> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Fall/Winter 2026 Runway Trends Actually Worth Copying - URL: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/the-fall-winter-2026-runway-trends-actually-worth-copying/ - Published: 2026-10-03T22:52:58.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-03T22:52:58.000Z - Description: Six fall/winter 2026 microtrends, from Dior's water-lily palette to oversized sunglasses, that are genuinely worth wearing, not just watching on a runway. - Author: Amber R - Tags: Fashion Fashion month for autumn/winter 2026 wrapped with the usual flood of trend reports, but most of what's actually sticking isn't a single big idea, we think it's six small, specific ones that kept resurfacing across completely different runways. The good news is none of them need a full wardrobe overhaul. All of them are genuinely wearable, and most are already turning up on the street rather than staying locked to a catwalk. ## Dior's soft, colour palette set the tone Jonathan Anderson's second season at [Dior](https://www.dior.com/?ref=blankidentity.com.au) leaned into a Monet-inspired colour story, moss, pearl, silvery grey and washed lilac, rendered in iridescent, almost dissolved-looking pastels. Cropped Bar jackets and austere cardigans sat above billowing silk and gauze skirts, a rigour-up, movement-down contrast that explains why the collection is being read as his most confident yet. The muted, water-coloured palette is exactly the kind of thing that translates easily off the runway, swap a hard black or navy for a softer grey-lilac and the rest of an outfit barely has to change. ## Royal purple, the deep kind Where Dior went pastel, the season's purple moment went the other way: a deep, regal shade sitting between aubergine and amethyst, worn head to toe or paired against saturated tomato red and sky blue. Max Mara's take arrived from the opposite direction tonally, camel, chocolate, anthracite grey and deep burgundy drawn from "the wolf, the fox and the lion," according to creative director Ian Griffiths, in floor-length maxi coats and sculpted knits. Burgundy and royal purple are close enough on the colour wheel that the two read as one broader trend: darker, richer colour replacing the neutral-on-neutral uniform of the past few winters. ![Max Mara autumn/winter 2026 runway show](https://api.photon.aremedia.net.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/02/ss-header-2-pics-horizontal-33-69a0d1376940a.jpg) Max Mara AW26: camel, chocolate, anthracite and deep burgundy in floor-length maxi coats. Image: Max Mara ## Statement belts and cummerbunds are doing the work Accessories carried a lot of this season's personality. Sculptural circular buckles and polished hardware showed up on belts at Celine and [Ralph Lauren](https://www.ralphlauren.com/?ref=blankidentity.com.au), worn waist-defining over denim, tailoring and knits rather than as an afterthought. [Conner Ives](https://www.modaoperandi.com/designer/conner-ives/collection/fw26?ref=blankidentity.com.au) pushed the idea further with cummerbunds, once strictly formalwear, now cinching trousers and dresses for a structured, slightly dramatic flourish, alongside the embroidered fur robes that have already become his most-copied look of the season. ![Ralph Lauren autumn/winter 2026 fashion show in New York](https://api.photon.aremedia.net.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/02/vmas-55-698ea8f00f376.jpg) Ralph Lauren's AW26 New York show, Old Hollywood sophistication in chocolate browns and shearling. Image: Ralph Lauren ## Sunglasses go big again The tiny, '90s-inspired frame is officially retiring. For 2026 it's oversized across the board, acetate aviators with chunky double-bridge detailing, ski-goggle-style mask frames favoured by the luxury houses, extreme butterfly shapes, graphic squares and oversized tortoiseshell. The look works because the proportions are deliberate rather than simply bigger for the sake of it, styled against clean tailoring or pulled-back hair so the frames read as architectural rather than face-hiding. ![Oversized sunglasses trend for 2026](https://api.photon.aremedia.net.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/01/copy-of-split-screen-feature-template-16-696edcdea1955.png) The oversized sunglasses trend for 2026: acetate aviators, ski-goggle frames and extreme butterfly shapes. Image: Marie Claire Australia ## Eel leather and embroidery round it out Two more specific, smaller trends are worth knowing even if they're not wardrobe staples. Eel leather, a textured, faintly ridged finish with a subtle sheen, turned up on bags and shoes as a quieter alternative to the usual exotic-skin options. And opulent embroidery, rich, ornate detailing on everything from jackets to robes, is the season's answer to several years of stripped-back minimalism, exemplified by Conner Ives's viral fur robes and echoed across several other AW26 collections. **At a glance, the six microtrends:** - Statement-buckle belts: sculptural, oversized hardware at Celine and Ralph Lauren - Royal purple: deep aubergine-to-amethyst tones, worn head-to-toe or against saturated colour - Cummerbunds: formal waist-cinching reworked for trousers and dresses, seen at Conner Ives - Oversized sunglasses: acetate aviators, ski-goggle frames, butterfly shapes - Eel leather: textured, subtly sheened finish on bags and shoes - Opulent embroidery: rich, ornate detailing replacing minimalist restraint **Verdict:** skip the full-outfit commitment and pick one. A single piece in deep purple, one statement belt, or a pair of properly oversized sunglasses does more for an autumn/winter wardrobe right now than chasing the whole look at once.