Some of the most wearable fall runway looks are easy to rebuild from pieces you can actually buy. This story breaks four of them down, from a Fair Isle knit with a scarf to double denim, blue poplin with a red skirt and a leopard layer. Each one stands on its own, and each piece works outside the look too.
Fall Runway Looks, Broken Down Piece by Piece
The Pieces That Keep Coming Up
Fall runway looks at Dries Van Noten, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada and Marni kept returning to the same handful of pieces: the Fair Isle knit, head-to-toe denim, a crisp blue shirt and an animal-print coat. Start with one and you have the base of several outfits. Arch4's sand Fair Isle cashmere sweater, Haikure's cream frayed denim jacket, Jil Sander's light blue piqué polo and Rabanne's burgundy gathered jersey skirt are all worth a look.
Fair Isle, Head to Toe
The Dries Van Noten version paired a patterned knit with a scarf. Here, McQueen's black Fair Isle zip-up cardigan meets Burberry's light blue checked wool scarf, with Abadia's black satin-trimmed trousers and The Row's brown suede Hike ankle boots underneath.
Double Denim and a Pale Jacket
Polo Ralph Lauren showed a Canadian tuxedo with a car coat, which is easy to translate. Saint Laurent's mid-wash Nico jeans and Agolde's Lotta denim shirt make the base, Proenza Schouler's ivory double-breasted Romane jacket goes over the top, and Studio Nicholson's black Donovan loafers keep it polished.
Blue Poplin, Red Skirt
Prada paired a blue poplin shirt with a crimson skirt, a colour combination that works almost anywhere. Ami Paris's light blue striped Oxford shirt and Stella McCartney's burgundy polka-dot mesh midi skirt recreate it, with Anine Bing's red ribbed sweater over the shoulders and Valentino's orange Rockstud pumps for a jolt of colour.
An Animal-Print Layer
Marni's fall collection made a case for the animal coat, and a leopard jacket does the same job with less commitment. R13's distressed leopard-print jacket over Citizens of Humanity's black ribbed turtleneck and Jean Paul Gaultier's black wide-leg trousers keeps the print as the only loud thing, and Khaite's brown Ona knee boots tie it together.
Our honest take
Runway looks are more useful than they seem, as long as you treat them as a set of ideas rather than a prescription. If you take one thing away, let it be that most of these outfits come down to one bold piece plus solid basics, and the basics are probably already in your closet. A leopard jacket with a black turtleneck, or a blue shirt with a red skirt, will look right for years. We would skip buying a complete runway look head to toe, which rarely translates off the catwalk. Pick the one piece that feels new, then build the rest from what you own and see how often you reach for it.
