In the last quarter of 2026, the fashion world is already talking about the shop windows of a year from now. Industry publication FashionUnited has gathered the forecasts of various trend experts, trade fairs and colour authorities for the Fall/Winter 2027-28 season into a single report. The report’s headline puts the ideas of controlled audacity and individual agency front and centre. According to FashionUnited’s own note, the text was compiled with the help of artificial intelligence from more than ten trend articles previously published by the outlet and from the trend documents of the Milano Unica and Intertextile Shanghai fairs, and was then checked by an editor. The forecasts below therefore belong not to a single institution but to the experts named in the report.
The season’s big idea: controlled audacity
The phrase that gives the report its title comes from Ariane Bigot of the fashion team at Première Vision, the Paris fabric fair: Bigot defines the season as “controlled audacity”. In FashionUnited’s compilation, this idea takes shape around five themes: the individual’s power to make their own choices (agency), a return to roots and to the land, fashion becoming fashionable again, the rediscovery of skills on the verge of being forgotten, and performance hidden within the fabric.
According to the report, trend expert Christine Boland greets this mood with enthusiasm: “Fashion is becoming fashion again, and that is very exciting.” In other words, she says fashion is starting to become fashion again, and that this is very exciting. Trend analyst Jan Agelink, meanwhile, reads the period as an age of agency; for him, it is about control, influence and the right to shape one’s own world.
Three big narratives
FashionUnited brings the gathered forecasts together, in its own interpretation, into three main narratives:
- Reinterpreted familiarity: Heritage codes such as the blazer, the suit and tartan are making a comeback, but layered and personalised.
- Dramatic presence: Showmanship, volume and silhouettes that take up space.
- Soft armour: Pieces in which performance is hidden inside the material, combined with nature and tactile comfort.
The report also includes individual experts’ own themes. Boland’s forecasts are built on the individualisation of familiarity, a dramatic antidote, an unapologetic stance and a return to roots. Focusing on menswear, Edwin van den Hoek defines four directions: elegant, protective, introverted and creative. On the footwear side, the forecasts from AEC and Trendstop converge around uncompromising comfort, durability and repair, sensory design and reinterpreted nostalgia.
Colours: from Luminous Blue to Russet
On colour, the report draws on the joint work of trend forecasting agency WGSN and colour system Coloro. In April 2025, WGSN and Coloro named Luminous Blue (Coloro 125-28-38) the colour of the year for 2027. Alongside this blue, the key colours the agency announced for Fall/Winter 2027-28 include the reddish brown Russet, the soft Peaceful Lilac, the corn-yellow Maize and the dark Deep Green. Lingerie and fabric publication The Best of Intima also reports the same five colours as WGSN’s seasonal palette, describing Russet as a versatile neutral that adds warmth.
According to FashionUnited’s compilation, these are joined by earthy browns and copper, neutrals shifting towards greyish blue or grey-brown, purple and aubergine tones, and, as accent colours, Yves Klein blue and frog green. As WGSN’s Clare Smith also notes, consumers’ emotions play a decisive role in colour choices this season.
Fabric, silhouette and pattern
Wool takes the lead in materials: double-faced wools and felted worsteds stand out. Evening fabrics such as satin, crushed velvet, brocade, lace and lamé tweed are expected to move into daywear. Invisible performance is another important theme; waterproof and windproof membranes, two-way stretch fabrics and seamless heat-bonded padding fall into this group. Faux fur, teddy, bouclé and brushed wools represent the tactile side, while heritage jacquards, workwear influences, heavyweight denim and natural dyes are also on the list.
In womenswear, broad-shouldered, eighties-inspired upper bodies are balanced with slimmer trousers or skirts; sculptural pleats, funnel necks and oversized coats also stand out. In menswear, jackets, trousers and down pieces grow in size but stay light; layered necklines where a rollneck, shirt, waistcoat and jacket stack on top of one another draw attention. The report also notes that, led by Asian brands, skirts and very wide shorts are entering menswear. In patterns, there are checks mixed or distorted within the same piece, recoloured camouflage, folk-inspired prints and pixelated digital motifs.
The view from Turkey
A large share of the themes highlighted in the report — wool, denim, jacquard and technical fabrics — correspond to areas where Turkey’s textile and ready-to-wear industry is already strong. For local manufacturers and young designers, then, the season offers less a call to invent new materials than an opportunity to rethink familiar fabrics through hidden performance and refined craftsmanship. To see how far these forecasts translate to the runway, you can follow the season’s fashion weeks in our Fashion Week Calendar 2026–2027 guide.
Sources
- FashionUnited — Fall/Winter 2027-28 trend report
- The Best of Intima — WGSN’s key colours for Fall/Winter 2027-28
- WGSN — announcement of Luminous Blue as the 2027 colour of the year
Image: Bolts of woollen cloth lined up on shelves in the Harris Tweed warehouse (representative image) — Julian Paren, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
