Once upon time, turning up to the office wrapped in your favourite blanket would probably land you “a chat” with HR. But that’s about to change. From London to Milan, designers have been reaching for their blankies in one of fashion’s many plot twists. With climate catastrophe, a cost-of-living crisis and an endless stream of doom to scroll through every minute, the collective wish to swaddle ourselves while things (God-willing) blow over, has trickled down to the runways. Of course, our worldly woes are going nowhere fast, and everyone, including Burberry, Rick Owens and Etro know this.
Granted, this penchant for plush ponchos is nothing new. As early as AW14, Burberry sent Cara Delevingne down the runway in a rust-red shawl, soon snapped up by Victoria Beckham and Sarah Jessica Parker before autumnal cheugies were teaming its dupe with a pumpkin-spiced latte. Elsewhere, Pierpaolo Piccioli gave duvet dressing the couture treatment in his AW19 Moncler Genius collection, while Viktor & Rolf had already gone full bedrock by AW05, turning coats to duvet covers, and collars to pillows. And lots not forget the most recent men’s shows just a month ago, where the pillow prince reigned supreme.
This season, though, the blanket trend became a blanket approach, especially at Etro’s show. Staged in an under-construction palazzo, complete with cover sheets draped from above, the collection offered boho kaftans, tasselled mohair polos and matching throws that peeked out from behind laser-cut handbags. Thrown in with a bevy of tartan shawls in warm tangerine and cerise, plus zig-zagged skirts and clutch bags made from matted wool, they made for leisurely chic, bohemian looking, perfect for tuning in and dropping out from an otherwise dark world.
Conversely, Rick Owens confronted the darkness (as he often does) head on, priming his creatures of the night in paillette and leather-wrapped duvets that swathed the body like knotted bedding. Directly referencing the ongoing war in Ukraine in his show notes, the designer used blanketed shapes as a tool of restraint, finishing high-slit dresses in felted wool with a train that dangled from the platformed runway.
For Burberry this was a heartier affair, replete with blankets in a spectrum of house checks covering seats, each complemented by a matching hot water bottle. Soundtracked by Burial’s wailing nightbus soundscapes, it made a brooding but resilient show, where royal blue shawls, printed with the relaunched Equestrian Knight motif, acted like grin-and-bear-it capes perfect for Brits riddled with soaring energy bills. Capitalist realism on the runway? There’s a first time for everything.
Over at The Row, sumptuous draping took centre stage, proving that age-old theory: when stock prices drop, so too do our hemlines. In fact, if Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s seasonal forecast is anything to go by, we’ll be serving sofa-throw chic for the foreseeable. Sashed across the waist in one chunky knot or tied at the neck, these cashmere cosies are reduced to their modest silhouette, reflecting a time when frivolity is a luxury few can afford.
Heck, even Saint Laurent’s femme fatales dialled back the drama for something more homely. Granted, those tweed shawls were clipped with golden broaches, but a girl needs some glamour, however bad things get.
For now, you can find fashion hiding under its covers, cosy and warm when we need it the most. Last season, teddies were our safety blanket; this season, it’s just that. You call it attachment psychology, we call it chic as a coping mechanism.
