6 top womenswear trends for autumn/winter 2021 from Gucci, Dior, Fendi, Chanel and more luxury fashion brands – are the Roaring Twenties back?

Oct 25 , 2021

Women’s trends: logomania is out, patchwork, ski chic and disco glam are in as we enter a new, much-needed Roaring Twenties. Photo: Loewe

There are sequins at Prada, silver tops at Saint Laurent, gold jackets at Valentino, mesh and flesh at Salvatore Ferragamo – and more muted tones at Givenchy and Balmain

Marni, Chloé and Etro went for patchwork, Alessandro Michele remixed Tom Ford’s velvet suit, Off-White turned on to disco, and Thom Browne and Miu Miu went skiing

ÍFor all the day-to-day dominance of “Zoom tops” and tracksuit bottoms these past 18 months, fashion has survived the lockdowns. It’s been affected by the pandemic, though, that’s for sure.

There are clear echoes of what we’ve all just been through within the autumn/winter 2021 ready-to-wear collections soon arriving in stores. Our increasing need for comfort – to be physically comfortable and psychologically comforted – is reflected in big, plush, fluffy garments designed to provide a cocoon. But we’re also seeing optimism, a sense that the time will soon come when we’ll emerge from our cocoons and spread our wings like bright, beautiful butterflies.

Whether you’re still prone to huddling and snuggling up, or anxiously preparing to re-enter society in a burst of vivid colour and glitz, the new season’s collections have got you covered – or revealingly adorned, as the case may be.

Shimmer and shine

Icy cold and metallic – a seasonal look from Saint Laurent. Photo: Handout

In troubled times, we tend to invest in precious metals and stones. Perhaps that helps explain why gold, silver and gemstone effects had a strong presence on autumn/winter 2021 runways. The trend for glitzy embellishment and shiny metallics was evident in Burberry’s golden gowns (and trenches, of course), shimmering sequins at Prada and rhinestone cowgirls at Isabel Marant, in loud and proud gold jackets at Chanel and Valentino, girls in pearls at Jil Sander, and a stunning showing of silver mesh and flesh at Salvatore Ferragamo. At Saint Laurent, meanwhile, silver tops, metallic miniskirts and hot pants were coupled with luxe cardigan jackets, creating an “affluent establishment lady meets electroclash club kid” aesthetic. Solid gold.

Shimmering sequinned boots from Prada. Photo: Handout

Toned-down logos

V for Valentino’s op art patterning. Photo: Handout

Gucci’s collaborative mash-up with Balenciaga notwithstanding, the in-your-face logomania of recent years has mostly given way to more subtle branding that nevertheless remains easily recognisable. The volume knob has been turned down a tad, but clearly, rampant status symbolism hasn’t yet had its day. At Valentino we saw repeated “V”s used to create op art patterns, Chanel contrasted its signature black with interlinked “C” logos in poppy, candy colours, and Fendi and Givenchy rendered logos monochromatic to keep things dialled down. We also witnessed restrained logo repetition at Balmain – where the “BB” monogram barely whispered from coats and accessories – Versace and Bally.

Fendi leads the monochromatic logo trend. Photo: Handout