TikTok Trend Alert: How to get trans-seasonal autumn style right
The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Trans-Seasonal Autumn Style
Step Up Your Style Game This Autumn with tips from TikTok’s fashion community
Autumn is the ultimate season for trans-seasonal dressing. It's a season that’s very easy to love due to its lack of clear boundaries. Instead of feeling obliged to re-stock your closet, why not get creative with what you already have? Mix and match summer/winter pieces and experiment with different colours, shapes and styles. This will add some freshness to your wardrobe while avoiding unnecessary expenditure!
So let us give you a TikTok-inspired guide on how to add some flair to your wardrobe as we get ready to show our love for African fashion this season.
For the Not an Outfit Repeater, but an Outfit Re-Interpreter
Autumn is the perfect season for experimenting with your wardrobe. Combining summer pieces with traditional autumn outfits can create stylish new ensembles.
The idea of not wearing the same outfit twice is mainly a Western mindset. Our current obsession with 'newness' in the era of internet influencers has somewhat deceived us into believing that an iconic look is only iconic once and can only be achieved by wearing newly acquired clothing. But what we fail to realise is that it's up to us to show appreciation for our own wardrobes and make use of what we already have. Fast fashion companies thrive off the allure of novelty, but if we're looking towards a more sustainable future we need to buy less and make more use out of our existing pieces.
The Art of Layering
Autumn is an excellent opportunity to have fun with your wardrobe. Layering is a must and leather jackets; vibrant knits and statement hats are key pieces for combatting chilly weather.
Layering has the power to alter the entire register of an ensemble, transforming high fashion into something much more utilitarian and vice versa. Exaggerated layering was king at this year’s Copenhagen Fashion Week, with particular emphasis being placed on leather outerwear, colourful knits, and playful headwear moments to combat the cold winter conditions. Neckless quilted jackets created light, amorphous silhouettes and attendees maintained a sense of occasion by pairing wide-legged denims and cords with heels.
Layering is a great example of the power of paradox. French-South African stylist, fashion journalist and Tik Tok creator Gabrielle Valda Colas believes it can add visual depth and dimension to any look. Every garment contributes to the composition, even if it means pairing socks with Birkenstocks. Colas lauds Scandinavian and Korean layering trends for their unique interpretations of the art, and Y2K nostalgia for re-introducing skirts worn over pants. Such an adaptable approach fits perfectly in autumn and is an all-season solution for staying stylishly creative.
Creps on the Red Carpet
Autumn is the perfect time to get creative with your outfit. Opt for some lightweight sneakers and a pair of low-key white socks - the perfect finishing touch for your fun, multifaceted look.
Bella Hadid’s off-duty street style may have brought the Adidas Sambas back, but nothing quite rivals how eloquently Grace Wales Bonner’s collaboration with the sportswear brand used this specific shoe to bridge the gap between the echelons of high fashion and street style. Wales Bonner, whose work often pays homage to Black culture and style history, interpreted Adidas’s second best-selling sneaker through a 70’s inspired colour palette. Worn with a subtle pair of white socks, a pair of cool, lightweight sneakers such as these are a year-round flex; the perfect finish to your playfully layered ensemble.
The Denim Midi
Autumn is the perfect time to showcase your fashion sense. Denim serves as the staple of many wardrobes, providing timeless reliability and versatility. This season, make a stylish statement with the denim midi-skirt. It's easy to style and can be used to create multiple looks that are bang on trend.
Denim midi skirts come back so regularly that they might as well never leave. Not only that, but this lifetime wardrobe piece has a special way of looking as grand as it is comfortable. Denim is the backbone of most wardrobes – versatile and reliable. Even those who believe themselves to not be invested in fashion contribute to the economy of denim. This is because it belongs everywhere – a happy medium between casual and formal, that is able to transcend time, place and season.
London-based Lagosian Tik Tok stylist and content creator, Obianuju OE’s (@pinkkpastaprada) latest post demonstrates the versatility of this garment. This compilation of Obianuju’s favourite skirts features denim midi- and maxi-skirts of different shapes, lengths, symmetries and cuts; how it can be dressed up and dressed down regardless of season.
The Anti-Fit Silhouette
Autumn is the perfect time to showcase your fashion sense. With the anti-fit silhouette, clothing is freed from the restriction of fitting the body, giving you a chance to be creative with shapes and forms that are out of the ordinary. Experimentation allows you to express yourself in a unique style.
The focus in fashion has shifted to comfort. This doesn’t mean that we forego glamour – in fact, it ushers in a whole new interpretation of it. The anti-fit silhouette is an emerging new normal in fashion, aligned with a fashionable refusal to be uncomfortable for any reason; even for the sake of attaining an hourglass figure. In its neutralisation of bodily form, the Anti-Fit Silhouette is defiant and empowering in an unexpected way. In liberating garments from the duty of augmenting the body, the anti-fit silhouette frees the wearer to think beyond convention about the intentions of their outfit and play with shape and form.
Click here to shop the autumn 2023 trends online.