These 8 Fall 2024 Fashion Trends Put A Twist On Your Fave Aesthetics

No matter how long you’ve been out of the academe, fall’s back-to-school energy is practically permission — nay, an invitation — for a wardrobe rehaul. Luckily, this year, there’s a crop of stylish fashion trends already trickling down from runways to celebs that chicly play up your best interests.

The style MO of the season is all about wearing your hobbies on your sleeve. Literally. Consider yourself an avid reader? Run with the scholarly aesthetic beloved by Jenna Ortega and Billie Eilish. (Think: demure, preppy Ivy League ’fits with bookish accessories.) Or maybe you have an equestrian streak? Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner made the “horse girl” moniker cool in riding gear.

Another option: personifying your feral attitude. While autumn is typically the time to bust out your neutrals, the 2024 season is calling on everyone to stand out. Leopard lives on as the pattern du jour, and the fashion cadre is piling on the spots for a roaring spectacle. Since there’s a dominant pattern, it’s fitting that there’s also an It hue. Behold, brat green’s transition to fall — this time, in cooler, moodier tones.

Below, you’ll find these and more fall fashion trends you need to be shopping ASAP to level up your dressing game. Most of them will actually revamp some of the aesthetics you already know and love.

Even the fashion industry is leaning into back-to-school nostalgia. Unlike prep school stylings of yore, popularized by Blair Waldorf and her OTT teenage accessories, this season, the bookworm aesthetic gets a grown-up academia makeover with longer hemlines, structured layers, and expert texture pairings. Just look to the Fall/Winter 2024 runways for inspiration. At Tommy Hilfiger, corduroy blazers topped pleated midis, while at Undercover, luxe knits matched tinsel fringe skirts.

For a more flamboyant take on the trend, play with patterns and shapes à la Eilish and Cynthia Erivo. The former worked in round edges (see: her Peter Pan collar and curved suit), while the latter piled on the prints.

When it comes to this look, accessories will be your pièce de résistance — consider chunky Mary Janes or T-strap options. Or, better yet, go the eyeglasses route, as seen on celebs and the runways of Prada and Moschino.

The bow frenzy continues. On the runways, Sandy Liang and Simone Rocha are still leading the beribboned charge, but designers like Prada, Vivetta, and Wiederhoeft have also taken up the coquette style. Even Coach’s new “Unlock Your Courage” campaign features several bow-clad options. Unlike massive statement knots of past seasons, this season’s versions are returning to their present-topping roots: They’re twee, dainty, and crafted from satin.

Bows don’t all have to be on one item, either. The unofficial rule goes: The more beribboned, the chicer. Both Ariana Grande and Zendaya incorporated the delicate element in their dresses and hair accouterments. Girlhood never looked so fun.

Time warp incoming: The ’70s-era hippie aesthetic is back — particularly the fashions of Stevie Nicks, Penny Lane from Almost Famous, and Daisy Jones and the Six — lined with billowy sleeves, tiered ruffles, and aqueous fabrics. The contemporary touch, however, is frillier, furrier, and much, much sheerer.

Phillip Lim, Gabriela Hearst, and Ann Demeulemeester went the outerwear route with jackets lined with frizzy, furry-trimmed elements. Meanwhile, Chloé sent models sashaying down runways in the flowiest, ruffliest, nip-baring diaphanous looks (with cutouts to boot). It’s essentially the Chloé girl comeback, thanks to the brand’s new creative director, Chemena Kamali.

In practical terms, the aesthetic can be built with ruffly peasant blouses, corduroy flares, clogs, and tinted aviators. For a transitional investment piece, consider a free-spirited coat that’ll carry you through winter — no musical talent necessary.

Thanks to Charli XCX and her chart-topping album, “brat summer” painted wardrobes (and nails) apple green. Despite the season being officially over, the brat-itude continues well into the fall. Per the runways of Gucci, Dries Van Noten, Ferragamo, and Fendi, green is (still) the season’s It hue — albeit slightly less fluorescent. Choose cooler options from the color wheel like mint, olive, eucalyptus, and chartreuse.

The easiest way to incorporate the trend is to pick up a statement piece — perhaps a bag or a jacket — and add it to an otherwise neutral ensemble. Or, you could fully lean into the hue and go green-on-green like Nicola Coughlan and Kerry Washington. Now, that’s brat.

If you’ve never wanted to be called a horse girl, this Jennifer Lopez-approved trend just might change your mind. Congruent to the rise of “quiet luxury” fashion came the acclaim of “old money” hobbies, equestrianism included. While both Hermès and Stella McCartney have been mounting equine-inspired runways for a hot minute (McCartney turned last year’s catwalk into an occupied stable), the likes of Dior, Loewe, Versace, and Schiaparelli followed suit with elegant riding-inspired pieces on their Fall/Winter 2024 runways.

If you can’t commit to looking like you just hit the stables, consider a semi-cinched structured jacket as a topper, like J.Lo, in a thicker, more neutral material. Or saddle up in knee-high riding boots to lend any outfit that “old money” spin — even Jenner’s functional leather Bermuda shorts. As for the color palette, shades of brown, gray, black, and khaki (aka sophisticated neutrals) will tie together the trend.

Per the season’s runways, leopard is officially a neutral. The feline iconography already made rumblings early this year via the mob wife aesthetic, but it coated even more Fall/Winter 2024 shows, including Alaïa, Dior, and Marni’s. Unlike spring, when the pattern was introduced in smaller servings, fall’s leopard styles are nearly head-to-toe — especially in the form of coats.

Dip your toe into the trend à la Jennifer Lawrence, who toned down her catty proclivities by pairing her coat with wardrobe staples (see: a white tank, jeans, and nondescript black accessories). Lupita Nyong’o, meanwhile, took it to another level with a slinky slip dress and matching jacket.

If you really wanna go OTT, do it like Rihanna. Her dress, coat, and bag were all purring spots, and she even matched her leopard print undies to her couch in a recent Savage x Fenty campaign.

CEO-core has been buzzy for a hot minute, with stars like Blake Lively and Selena Gomez dressing in suits. But if last year’s suiting leaned more ’80s with boxy, padded shoulders, this season’s boardroom dressing is much more playful and feminine.

Take a cue from the stars for how to style the trend. Zendaya wore a gray blazer (sans pants) with a printed necktie and a polka dot pocket square. Pantsuits can also be made playful, of course. Stephanie Hsu, for example, added a massive ribbon to her set instead of a bowtie.

Runways were sprinkled with exaggerated details. Nina Ricci, Moschino, and Schiaparelli debuted elongated bows, whimsical neckties, and more polka dots. Accessories can be fun, too — try platform loafers or even a cutesy croc-leather journal. Office attire need not be too serious.

Barbiemania may have waned, but dressing like a doll — Bratz, Polly Pocket, or otherwise — is still going strong. Unlike its pink-clad predecessor, however, this take on dressing is equal parts whimsical and daring. Hemlines? Teeny. Silhouettes? Exaggerated. Details? Playful.

Whether you’re leaning toward drop-waist bubble minis (like at Coperni and Marine Serre’s shows) or empire-waist options (à la David Koma and Cecilie Bahnsen), the style is all about the A-line billow — the poofier, the better.

For styling inspiration, look to the face of the trend, the coquette queen herself, Sabrina Carpenter, who loves a good leg-flaunting look with lace-up heels. Accessorize as though you came in a fashion-forward box set with pointed stilettos and square bags — it’s the best form of cosplay.