Women’s Fashion Week A/W 2024: what to expect

And just like that – as menswear fashion month and haute couture week come to an end for another season – Women’s Fashion Week A/W 2024 shimmers on the horizon, promising a crowded month-long schedule of runway shows, presentations and happenings in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

It’s a season which comes with plenty of intrigue, with highly anticipated creative director debuts from several different brands. At Alexander McQueen, Irish designer Seán McGirr will present his first runway collection (the British label will continue to call Paris its home, after Sarah Burton’s final show in the city last September). Also, at Chloé, Chemena Kamali will return to the house where she began her career. (More recently, she was at Saint Laurent as the design director of womenswear). In Milan, Matteo Tamburini will begin his tenure at Tod’s, while his predecessor, Walter Chiapponi will make his debut at Blumarine.

Here, according to Wallpaper*, is everything to look forward to from Women’s Fashion Week A/W 2024.

Women’s Fashion Week A/W 2024: what to look forward to

New York Fashion Week A/W 2024 (9 – 14 February 2024)

It falls to Peter Do to begin fashion month with his anticipated sophomore collection for Helmut Lang. The designer began his tenure last year, and his September runway show saw him riff on American archetypes and recall the stripped-back design codes of the house founder. It also featured a collaboration with American author and poet Ocean Vuong, whose words were emblazoned across garments and the runway. Expect an evolution of these codes as Do settles into the role for his second season.

Elsewhere on day one is Willy Chavarria – one of New York’s brightest talents, and part of last year’s Wallpaper* USA 300 – as well as 3.1 Phillip Lim, Collina Strada, and Tommy Hilfiger (expect a high-octane happening at the last). The rest of the week sees collections from New York Fashion Week stalwarts Proenza Schouler, Eckhaus Latta, Area, Tory Burch, Coach, Michael Kors and Gabriela Hearst, while Ludovic de Saint Sernin will make the shift from Paris this season. Closing the week is Thom Browne, who makes his return to New York Fashion Week on February 14 – an apt move, considering the American designer is now chairman of the CFDA, the body which organises the week. 

London Fashion Week (16 – 20 February 2024)

JW Anderson, which takes place on 18 February, and Burberry, on the evening of 19 February, remain London Fashion Week’s most high-profile draws, the latter marking Daniel Lee’s third runway show for the house. Earlier in the month, a high-profile takeover of London’s Harrods department store will be revealed, asserting the heritage brand’s presence in the city. Alongside, Dunhill will join the schedule for the first time since 2020, hosting an intimate salon-style show to herald the arrival of new creative director Simon Holloway (the occasion also coincides with the recent 130th anniversary of the house, which was founded in London in 1893).

London Fashion Week – which is now in its 40th year – is always energised by the city’s emerging designers, which as ever return in force this season. Expect a sophomore runway show from Aaron Esh – following a sharp debut from the designer last season, held on one of the upper floors of Tate Modern’s Blavatnik Building – alongside new collections from Conner Ives (who traditionally shows one season on, one season off), KNWLS, Tolu Coker and Robyn Lynch, as well as the Central Saint Martins MA fashion show, which will reveal a fresh crop of young talent. Rounding out the week are the city’s more established – but no less intriguing – names, including Molly Goddard, Simone Rocha, Roksanda, Erdem and Ahluwalia.

Milan Fashion Week (20 – 26 February 2024)

Though there might not be the big-name debuts that defined last season – namely, Sabato De Sarno at Gucci, who will show his second womenswear collection from the house this time around – expect new visions for both Tod’s and Blumarine. At the former, ex-Bottega Veneta designer Matteo Tamburini will take the reigns, while at the latter, his predecessor Walter Chiapponi will present a new collection for the label, having replaced Nicola Brognano last year. As such, expect a shift away from the Y2K aesthetic that defined Brognano’s tenure. London-based designer Feben – one of Wallpaper’s designers set to define 2024 – will make her Milan Fashion Week debut, showing with the support of Dolce & Gabbana.

Elsewhere, highlights will no doubt include Prada (eyes will be on the evolution of OMA’s striking menswear set, which clashed the great outdoors with a corporate office), Ferragamo (following a sleek collection from Maximilian Davis last season, which continued his evolution of the brand), Tom Ford (Peter Hawkings’ sophomore outing), Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani, Max Mara, Dolce & Gabbana and Bottega Veneta. Completing the week is Marni, returning to Milan after shows in New York, Tokyo and Paris. 

Paris Fashion Week (26 February – 5 March 2024) 

Finishing the month is Paris Fashion Week, a nine-day schedule which includes some of the season’s most anticipated shows – among them, Dior, Saint Laurent, Loewe, Balenciaga, Hermès, Miu Miu and Chanel, each promising spectacle-heavy runway shows which will no doubt take over the social media timeline. Alongside, Irish designer Seán McGirr will present his new vision for Alexander McQueen, having taken over from Sarah Burton last September. He will show his debut collection for the British house on the evening of 2 March, no doubt providing one of the week’s most talked-about moments.

Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, will return to the week’s final spot, showing on March 5 at 6.30pm. Expect a high-profile affair: it has been ten years since Nicolas Ghesquière began at the storied French house, and the designer has been posting highlights from that tenure on his Instagram in the past couple of weeks. Will his A/W 2024 be a greatest-hits affair? Stay tuned to Wallpaper’s fashion week coverage to find out.