Autumn may have only just arrived in all its drizzly, grey glory but, in fashion land, thoughts have already turned to next summer’s garden parties, beach clubs and festivals. With New York Fashion Week having kicked off on 6 September, SS25 is officially here – and we’ve got a front row seat with your name on it.

From all-American stalwarts like Ralph Lauren and Carolina Herrera, to the European elegance of Paris and Milan, and the experimental emerging designers of London Fashion Week, consider this your guide to the most exciting, scene-stealing and lust-worthy looks of the SS25 season. We’ll be updating this cheat sheet throughout fashion month, so bookmark this page and keep checking back for all the latest. We reckon it’ll be a pretty handy shopping list when the collections drop next spring…

Valentino

The fashion world was given an inkling that this would be the case when Alessandro Michele dropped a surprise Resort lookbook earlier this year but it was very much out with the old, in with the new at Valentino. If you loved Pierpaolo Piccioli’s dreamy, romantic vision for Valentino look away now. If, however, you hadn’t quite had enough of the maximalist exuberance Michele deployed to revive Gucci, chances are you’re going to be very fond of what he’s doing over at Valentino.

Named Pavilion des Folies, Michele namechecked, among others, Austrian psychologist Victor Frankl, French poet Théophile Gautier, and 16th century philosopher Michel de Montaigne, in a set of shows notes that questioned the very notion of beauty. It is, perhaps, an apt question for a designer in the process of wildly reimagining the aesthetic of a beloved fashion brand – and taking on all the commerical gambles that come with that. What did it mean for the clothes though? Layers, print, texture, and embellishment, all with a decidedly vintage feel. As we’ve come to expect, for Michele there’s no such thing as too much.

Dior

Offering up an almost entirely monochrome collection for SS25, Maria Grazia Chiuri created designs that acknowledge the duality fo the modern woman. Swerving from ski slope to boxing ring and boardroom to ballroom, whether you identify as uber-feminine, a hardcore tomboy or (like most) something in between, there’s a Dior design for you next season.

Explaining that her inspiration stemmed, in part, from the Paris Olympics and Paralympics as well as archival designs including Christian Dior’s 1951-52 Amazone dress, Chiuri’s show notes gave ‘gender equality, inclusivity, respect and acceptance of one’s own limits’ as a framework from which to interpret the collection. Truly designs for the strong, complex, modern woman.

Gucci

Gucci’s SS25 collection, Casual Grandeur, was, explained creative director Sabato de Sarno, a tribute to “a precise moment in time. A moment to seize and live to the fullest. It’s the moment the sun dives into the sea at the end of an August day. It’s the moment we find ourselves.”

Presented at the Triennale Milano museum, in a space reimagined in sunset hues culminating in Gucci’s signature Rosso Ancora red, the collection took its form from de Sarno’s “obsessions”: “tailoring, lingerie, leather, 60’s silhouettes, all combined with the tireless exploration of the heritage of this brand – and always with an irreverent attitude.” Translation: playful, youthful, summery sillhouettes combined with Gucci icons including bamboo, horsebit motifs, archival flora prints, and effortless tailoring. This is de Sarno truly putting his stamp on the house of Gucci.

Ferragamo

The balletcore trend shows no sign of abating in SS25 — and provided the perfect starting point for Ferragamo creative director Maximilian Davis. Delving into the house's long-standing relationship with the ballet world — including archival imagery of Salvatore Ferragamo with dancer Katherine Dunham and a pair of custom Ferragamo ballet shoes made for Rudolf Nureyev — David blended the innate elegance of the stage with his own Caribbean heritage to create a collection defined by both a louche, sporty spirit and impeccable craftsmanship.

A palette of balletic pastels and neutrals was interspersed with vibrant red and cerulean while the house pressed its historical mastery of leatherwork into the service of trellis-style coats and sleek mini dresses. Tailoring, meanwhile, was given the dancer's treatment via tie-waists, draping and asymmetric neck and hemlines. Confident and sophisticated, homegrown London designer Davis is showing he's more than capable of playing with the Italian big boys.

Etro

The Etro girl is going out-out next season but her destination is not the nightclub, but the beach bar. A dazzling collection vibrant with fiery oranges, azure blues and leaf greens, prints centred around the single, precious bloom of the agave plant, cementing the designs firmly in tropical locales from Mexico to the Med. Silhouettes, meanwhile, were simultaneously youthful and sophisticated. Whether your holiday vibe is more silk shirts and tailored shorts or low-slung jeans and boho bare-all crop tops, Etro SS25 has you covered. Bon voyage.

Fendi

2025 will see Fendi celebrate its centenary so, naturally, artistic director Kim Jones looked to the decade for inspiration for the brand's SS25 collection. But how to pay homage in a way that is modern rather than merely pastiche? For Jones, it was about taking a back-to-basics approach and looking beyond the style of the time to take in the wider legacy of the Twenties. “The foundations of how women dress today and, in many ways, how we think are in the 1920s. It’s about modernity in style and attitude,” explained Jones. “1925 has so
many milestone moments. It is the founding year of Fendi, but also the year of the Art Deco exhibition in Paris. Virginia Woolf ’s Mrs Dalloway and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are also published. There’s modernism in dress, design, decoration and thought.”

And while there were undeniable Art Deco motifs in place, it was the mood of lightness, glamour and easy insouciance seen throughout the collection that really captured the spirit of the decade. Silhouettes were sporty and sleek, with diaphonous embellished organza layers worn long and layered or over micro shorts and dresses. Ladylike tailoring also took centrestage in longline coats, oversized mandarin-collar shirts and blazers worn over evening dresses, all rendered in a palette of neutrals, creams and blacks. Pretty, wearable and utterly desirable, there's a lot to add to your wishlist here.

Jil Sander

Tailoring with a distinctly vintage feel was the order of the day at Jil Sander's co-ed SS25 show during Milan Fashion Week. Inspiration for prints, silhouettes and the colour gradients seen throughout the collection came from Greg Girard's dramatic 1970s photographs of Vancouver, resulting in a thoroughly urban collection perfect for the modern businessperson who doesn't object to a little fashionable flair in the boardroom.

Trousers were wide and shoulders square while iridescent fabrics and sunset-hued ombres added a touch of club kid irreverance throughout. For evening, gowns were feminine and softly draped with subtle embroidery, and paired with playful loafers and practical boots rather than sky-high heels. Beautiful clothes that really work for everyday life? There's a reason Jil Sander remains a truly beloved brand.

Burberry

Look away now if you were a teen in the mid-Noughties: Daniel Lee has decreed that low-rise trousers are back. But if that phrase immediately conjures images of Keira Kngihtley in skin-tight denim and a butterfly crop top, fear not, this is not that. Instead Lee took inspiration for Burberry's SS25 collection from the excitement and anticipation of British summertime. A time, for those of us who grew up here, that represents a chance to get dressed up, to shed some layers — but always in the knowledge that the next rain shower is never far away.

On the runway, an original set created by artist Gary Hume, this translated to trenches that were cropped or reworked into shirt-style day dresses, military-inspired tailoring for him and her in palette running the gamut from pastel purple and teal to navy and black with an array of checks in between, alongside functional cargo trousers and a smattering of sparkly gowns. There were, of course, great bags, really good shoes and (notably) no gimmicks. If this is Lee finally finding his stride at Burberry long may it continue.

Simone Rocha

Image: Ben Broomfield

Image: Ben Broomfield

'Screaming, crying, laughing, dying, flirting.' As mission statements on a set of show notes go, it's quite the proclamation – but then Simone Rocha has never been a designer to shy away from boldness. Inspired by the carnation, a flower that symbolises love, devotion and fascination while also being a traditional buttonhole adornment at formal events, Rocha's SS25 collection was a lesson in unrestrained femininity – albeit with a dark edge leant by printed recreations of works by Irish artist Genieve Figgis.

A nod to balletcore worked its way through the show, be it overtly in looks incorporating tutus or in more subtle frothy tulle embellishments and gauzy sheer gowns and coats. A demure palette of pastel pinks, whites, and beiges was punctuated by sleek jewel-embellished black tailoring and bold pops of scarlet and purple, while ruffles brought a playful, youthful element. Oh, and be sure to note the shoes, we guarantee you'll be seeing those cut-out brogues and cross-strap ballet flats everywhere next season.

Ahluwalia

For her SS25 collection, Home Sweet Home, Priya Ahluwalia drew not only on her own Indian-Nigerian heritage but also on the concept of 'home' as a basic human right and the experiences of those, past and present, who have migrated huge distances in search of somewhere to call home. Soundtracked by a live collaborative performance by MassiveMusic, Adekunle Gold and Shaza Manla, which drew on Afrobeats, Bollywood, garage, Indian traffic and the London Underground, a nostalgic palette of sky blue, dusty pink, khaki and black was used across a collection which foregrounded knots, pleats and pulls in reference to the enduring pull of home.

Among the most successful pieces of the collection were a series of tailored seperates crafted from deadstock Chloe fabrics – an homage not only to the designers that have come before Ahluwalia but also a commitment to the sustainable future of fashion. And, while this may all seem quite high concept, the end result was a collection of richly hued, deeply covetable pieces primed for commercial success. Ahluwalia is one of buzziest names on the London fashion scene right now – and it's not hard to see why.

Nensi Dojaka

After a brief break from the LFW schedule, Nensi Dojaka returned for SS25 with quite the bang. As well as revealing her own spring collection, Dojaka used the occasion to unveil a collaborative range of underwear with Calvin Klein – a designer, it will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Dojaka's aesthetic, she says has always been on her moodboard.

It's a partnership that makes complete sense – and one that so closely fits with Dojaka's own design preferences that, on the runway, it was almost impossible to know where Dojaka's designs ended and the collaboration began. The key motif of the collection – delicate petals curving their way around and over the bust – were worn as bras with fine knit trousers, used as the focal point on minimalist mini dresses, or paired with flowing lengths of chiffon. Elsewhere ruffles and ruching added a new feminity to the overt sexiness of Dojaka's signature harnesses, cut outs and figure hugging designs, lending an air of approachability and wearabilty to sheer midi dresses and romantic gowns. “I think femininity is about embracing the contrast that lives within us: the balance between softness and strength," explained Dojaka of the collection. "Women are the strongest creatures on earth.”

Chet Lo

Signature designs can be both a blessing and a curse. Chet Lo's instantly recognisable spiked silhoeuttes put him on the map, and earned his brand a legion of celebrity fans, but no designer (or customer) wants the same thing season after season. So how to evolve without losing sight of where you came from?

While Lo's spikes were in evidence, reworked in miniature on sportswear-inspired seperates and abstractly oversized on dresses and vests, the designer's source of inspiration – female computer sciences pioneer Mah-Weng Cheung – provided ample opportunity for development. Take, for example, the brand's new 'glitch' pattern: a visual respresentation of digital static recreated both in print and texture. Elsewhere, creasing techniques referenced the diamond shape of Lo's spikes in a softer, more subtle form and Lo offered up playful interpretations of traditional checks inspired by Cheung's own clothing preferences. A collection imbued with Lo's innate fun and playfulness, but with a new hint of sophistication, this is evidence of a designer coming into his own.

Di Petsa

Di Petsa made a splash (ahem) with her signature wet look designs and, for SS25, the theme continues on the shores of Greece, with a collection inspired by the myth of Ariadne and Theseus. Name 'My Body is a Labyrinth', a minotaur motif wounds its way through a collection of figure-celebrating draped designs, armour-esque gilded pieces and daring cut-out gowns and swimwear. This season also saw Di Petsa introduce gender-fluid menswear for the first time, with Petsa reworking her signature wet look into more approachable hoodies, tracksuits and tailoring created with the male form in mind.

Harris Reed

Ever since he exploded onto the Lodnon fashion scene with his debut collection in 2021, Harris Reed has erred on the side of theatrical – so it's only fitting that his SS25 collection be named 'Encore'. Here the name refers to Reed's penchant for working with found materials and giving them a new life in his exquisite demi-couture collections; in this case vintage lace tablecloths, antique curtains, upholstery fabric and bedspreads.

Now also the creative director of Nina Ricci, one gets the impression that his eponymous label is Reed's opportunity to let his creativity run wild, without the restrictions of commercial considerations. Certainly there was nothing in this collection that could come close to being described as 'every day'. These were exaggerated, architectural, sculptural designs destined for the red carpets of the Met Gala and the Oscars. And, much like the designer who created them, larger than life.

Completedworks

Completedworks is first and foremost a homewares and accessories brand so, when it popped up on the London Fashion Week schedule for AW24, many were curious as to how exactly a brand with no clothes would host a runway show. The answer? It didn't. Instead, founder and creative director Anna Jewsbury commissioned Fatima Farheen Mirza to write a monologue which was recorded and acted live by Joanna Lumley.

How to follow that? With a three act micro-play once again written by Mirza and this time featuring model Lily Cole, actor Dianna Agron and violinist Vanessa Bedoret. Staged in a park in the heart of Bloomsbury, A Stone is a Small Mountain told the tale of art historian and biographer Aliza reclaiming her personal narrative while working on a book about artist Camille Claudel, while, of course, giving the trio the opportunity to showcase Completedworks' latest range of bold jewellery, bags and homewares.

Paul Costelloe

London Fashion Week celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and Paul Costelloe has showed at every single one. That's four decades, 80 shows and, taking this season's collection as an average, more than 4,600 looks. That's quite the feat in anyone's books.

Costelloe marked the occassion with a celebration of all things Français. Titled 'Le Ciel est Bleu' (The Sky is Blue), Costelloe sent a parade of pastel hued, ladylike pieces down a pristine white runway in an ode to spring in Paris. There were tweed skirt suits for shopping on Rue Saint-Honoré, soft tailoring for strolling down Boulevard Saint-Germain and floaty dresses and linen trousers for when the Côte d'Azur calls. Never one to rest on his laurels, SS25 also saw Costelloe debut bridal and hosiery collections. We can but applaud.

Michael Kors

“For a designer, the greatest thing is to find partners who can bring your ideas to life, which is what Italy’s artisans have done for us for 35 years,” explained designer Michael Kors of his Mediterranean Romance SS25 collection, which marked 35 years of the American designer’s time in business. “The dichotomies in the collection feel very Mediterranean to me, laid-back but luxurious, rustic but opulent, the sophistication of the city with the mood and attitude of a resort.”

In front of an audience which included the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Kerry Washington, Olivia Wilde and Mary J. Blige, Kors sent models Carolyn Murphy, Paloma Elsesser, Karen Elson et al. down the runway in pieces he hopes you will “want to wear everyday and own forever”. Channelling an Italian coastal spirit, with just a touch of Parisian sophistication, what this meant in practice was diva-worthy LBDs, feminine A-line floral skirts, an abundance of bardot necklines, and a cacophony of lace, 3D embroidery, and textured raffia. La dolce vita indeed.

Ralph Lauren

Never one to do things by halves, Ralph Lauren’s SS25 presentation in the Hamptons was billed not as a show but as a “special fashion experience”. Hosted in the eponymous designer’s beloved Bridgehampton, the runway featured a massive 104 looks from the Ralph Lauren Collection, Polo Ralph Lauren and Purple Label lines, all riffing on the signature preppy vibe that is synonymous with both Ralph Lauren and the Hamptons.

The style was strong on the FROW, with A-listers including Naomi Watts, Laura Dern, Tom Hiddleston, Usher and Jill Biden donning their best RL looks for the occasion. On the catwalk, meanwhile, original supers Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington reunited to showcase a collection characterised by a boho-twist on upscale Americana, punctuated by Ralph Lauren icons, including cable knit polos, striped Oxford shirts and floaty evening dresses. Our pick of the bunch? An array of oversized ivory tailoring and a series of eye-popping separates born for the country club.

Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera made her name as New York’s queen of elegant formalwear and, since taking over in 2018, creative director Wes Gordon has proved himself more than capable of continuing her legacy. For SS25, the brand’s show was staged at 28 Liberty Street: a stunning subterranean venue encircling American sculptor Isamu Noguchi’s Sunken Garden installation. A fitting location for a collection in which silhouettes took centre stage.

Opening with a series of black and white looks allowed Gordon’s masterful way with print and texture to come to the fore. Blousy silk blooms were piled high at necklines, frothy organza polka dots played off against monochrome florals, and sleek shifts and separates jostled for attention next to bold shoulders and ball gowns. The theme continued throughout the show, which burst into a palette of bright yellow, azure, Barbie pink and Herrera’s signature shade of crimson. Often simple but always striking, NYC’s elite social set will find much to love here.

Nanushka

SS25 saw Nanushka founder and creative director Sandra Sándor celebrate 20 years at the helm of her fashion house with a show that embraced the brand’s history as a means of looking to its future. Entitled ‘20,000 Notes of Nostalgia for 20 Years of Nanushka’, dangling from the ceiling of the show space were 20,000 pieces of paper printed with notes, sketches and images from the Nanushka archives. “Reflecting on the past 20 years of Nanushka has been a very emotional process for myself and the entire Nanushka team,” said Sándor. “It was evident that the focus of this collection is to celebrate the design processes that make Nanushka, Nanushka. It was imperative to highlight the human touch process of design, and all the integral brand stories that we’ve put into this celebratory collection.”

To that end, the clothes themselves drew inspiration from the toiles, fabric manipulation and paper cutting integral to the early stages of the fashion design process. Literally, this was seen in the slicing, shredding, fringing and layering of poplin garments throughout the collection, while traditional draping was reinterpreted in leather and chainmail. A nostalgic collection for a thoroughly modern woman.

Read more: The essential guide to the SS25 fashion month