The Fall 2025 Runways Were All About Big Feminine Energy

Conversations throughout fashion month centered on ideas about femininity in fashion. This came up both in terms of the clothes on the runways as well as the collections we saw from female creative directors. "What does femininity mean today?" read the show notes at Prada as Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons set out to examine the archetypes of female dressing and poke holes in the notion of feminine perfection. The concept was explored at Miu Miu as well with a show titled Femininities that was "an evaluation of the feminine" as expressed through clothing—a theme that carried across the collections this season. Prada and stylist Lotta Volkova explored different notions of femininity throughout the show, including emblems such as brooches, stoles, and bullet bras.
For her debut collection at Givenchy, Sarah Burton paid homage to the atelier's origins through a distinctly female point of view, reinterpreting iconic silhouettes from the archives such as hourglass shapes and evening gowns. At Schiaparelli, too, the collection was centered on women, and Daniel Roseberry reimagined Old Hollywood glamour through a female lens. Overall, there was a sense of big feminine energy that was palpable. Ahead, see how this took shape in the fall 2025 collections, and shop key pieces that embody the feminine fashion we saw on the runways.
Slip Skirts
Lace-trimmed slip skirts are already a piece fashion insiders are gravitating toward now but are set to be even bigger this fall.
Top-Handle Bags
The essential bag silhouette to own in 2025? A top-handle bag, whether in a shrunken version or bigger tote style.
Car Coats
Single-breasted car coats are at once polished and practical. They harken back to '50s and '60s style yet also feel incredibly modern.
Pastels
The recent wave of minimalism has inspired neutral palettes. We're seeing a shift now, though, toward more color with an emphasis on soft pastel shades.
Sheer Tights
Sheer tights are the easy styling trick we saw throughout fashion month. Stylists especially opted for shades like beige, white, and cream.
Bows
Bows are set to come back with a vengeance. On the Givenchy runway, they appeared in dramatic skirt versions, but we are also seeing them appear on the market in subtler ways.
Skirt Suits
Celebrities including Kendall Jenner have already been embracing the skirt suit this year. With its presence on the runway, we expect the style to get even more popular.
Kristen Nichols is the Associate Director, Special Projects at Who What Wear where she oversees luxury, runway content, and wedding features, and covers fashion within the luxury market, runway reporting, shopping features, trends, and interviews with leading industry experts. Kristen has worked with brands including Prada, Chanel, and Tiffany & Co., and her style has been featured in publications including Vogue.com, Vogue France, WWD, and the CFDA. Kristen began her career at Rodarte, where she worked on styling, photo shoots, and runway shows, and at Allure, where she moved into print and digital editorial. She graduated from the University of Southern California, where she studied art history and business, and currently lives in New York.
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