skirt - Gigi Wang AW20
Pleated Skirt Layer- Blancore AW20
2- Sleeve Drama
Shaped or draped openings, and sequined or feathered shoulders are just some of the ways designers brought the focus to sleeves this season. We saw many high volume shapes and eye-catching embellishments. The seasons sleeve motto: the bolder, the better.
Sculpted Sleeve - JustinXX AW20
Loose Kimono sleeve with extra length - Samantha Darryanto
Blancore AW- 20 High Drama Sleeve
Volume Sleeve - The Arlo Studio
Blancore AW20 - Drama Sleeve
3- Pants/Skirt Fusion
Remember back in the early 2000’s when it was cool to wear a skirt over your pants? Well guess what: It’s cool again—but maybe not in the way you remember. The NY AW20 collections brought us a fun variation of RTW and even Evening looks that gave the appearance of long skirts being layered over pants. I use the word ‘appearance’ because many of the ‘skirted’ looks were not actually skirts but half skirts, or dresses, or in some cases long trails hanging down from the top back of the garment to appear like a skirt from the front. This is adding another level to the ongoing layering trend.
Pleated Slit Skirt over Pants - Blancore AW20
Sheer Special Occasion Pants Romper with side & back skirt all-in-one - Randi Rahm AW20
High Slit Asymmetrical Dress-Over-Leggings look - Rene Tyler AW20
Tonal Layered Bottom Look - Betti Kim & Bo Zhao AW20
4- Blazer Upgrade
The staple blazer just got an upgrade. Unconventional shaping, piecing, fabrics, details, and trims gave a refreshing update to the classic jacket look. Traditional menswear suiting fabrics and textures were designer favorites for this season.
Asymmetrical Blazer with pleated inserts - Christy + You AW20
Oversized Blazer Dress - Chun Han AW20 - Photographer: Louie Herman
Plaid Blazer with Zip Front Closure - Ruojin Wang AW20
The Arlo Studio AW20 - Double Front Blazer
Shun Oyama Tokyo AW20 - Shaped Jacket
Christy + You AW20 Pieced Blazer
5- Feathered Opulence
Feathers took center stage this season, adding an airy layer of volume to each piece they graced. They appeared on a variety of ‘all over’ looks such as: jackets, skirts, dresses—and also as trims and small add on’s (like the shoulder details in the Rene Tyler look below).
Feathered Jacket over Leather Jumpsuit, and Large-Sequined blouse - Manishii AW20
Full Feathered Skirt Bustier Dress - Matt Sarafa AW20
Randi Rahm AW20
Rene Tyler AW20
6- Fringe
Fringe returned in a more blended, streamlined manner. The chunky sweater below is just one of the subtle ways fringe was incorporated. It was also seen on pants, dresses, Jackets and accessories. The Jewelry collection Nadine by Nadia featured fringed and tasseled pieces.
Fringe Chunky Sweater - The Arlo Studio AW20
Fringe trimmed pants with Sculpted Top - Na Young AW20
Leather Wrapped Fringe Necklace - Nadine by Nadia AW20
*also see Pants/Skirt Fusion Trend
Alicia Perrillo - AW20
7- Shine & Iridescence
Sparkle, Shine and Iridescent Fabrics, Trims, and Stones upped the ‘Glam’ level and gave us something to reflect on, literally.
Coated fabrics, Metallic Prints, Silks and Satins, Chrome, and even Iridescent fabrics were used in a range of looks.
Over sized Sequins, Pearls, Crystals and Diamonds were mixed into appliques as well as accessories.
Iridescent and Sheer Pleats combination - Bing Yao Cheng - AW20
Iridescent Hood, Belts and Inserts - MVR - AW20
Glam Shades paired with a Chrome look - Stevie Boi AW20
Oversized Sequins, Pencil Skirt and Camo Jacket - 2Madison Avenue AW20
Alicia Perrillo AW20
8- Piecing & Structured
Carefully cut panels, and mixed fabric inserts were employed to create tailored sculpted structures that in some cases defied gravity, and in others created sectioned fabric and print combinations.
Structured tailoring - Shuai Zheng AW 20
Paneling and Inserts - Shun Oyama Tokyo AW20
9- Puffer Elements
A puffer makeover has been long overdue. This season’s Designers worked Puffer elements into gowns, dresses, skirts, and other unexpected silhouettes. The Chun Han and Blancore collections both had many creative and beautiful puffer reworks. Some of my favorites were the Puffer Maxi skirt by Blancore and the black Puffer Gown by Chun Han
Long Textured Pea coat with Puffer fusion - Chun Han AW20
Mixed Media Puffer - Blancore AW20
Puffer Dress - Chun Han AW20 - Photographer: Louie Herman *
Oversized Printed Puffer - The Arlo Studio AW20
Puffer with Sleeve Drama - Blancore AW20
Mixed Media Puffer- Blancore AW20
Puffer Skirt with Puffer Piecing - Blancore AW20
10- Belted, Trenches, and Cargo
I grouped these three together because they overlap many other trends, and these details are often combined with other more prominent trends. These made their appearance in some form in at least every single show. The illustrations below are of a few looks that stood out to me.
Belted: Belted Silhouettes, Defined waistlines, Belts and Buckled trims (also on sleeve cuffs or pants legs)
Trench Details: Trench coats, Notched collars, Oversized Coats, Belted waists, Gunflaps, Vents, and Epaulets
Cargo: Cargo Pocketing detail on apparel and accessories, Clean design, Metal hardware
Belted Trench Coat - Mayan the Label AW20
Belted White Black Look - Yiting Lee AW20
Canvas Cargo Bag - Poli + Jo AW20
Belted Cargo Top, with pleated skirt - The Arlo Studio AW20
11- Ruffles & Tiers
Last but not least: Ruffles are back once again! (Did they ever really leave?) This season’s ruffles were greater in number and ruffled tiers were worked into jackets and skirts.
Tiered Ruffle Gown - Randi Rahm AW20
Tiered Ruffles, Feather Neckline - Bettie Kim & Bo Zhao AW20
Photographer: Louie Herman *
...That’s a wrap! There you have my top 11 Trends from the NYFW AW2020 shows!
Which Trend are you the most excited for? Which was your least favorite? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!