Amid the ushering in of Fall’s fashion arrivals, it’s only apt to take note of the season’s new ease. Vanguards — from the likes of Balenciaga’s Demna Gvsalia to Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello — have turned their eye on a polished, preppy look that had been taking shape on the runways for the past several seasons. This is perhaps best solidified through their diverse iterations of the chameleonic outerwear: the blazer.
Here, a roundup of blazers for every occasion, styled with a subtle festive edge, to carry you into the holiday season.
While the word “preppy” might call to mind country clubs and college campuses, the look can be freshly subversive, too. Trust Maison Margiela’s iconoclast John Galliano to concoct an entirely new silhouette of his own: here, the classic, oversized blazer meets the strait-laced cable-knit cardigan. Throw the statement piece over a mid-length dress and cowboy boots.
At Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia continued his incorporation of the moulded, computer-manipulated techniques he introduced to the house. For this season, it manifests in a figure-embracing draped dress in fuschia. Add a boxy statement layer through a double-breasted blazer without letting its tartan daunt you — and finish the look with Gvasalia’s now-signature knee-high knife boots.
Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking suit is an undisputed icon. Back in the ’60s, its pioneering sartorial androgyny heralded a new era of freedom for women. While it may conjure more formal occasions, this season, Anthony Vaccarello has amplified the feted suit with gleaming razzmatazz — the sharp double-breasted jacket rendered in gold pinstripes, in time for the festive party season. Bolster the piece with a silky white shirt of which collar is a statement of its own, and shoes that are polished with equal panache.
At Alyx, streetwear maven Matthew Williams posits a leggy, layered and oversize-on-top silhouette. As cherry-picked here, the blazer takes on a louche twist, and is perhaps best offset with a skintight tube top and velvet bell-bottom trousers.
Miuccia Prada continually probes the tropes of utilitarianism. For Fall, a blazer in dark chestnut, replete with pockets and loosely cinched at the waist. Further channel Prada’s quirky inamorata with calf-length houndstooth pants and optical wedged-heel white pumps.