Shape instead of color: The 2024 winter season focuses on clear silhouettes and strong proportions

A look at the catwalks of this year's autumn/winter collections shows: all signs point to abstract silhouettes - with restrained colors. While the summer season was dominated by loud “dopamine dressing” (bright colors and color blocking), the winter fashion on the runways is convincingexaggerated contours. Outlines are the silent – ​​but by no means to be underestimated – protagonists of the season. As a color code, the simpler the better. Minimalism is in vogue. While in the past it was often associated with monotony, these are convincingWinter 2024 catwalk collectionsfrom the opposite.

It is undisputed that contrasts are an indispensable element of fashion. A harmonious overall picture is only created through the perfect balance of various components. Color proves to be an ideal means of creating tension - but by no means the only one. This season's contrast is primarily through shape rather than color. No less effective, but significantly more elegant, are convincing avant-garde ones. Or, to put it in TikTok jargon: “If an outfit is not interesting through color, then it has to be interesting through shape.” In short: If the color is missing, it needs an extravagant shape. A newly interpreted silhouette in particular comes to the fore. While previous seasons were characterized by a narrow, body-hugging line - despite the oversized trend - it is now noticeably wide and disproportionate. The recurring element: dramatically changed proportions.

A label that has mastered the art of eccentricity like no other is once again showing this season how to masterfully stage the play with proportions:. Almost hysterical in his use of silhouettes, creative director Seán McGirr relies on striking contrasts in the fall/winter collection 2024/25. A tight pencil skirt is paired with an oversized sweater whose monstrous shoulder pads flow into a turtleneck. A cardigan develops a blanket-like size. The color palette is – of course – discreet.

It appears particularly avant-garde. Radically exaggerated, designer Rei Kawakubo presents wearable absurdities in her fall/winter 2024/25 collection. Not necessarily suitable for everyday use, but artificial, it proves once again: expressive silhouettes and newly defined proportions are at least as powerful as color.

The game is much more subtle, but still impressivein the collections of Duran Lantik, Alaïa, Mugler, Carven and Khaite. Oversized shoulders meet delicate skirts and figure-hugging tights. Almost floor-length sleeves contrast with “flood-length” trousers. Noticeably wide hips meet narrow, reserved tops.

Fashion houses such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Loewe, which are known for their distinctive sense of style, also stage the change in proportions in a restrained way and promote it with its contemporary relevanceinto everyday life. Because: Playing with proportions harmonizes wonderfully with many classics, which are now combined in new, unexpected ways. Tight trousers with a voluminous jacket? A slim skirt paired with an oversized sweater? Chunky boots for a “little black dress”? Pieces that we all perhaps already have in our wardrobes – in this or a similar form.