All you need to know about Autumn/Winter 20/21 fashion to stay ahead of the game

Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst

They say staying fashionable is hard work. Especially for modest fashion lovers. We say, it's not when you have us. In this blog I will be describing all the trends and styles you need to be aware of when planning your outfit for this autumn and winter season. I've scrolled through hundreds of images from gettyimages.co.uk and read articles various fashion articles during researching for this blog. I've done all the hard work so you can simply be the fashionable and fabulous you. 

Talking about autumn/winter fashion, can you believe it's October already? Where did summer go? It's like summer 2020 was also in quarantine. However as a modest fashion lover I'm not complaining, because now I can get my favourite knitwear and boots out and go hog on the layering. Yesterday someone asked me if I think life will ever get back to how it was, and I must admit I hope it doesn't. I'm not talking about going around wearing masks and abiding by social distance rules and dying from COVID-19. I want our freedom of movement to be back to what it was pre-pandemic. However there are somethings I believe we need to change, such as the mindless consumption of fast fashion, the abundant use of plastic including microplastic to the ocean. Fast fashion not only is bad for the environment but it is also unfair to the people who are making these clothes who often working under worst conditions and getting paid next to nothing. Someone somewhere is paying for our cheap fashion as nothing in this world is really dirt cheap.

OK let's get back to the topic at hand, Autumn/Winter 20/21 fashion or as our friends from the other side of the pond would say Fall/Winter 20/21. A/W20 fashion show was held in February 2020, just before the once in a lifetime event, the global lockdown, was taking place all around the world. Although the shows included what they usually do, ranging from some bizarre items to some weird and wonderful designs, in this blog I'm going to highlight those 'trends' that are relevant for a modern fashion conscious modest fashionista. By the way when I say trend, I don't mean it for something that is only for one season and that becomes garbage the next season. I am using the word trend mainly because it's just easiest to explain. Luckily as the customer awareness of the implication of fashion on the environment and to the life of those who make is increasing fashion houses and brands have started to shifted their design towards longevity than short term trends. As a result many of the collections have clothing that not only are timeless in aesthetics but they might be something you already have in your wardrobes. 

Examples of weird and wonderful from Gucci and Marine Serre A/W20 collection

Photo - www.vogue.com

Body-con style knit dress

Don't be put off by the body-con title, we're not necessarily only talking about tight-fitted, body-hugging dresses that show every single piece of cake we ever put in our mouths. However, we're also not talking about shapeless baggy dresses. The body-con knit dresses mostly seen in cashmere and wool, which were on the runways of the likes of Jil Sander, Balmain, Bottega Veneta are more of contoured dresses with long sleeves and often in maxi length. Although some are body hugging like the Balmain dress there were also those that were more body-shaping rather than body hugging, such as the Jil Sander dress shown below.

Knit dress Jil Sander AW 2020

Knit dress from Balmain AW 2020

Knit dress from Victoria Beckham AW 2020

Check, Check, and Check Mate

Checks have been a constant in the autumn winter fashion shows for quite a few number of years now. However this year they were seen in many different colours, including vibrant and bright yellows, orange and reds.

Miu Miu Autumn/Winter 20/21 Fashion show

Miu Miu Autumn Winter 20/21 Fashion week

Chloe Autumn/Winter 20/21 Fashion week

Slathered in Leather

This year's show was a leather galore... you name an item of outfit, be it trousers, skirts, vests, coats, bags, shoes and there was a leather version of it on one show or another. Also a popular look was to wear all leather outfit as was seen on Balmain collection seen below.

All over leather outfit from Balmain Autumn/Winter 20/21 runway

Ganni Autumn/Winter 20/21 Fashion week show

Prada Autumn/Winter 20/21 Fashion week

Statement Collars

At this time in the history as we are battling with COVID-19 to get on with our lives, zoom or other kind of video conferencing has become the norm. One benefit of this is that as we can have the meetings sitting in our lounge, wearing our old slippers and PJ bottoms, it has however become imperative to have the top part of our outfit to do the talking about our style. Enter the statement collars and/or sleeves. 

Statement collar from Chloe for Autumn/Winter 20/21

Autumn/Winter 20/21 womenswear from Chanel

Miu Miu Autumn/Winter 20/21 fashion show

Statement Sleeves

Just like the collars the sleeves were also jazzed up this year. From poofy to ruffled, anything that made an impact was seen in one or another show.

Gucci runway show for Autumn/Winter 20/21

Oversized sleeves from Nanushka durinf Autumn/Winter 20/21 fashion show

Statement sleeves on Balmain autumn.winter 20/21 fashion show

Fringe Benefits

If you are a fringe girl then this is your lucky year. You can wear fringes to your heart's content. From dresses to skirts to bags, fringes were seen everywhere. 

Jil Sander dress with fringes in Autum/Winter 20/21 fashion show

Fringe details on Dior Autumn/Winter 21 show

Prada shoes with fringe details on Autum/Winter 20/21 fashion week

Knitted Vests

Ladies, it is time to ditch the boyfriend shirts (let's face it you already pilfered them) and start stealing their Argyle sweater vests! If your partner doesn't have one your dad is sure to have this in his wardrobe. If not go and speak to your grandfather... Givenchy, Prada, Dior; if they all think there the it trend, then it's definitely worth going through the trunks. Don't worry it doesn't have to be Argyle, any knitted vest is in for this season.

Givenchy at Paris Fashion Week womenswear Autumn/Winter 20/21

Prada knitted vest in Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 20/21

ganni knitwear tunic at copenhagen fashion show autumn

Lady In Red

It's not only Chris De Burgh who loves a lady in red, it appears almost all the fashion houses do. Red was abundant during the womenswear shows, from dresses to coats. We all love a bit of a red.

A red dress in Prada Autumn/Winter 20/21 fashion show

Red was also prevalent at Balmain Autumn/Winter 20/21 show

Red dress from Givenchy at Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 20/21

Skirt Suit Combo

There was a lot of skirt and suite or jacket combination this year. Ranging from matching skirt and suit to contrasting in colour and clashing print. It's very difficult to get this look wrong, especially when worn with a statement belt. 

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Matching jacket and skirt by Dior at Autumn/Winter 20/21 Fashion Week

Jacket and skirt combination in Michael Kors Autumn/Winter 20/21 show

Jacket and skirt combination as seen on Prada Autumn/Winter 20/21 runway show

Belted jackets and coats

This is another look that you can get away with your existing wardrobe of jackets and coats. All you need is a nice belt to get the belted coats and jacket look that so many design houses were exhibiting on the runway. If you don't like any of your own belts you can again punch a hole in your partner's belt. I don't take any responsibility for his reaction though! That was also another beauty of this style that you can use a very basic belt of use an ornamented one to up the look. Although some of the jackets were more on boxy style, the main focus is on the belted look.

Belted jacket on Chloe runway at Parish Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 20/21

Belted coat as seen on Miu Miu womenswear show during Paris Fshion Week Autumn/Winter 20/21

Balmain belted jacket on Caroline Ribeiro in Paris Fashion Week Autum/Winter 20/21 show

Capes

Some of you will be happy to know that capes are back! From a throw on shawl style to the more of a batman style, they were seen in all different prints, colours and material. My personal favourite is the Balmain one shown below.

Cape from Balmain AW2020 collection 

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Givenchy at Autumn/Winter 20-21 Fashion Week

Jil Sandars from Autumn/Winter 20/21 Fashion week

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Michael Kors Autum/Winter 20/21 runway featuring cape