Trend Forecast AW27

If you’ve been reading the fashion pages recently, you’ll probably already have spotted some of the trends heading our way for Autumn/Winter 2027.

Satin, animal print, faux fur, checks, lace, fringing, statement collars and plenty of layering are all appearing in the forecasts, alongside some rather more challenging shapes and silhouettes.

But at Artichoke, we’ve never bought a collection simply by following a list of trends.

With nearly twenty years of buying experience behind us we’ve learnt that there is a big difference between something looking fabulous on a catwalk and working in your wardrobe.

Of course we want our Limited Edition Collections to feel current. Fashion should be fun and sometimes trying something a little different can completely reinvigorate your existing wardrobe.

But we’re also always asking ourselves: Will we actually wear it? What will we wear it with? And will we still want to wear it when the fashion world has moved on to something else?

So, when Sarah put together our AW27 edit, these are some of the trends she bought into, a few she simply nodded towards – and some she quite happily left behind.

1. Satin – and what to do when the party is over

Silk & satin are going nowhere, but perhaps more interesting than the fabric itself is the way we will be wearing it.

For us, satin shouldn’t be kept just for the party season. Yes, you might buy a beautiful satin dress to wear to a Christmas party. But what happens when the party is over?

Put a jumper over it, swap your heels for boots or trainers and suddenly that same dress looks completely different. A satin skirt can be worn with a chunky knit; satin shirts with jeans.

That’s predominantly how we’ve bought satin for AW27 – to be worn during the day as much as after dark.

It’s something we talk about a lot at Artichoke. We don’t really want to sell you a dress that gets one outing and then spends the next three years hanging in your wardrobe waiting for another invitation.

The clever purchase is the one that you can dress up when you need to – and then find lots of other ways to wear afterwards.

Our new Limited Edition Collection from Saige does exactly that.

2. Animal print – a neutral as far as we’re concerned

Apparently animal print is fashionable again. We hadn’t realised it had gone away.

We’ve always treated animal print as a neutral at Artichoke. Leopard, snake and other animal-inspired prints have an extraordinary ability to lift so many of the basics already in your wardrobe.

The AW27 forecasts are showing plenty of animal skins and prints, and this season we’ve bought into them with snakeskin trousers, leopard-print trainers and an animal-print pleather bomber, amongst other pieces.

Try your leopard trainers with jeans, put a snakeskin trouser with a simple knit. Wear an animal-print jacket over an otherwise understated outfit.

3. Faux fur – another trend we never really left

Faux fur and tactile outerwear continue to feature heavily in the fashion conversation, and this is another one that feels less like a new trend to us and more like an old friend.

We do faux fur most winters because it’s warm, tactile, slightly glamorous and – most importantly – far more practical than you may think.

For AW27 you’ll see it from us in coats and gilets.

And that’s perhaps an important distinction when we’re looking at trends.

Something doesn’t suddenly become a good buy because it’s fashionable, just as something doesn’t become a bad buy because it isn’t. If we know something works & think that you will love it, we don’t particularly mind whether it’s appearing on a trend report that year or not.

4. Layering – possibly our favourite “trend” of all

Of all the AW27 trends, this is perhaps the one that made us smile.

Because layering and finding different ways to style the clothes you own already is pretty much what we’re all about.

A good wardrobe shouldn’t consist of dozens of individual outfits that only work in one particular combination.

We’d much rather help you build a core of jeans, trousers, shirts, knits and dresses that work with each other – and then show you how to wear them.

Autumn and winter are particularly good for this.

Add a knitted vest over a shirt or dress. Throw a gilet over a knit. Put a jumper over your satin dress. Layer a shirt under something you wore on its own earlier in the year.

Suddenly you’ve created another outfit without starting again.

The fashion world may be talking about clever layering and unexpected styling combinations, but this is one trend we’re happy to say we’ve lived for years.

5. Heritage checks & plaids – yes, but…

Checks and plaids are going to be difficult to avoid for AW27.

The wider heritage look is having a moment too, with tartans, argyles and traditional country-inspired patterns all making their presence felt.

We’ve bought checks and plaids because, frankly, we don’t really regard a good check as a trend. Done well, it’s an autumn classic.

What we haven’t done is turn the whole collection into a heritage theme.

Why?

Because whenever we look at a particularly strong trend, one of the questions we ask ourselves is:

Will you still want to wear it next year?

You may absolutely love an argyle jumper this autumn. But will you still want to wear it next year & the year after? If the answer is yes then grab one in every colour – if you are not sure, then walk away.

Obviously there’s nothing wrong with buying something simply because you love it right now , we all do it – but our philosophy is to bring you collections that you will love & wear for seasons to come rather than offer pieces with a very obvious expiry date.

So this is one we’re dipping into rather than diving into head first.

6. Lace – we’re sitting this one out

Romantic lace is another direction appearing in the fashion forecasts.

We’ve left it alone. Not because we dislike lace. Beautiful lace can be absolutely gorgeous. The problem is that lace is incredibly dependent on quality. If the fabric isn’t good enough, it can very quickly look less expensive than it was.

Part of putting a collection together is knowing when to say no & we simply haven’t seen enough lace items at the right quality and price that weren’t just mad.

7. Balloon trousers & dropped waists – easier to admire than to wear

And then we come to some of the more directional silhouettes.

Balloon trousers and dropped waists are both having a fashion moment.

We’re leaving them to other people.

That’s not to say nobody can wear them. Of course they can. But exaggerated balloon shapes and dramatically altered waistlines aren’t necessarily the easiest shapes for most of us to wear in real life.

Sometimes there are trends that we admire enormously on a six-foot catwalk model – and have considerably less enthusiasm for when we’re standing in front of the mirror ourselves.

For us, neither passed the “Will our customers actually want to wear this?” test. So again the answer was thank you, but no thank you – we’ll leave this one to everyone else

8. The AW27 colours – chocolate & red get our vote

Colour is always one of our favourite parts of putting a new collection together.

For AW27, chocolate brown and red are two of the colours we’ve happily bought into this season.

Chocolate in particular is incredibly useful. Think of it almost as an alternative neutral. It works beautifully with creams and camels, looks fabulous with animal print and can be softer and richer than black.

Then there’s red.

You certainly don’t need to wear it from head to toe. A red knit, accessory or layer can be enough to completely lift an otherwise neutral autumn outfit.

Another colour being talked about is lilac. You can’t love them all & we’ve given that one a miss.

9. Fringing – we’re dipping a toe in

Fringing is another detail appearing for autumn and winter.

We’ve bought a couple of fringed gilets, but we’re not planning to dress you like you’re heading off to a rodeo.

And this is quite a good example of how we often approach a more directional trend.

Sometimes all you need is a nod.

One interesting detail can make the clothes you already own feel more current. A fringed gilet over a knit or dress gives you that little bit of AW27 without requiring an entirely new look.

10. It’s all about the collar

Finally, keep an eye on collars.

We’re seeing everything from oversized collars to higher, more sculptural and funnelled necklines, particularly across jackets and outerwear.

There may be a few oversized collars appearing at Artichoke too, but before you buy one, go and look in your wardrobe. Because this is a trend you might be able to recreate with something you already own:

Take your biker jacket ….. if you automatically wear it open with the collar and lapels folded flat, try fastening it differently and wearing the collar funnelled upwards around your neck.

Same jacket. Completely different look.

And that’s probably our favourite sort of trend of all.

So, should we actually care about trends?

Yes – we think we should.

We certainly do when we’re buying.

Trends keep fashion moving. They introduce new proportions, colours, fabrics and styling ideas and can encourage us to look at our wardrobes differently.

But they should be inspiration rather than instruction.

At Artichoke, we’ll continue to pick and choose from them. We’ll embrace the trends that we think will work for women like us, nod towards some and quite happily leave others behind. Because ultimately, being stylish isn’t about wearing every new trend – it’s about knowing which ones deserve a place in your wardrobe.

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