{"id":627408,"date":"2026-09-17T11:16:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627408\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:16:22","slug":"trends-for-autumn-winter-2026-checks-velvet-and-a-good-coat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627408\/","title":{"rendered":"Trends for Autumn\/Winter 2026: Checks, velvet, and a good coat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this morning, Brown Thomas opened the doors of their Grafton Street location to a flurry of Ireland’s top stylists, fashion reporters, influencers, and style aficionados.<\/p>\n

The stunningly bright catwalk showcased 80 high-end designs, ranging from a silk green Victoria Beckham gown with floral appliqu\u00e9 to a \u20ac5,000 Barbour x Erdem opera coat.<\/p>\n

A season of bold colour, strong shoulders, and dazzling outerwear shone as models unveiled the luxury store’s latest collections, new designers, and exclusive capsules for Autumn\/Winter 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Rachael
\nRachael Armstrong wearing a JW Anderson shirt, Khaite jeans, and Chanel shoes.
Photo: Kieran Hartnett.<\/p>\n

To break down the top trends, we spoke with Rachael Armstrong, Womenswear Buying Manager at Brown Thomas, and celebrity stylist Corina Gaffey.<\/p>\n

The Art of Layering<\/p>\n

Inspired by Prada’s Fall 2026 womenswear show at Milan Fashion Week – which saw 15 models repeatedly walk the runway, shedding layers at each turn to reveal a new look – today’s runway presented a myriad of lengths and textures.<\/p>\n

“That absolutely trickled through,” Armstrong says, noting that the trend is perfectly suited to Ireland’s temperamental weather.<\/p>\n

“There’s such a beautiful mix of textures,” she adds. “And there are so many different ways that we can buy new pieces to layer with what we already have.<\/p>\n

“We can also bring in more casual pieces like denim and cargo trousers, which are big for Autumn\/Winter. It’s a really easy trend for all of us to adapt.”<\/p>\n

\"Isabel
\nIsabel Marant<\/p>\n

Velvet Hour<\/p>\n

A texture that is sure to be popular this winter is velvet. Dramatic black gowns, colourful party dresses, and tailored suits are sure to be rich and tactile this season thanks to the ever-enduring fabric.<\/p>\n

Key pieces include Victoria Beckham’s green silk floral-appliqu\u00e9 gown, Ala\u00efa’s sakura-print bodycon dress and R\u00f3he’s black velvet midi.<\/p>\n

“I absolutely love velvet, regardless of it being a trend,” smiles Armstrong. “I’m absolutely delighted there is so much velvet around for the season.”<\/p>\n

\"models
\nErdem, De La Vali, Ala\u00efa<\/p>\n

Bold hues, prints, and shapes <\/p>\n

Colour returns with conviction for AW26. Saturated red, cobalt, fuchsia and green appear across sharp separates, knitwear and head-to-toe looks.<\/p>\n

“We saw bright pops of colour, which I love to see for Autumn\/Winter,” says stylist Corina Gaffey. “It just brightens up a wintery day!”<\/p>\n

“There were a lot of trends that we see every season, but done in fresh and new ways,” she adds, referencing the appearance of big shoulders and strong tailoring throughout the show.<\/p>\n

\"Corina
\nStylist Corina Gaffey. Photo: Kieran Harnett.<\/p>\n

For Armstrong, red is the colour of the season, with brands like Isabel Marant making it particularly wearable.<\/p>\n

“I just loved the jeans with the denim jacket,” she says. “It was such an easy outfit for all of us to wear in some capacity. I love that there’s so much red around for Autumn\/Winter, and it was just lovely to see it with denim.”<\/p>\n

\"Model
\nIsabel Marant<\/p>\n

Although Gaffey loved the pops of red on the catwalk, and was even wearing red shoes herself, it was Stella McCartney’s blue shirt and trousers that won her over.<\/p>\n

“I just really love seeing colour for Autumn\/Winter,” she insists. “It’s also a little nostalgic with the star print, which she’s had for a while. I felt that was something really fun.”<\/p>\n

\"model\"
\nStella McCartney<\/p>\n

As well as bold hues and sculptured lines, designers will revisit heritage checks and bold animal prints this season through layered styling and statement outerwear. All of which can be balanced out with basics.<\/p>\n

“R\u00f3he had this amazing animal print jacket,” says the celebrity stylist. “I just love animal print anyway, but it was styled really simply with a black polo neck and black trousers.”<\/p>\n

\"Rohe
\nR\u00f3he<\/p>\n

Opulent Outerwear<\/p>\n

From Erdem x Barbour’s lavish opera coat in waxed cotton to the embellished Dries Van Noten jacket that closed the show, coats are clearly where it’s at this season.<\/p>\n

Becoming a fashion statement in its own right through jacquard, quilting, patchwork and richly tactile fabrics, outwear is having a moment.<\/p>\n

\"Erdem
\nErdem x Barbour<\/p>\n

“In Ireland, the coat is the moment,” states Gaffey. “It’s about having that statement coat and a simple outfit – it’s the first thing that people are going to see!”<\/p>\n

“I loved seeing Irish designer Landskein on the runway as well,” she adds. “She had a gorgeous chocolate coat, and they kind of colour-washed it tonally with brown, and they had a navy version as well. Lovely to see Irish design on the catwalk.”<\/p>\n

\"Dries
\nDries Van Noten<\/p>\n

Put on the spot to name one thing to invest in this season, Gaffey insists that a coat is the best bet.<\/p>\n

“A statement coat is always going to serve you well,” she says. “You can take it out for seasons to come and always have something to keep you warm. And it’s the first thing people see! You might as well make your first impression with your coat.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier this morning, Brown Thomas opened the doors of their Grafton Street location to a flurry of Ireland’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60],"class_list":["post-627408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}