Gabriella Karefa-Johnson Style: Pattern Mixing, Textured Knits and Fall Layers

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson is Vogue’s Global Contributing Fashion Editor-at-Large. She has styled covers featuring Margot Robbie, Serena Williams, Paloma Elsesser and Vice President Kamala Harris. Earlier in her career, she assisted Hamish Bowles at Vogue, worked as associate fashion director to Tonne Goodman, then became fashion director of Garage magazine in 2017. She has also styled the Altuzarra and Etro runway shows.

Her 2023 Future Collective collection with Target ran through spring and brought her maximalist approach into abstract prints and distinctive textures, with inclusive sizing. Weekend Max Mara’s Family Affair collection drew on her family’s wardrobes and personal archives, with Gigi Hadid behind the camera. Those projects make pattern, texture and proportion the starting points for this fall edit.

In The Cut’s 2026 pattern guide, Karefa-Johnson says that if you are going to clash patterns, you should commit to the idea. She also describes cinching an oversized Loewe layer at the waist and pairing a cozy sweater with a skirt that shows off technical work.

That balance informs the four edits here: tactile knits with graphic pattern, outerwear with shape, skirts with movement or structure, and footwear with a defined profile. The mix follows surface and silhouette rather than matching every piece.

Begin with a patterned knit such as Guest in Residence’s Wild Rag cardigan, then anchor it with a clean-lined coat or suede jacket. Finish with Christian Louboutin’s Miss Z Botta boots to give the proportions a strong base. Let texture, print and shape do the talking.