The five simple wardrobe tweaks that’ll make you instantly fashionable

As London Fashion Week draws to a close, Olivia Petter dishes her sartorial knowledge on small updates anyone can make to look totally on trend

Playful pins, big coats and new vibe sheer were all seen on the runway (PR)

Fashion trends are hard to define. Fickle, cyclical, and often based on nothing in particular, they signal a shift in sartorial and societal sensibilities. But, the good news is you don’t have to go all in to look bang up to date.

And with this season’s buzzword being mindful fashion, with an eye on buying only what you need, there are just a few easy tweaks you can make that will align yourself with some of the biggest 2024 looks.

1. Happy-go-lucky hosiery

If you have been paying attention you will have noticed that playful pins made several appearances on the front row and the catwalk during LFW.

Scarlet socks peeped out from underneath long pleated skirts at Chet Lo, while Sinead Gorey experimented with slashed variations for her coming-of-age-themed collection, pairing lime green tights over pink pairs, and stuffing cigarette packets into thigh-high argyle socks – there were bright blue argyle tights, too.

Elsewhere, knee-high sheer socks were spotted across the board, coming in white and green at Gorey, while both Emilia Wickstead and Huishan Zhang opted for black in their respective mid-century America and Hollywood darling-inspired collections. Cara Delevingne meanwhile played peek-a-boo with her loud plaid hosiery matched to her bomber at Burberry. 

Boots made for walking at Connor Ives’s show (Supplied)

2.  Over-the-knee boots as well as socks, please...

Stiletto knee-high boots stomped their way down several catwalks, with Mark Fast serving up silver, blue, lime green and black options, all styled in myriad forms. Worn over tights? Check. And with tracksuit bottoms tucked in? You bet. How about over bare legs? Oh yes.

Conner Ives offered his fair share of knee-high boots, too, with black and brown options featuring prominently in his swan-inspired collection that paid homage to the west London muses he counts as close friends, including model Ella Richards (granddaughter of Keith Richards) and beauty editor Tish Weinstock, both of whom walked in the show.

At KNWLS, there were countless options on display: with boots coming in blue, green and grey python patterns. All had pointed toes but a few white pairs had square heels for additional pizazz.

The most inventive way to wear your knee-high boots this season, though? Just ask Dilara Findikoglu, who created a corset-style top by lacing two black leather knee-high boots together in her subversive Sunday evening show that was one of the highlights of the season.

3. Go large or go home

Extra cover: wear a coat with fibeglass shoulder pads a la Edward Crutchley (Maja Smiejkowska/ Chris Yates Media)

Coats are always an investment, so fashion-proof your next buy by making it enormous with a generous wingspan. They were everywhere at Edward Crutchley, with fibreglass shoulder pads in wool coats so wide they almost knocked the heads off everyone on the front row. The designer was apparently influenced by Tudor sumptuary laws, the idea being that these coats empower the wearer to “take up space”. 

It was an instruction also observed at Erdem, who sought inspiration from a 1953 career-defining performance of Medea by Maria Callas, with themes of vengeance, pain and seduction being channelled by way of opera coats with exaggerated shawl collars and cropped jackets with exploding square cut collars. Space was also taken up by layers and layers of crunchy tulle at Molly Goddard, though often in the form of skirts and hemlines rather than coats.

4. Show up for sheer

So transparent: don a sheer maxi skirt from 16Arlington (Supplied)

The much-maligned naked dress trend underwent a transformation for this season. Sheer tops and frocks swarmed the runways last season, encouraging all of us to dare to bare it all. Thankfully, this season the trend has had a more demure upgrade, making it far more wearable for the average shopper.

Take Harris Reed, the British designer famed for creating Camille Charriere’s viral white lace naked wedding dress. This season he elevated the look further with his closing ensemble: a black, sheer gown with a tight-fitting bodice that was only slightly see-through and somewhat outdone by the outsized velvet fishtail skirt and matching circular hat.

Over at 16Arlington, there were sophisticated panelled maxi dresses with patches to cover our modesty (unlike previous collections which went sheer everywhere), with several dresses boasting slightly see-through bodices that were more of an allusion to the naked dress trend. At Goddard, this season’s offerings were layered up so that nothing was seen at all except for colour on colour – think crimson paired with lilac, and vermilion coupled with candyfloss pink.

5. Retro ‘techccessories’ 

Old-school cool is back – just look at Sinead Gorey’s offering (Sinead Gorey)

Finally, it was left to the accessories to do the talking, quite literally. Both Gorey and Conner Ives nodded to a relic of the past: the humble iPod Nano (yes, really). At the former, the humble tech item made its way onto hair clips and earrings complete with wired headphones, forming part of Gorey’s vision for a teenage rebellion aesthetic that peppered its way throughout the collection.

For Ives, the musical device was hand-held by Weinstock, whose iPod Nano also came complete with a pair of white wired headphones, matching the white sheer dress she wore for the show’s close. For those who are more traditional when it comes to standout accessories, Erdem set the pace with oversized gold floral brooches pinned onto several coats.

While world events may tell a different story, on the catwalk the future looks bright, playful, and, crucially, powerful, in all the best ways. But then fashion has always played a role of much-needed escapism when the times feel dark.

Olivia Petter was transported to shows in a Lexus RZ450E Takumi