Add a fraction of geography teacher to your corduroy, double the drama with a dash of disco or multiply the power of red by going woke. Whatever the variables, these are the equations that result in maximum style this season.
Woke red
Rihanna × Offred ÷ The Woman In Red
Bit sick of pink, millennial and otherwise? Us, too. Enter red – the color of AW17, and one that has been associated with, over the years, the Labour party, Campbell’s soup tins and Netflix. What the emergence of red means is unclear, but it’s a satisfying full-stop kind of color to wear, a statement for time-poor people, if you will. This adorable Chloé dress is one of the pieces of the season.
Where to buy it
Topshop is already on the LRD thing, with a subtle homage to the Chloé number.
Dressed-down suits
Working Girl × Silicon Valley CEO ÷ Spotlight
Fashion is smartening up: the suit is back, often in check. This isn’t the 1980s, so discount Melanie Griffith’s office looks in Working Girl and think of the slightly off note of sneakers with a pencil skirt. Raf Simons’ collection at Calvin Klein paired checked suits like this with cowboy boots. Or try over-the-knee boots, as at Vetements. Workwear that’s NSFW? That’s about right.
Where to buy it
Miss Selfridge is excelling in Prince of Wales suiting. A blazer is a good entry-level piece for the corporate chic trend.
Vintage cards
Michelle Obama × Kurt Cobain ÷ Elmo
Cardigans have been in the fashion wilderness for the last decade. No longer. Ditch the hoodie and the alpha sweater for this, and the more vintage-y (technical term) the better. Lust after this one by Prada, make do with a beaded number from eBay or wear as a twinset with a pencil skirt in the style of a high-school senior in the late 50s.
Where to buy it
Michelle Obama is the patron saint of cardigans. Her favorite store, J Crew, is a good place to find them.
Strokable cords
Teacher × Alexa Chung ÷ Jarvis Cocker
Strokability is guaranteed in fashionable circles this autumn, with cord back on trend. Moving on from the thrift store so-fashionable-I-can-be-a-geek ironic appeal it had in the 90s, corduroy has been given catwalk spit and polish by blue-chip labels such as Marc Jacobs (seen here), Prada and Mulberry. The geography teacher is now a fashion muse. Who knew?
Where to buy it
Mango’s pink cords are straight out of Kirsten Dunst’s Virgin Suicides wardrobe, and all the better for it.
Razzle-dazzle disco
Studio 54 × Joan Collins ÷ festival glitter
Sister Sledge namechecked disco’s key fashion labels in 1979’s He’s The Greatest Dancer as “Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci”. Fast-forward to now and they might also have to add Saint Laurent (seen here), Mugler and Versace – labels were disco’s razzle-dazzle, out-and-out glamour rule. Saint Laurent’s disco boots, as worn by Rihanna, are the alpha footwear of the season, and demand a dancefloor with every step.
Where to buy it
OK, they’re not Rihanna’s £6,855 ones, but New Look’s glitter boots are pretty close.