Something big is happening in New York Fashion Week street style. It's not a color trend setting a palette for the week. It's not the sudden rise of an item or styling everyone decided to wear, accidentally or intentionally, to the shows. (Though Marie Claire editors have clocked several guests in oversize leather jackets, sweaters tied over their coats, and wooly woven bonnets.) It's a return to dressing purely for ourselves.
Fashion week street style can skew audacious and over-the-top, with guests chasing a photo op in garments that pop online but are questionable for real life, offline. But all the hand-wringing and TikTok-pontificating over the meaning of "personal style" over the past year might have hit its mark this season. The fashion week crowd looks like they're shopping their own closets—wearing pieces that are luxurious with a noticeably more low-key attitude. On day one, guests tried late-winter layering with oversize leather jackets, contrasting knitwear, and full skirts; by day four, a sudden snowstorm had editors turning up in floor-length faux furs and sensible-yet-sleek ankle boots. (Drama, made practical.) Marie Claire editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike summarized it best, in an offhand observation to the team between shows: "Street style this season is very good, wearable looks."
Scroll on to see the 19 best street style moments at fashion week so far. The designer credits are impressive, but it's the sense of true personal style that makes these outfits worth bookmarking.
Some of the best street style moments at fashion week came with an expert sense of balance, like the way this guest contrasted a diaphanous white skirt with lug-sole boots and a leather jacket.
"Adding a pop of color" is basically a proverb in fashion. But it works, as Marie Claire editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike (right) and a friend showed early in the season. Here, they both incorporated flashes of red—the dominant color trend of the moment—into otherwise neutral outfits.
Spotted: the so-called "wrong shoe theory" in action. Here, a guest brings summertime flip-flop heels to her otherwise wintry outfit.
Count all the trends incorporated into Marie Claire fashion features editor Emma Childs' outfit—sheer! Mary Janes! Aviator jackets!—and note how she brings them seamlessly together.
Outside Proenza Schouler, model Paloma Elsesser skillfully mixed semi-sheer layers with demure shapes. (That skirt!)
Casual textures, polished execution. This guest gave her cozy crewneck sweater the fashion week treatment by tucking it asymmetrically into a vibrant circle skirt.
The new business casual, as seen at fashion week: a shirt and coordinating tie with an extra-oversize coat and colorblock penny loafers.
A literal twist on polished separates, in the form of a wrap top and sumptuous blue jacket.
Seventies suiting up top, wallpaper florals beneath, leather accessories all around. Three steps anyone can try (and put their own spin on).
On colder days, fashion insiders like Who What Wear editor Yusra Siddiqui let their longline coats do the heavy style lifting. Here, a leather trench is the focal point, set against black trousers and a plain white T-shirt.
Editor and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson paired her wintertime essentials (a mid-length peacoat, white top, and slouchy denim) with pops of neon green accessories.
Another instance of a coat serving as an outfit's main attraction: this shiny trench worn by Bloomingdale's fashion director Marissa Galante Frank.
Monochromatic dressing made personal, with a shearling-meets-leather jacket and a leather skirt. (Oh, and a coordinating Dior book tote.)
Jenny Walton's outfit for the Coach show combined a vibrant checked coat with a splash of a contrasting pattern. And the accessories? Heeled brogues and a ladylike top handle bag.
Faux fur on argyle on pleats—a prep-meets-punk combination from Day 4 of New York Fashion Week.
The sweater-tying trick strikes again, this time in a tonal gray-on-gray outfit with a Scandi girl aura.
Fashion week is still work, and Instagram executive Eva Chen showed exactly how to style a utility jacket for the shows.
An extra-oversize shearling coat made a wooly turtleneck and tweed skirt feel, dare I say, inspired.
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