2.  The hourglass jacket

This tailoring mood is conveyed most clearly by the hourglass silhouette, a symbol of femininity par excellence. A morphology that was very much the norm in the 1950s, and has now been modernised with broader shoulders, a slimmer waist and rounded volumes at the hips. Several designers have worked in this direction, with their jackets and with hourglass-shaped dresses and corsets, like DiorSportmaxCourrèges, Jil SanderProenza Schouler

3. Boudoir belles

Alongside tailored items, featured in all collections, lingerie is making a strong come-back, introducing an array of ultra-feminine items with tulle and sheer effects galore. Body suits, corsets, bustiers, petticoats and even skin-tight Catwoman-style jumpsuits, first glimpsed last summer, are all the rage. And so are bras, which have now taken over from bralettes and often spill out, fully visible, from the neckline. Designers have notably gone to great lengths to create unusual, plunging necklines. To heighten the boudoir feel, vertiginous platform shoes, which made a first appearance in the summer 2022 collections, are now a winter wardrobe must.

4. Mini miniskirts 

A new mood, much freer and uninhibited, is dawning in the post-pandemic winter 2022-23, as women unabashedly choose to dress as sexily as they want. The skirt, whose length has symbolised so many battles, has shortened another notch, ending up just shy of the derrière. And is worn ideally with thigh-high boots and maxi coats.

5. Wool stockings

This taste for provocation and for pushing boundaries translates itself into a rebel teen mood, as designers clearly attempt to win over younger women. Many collections are targeting Gen Z kids, aiming for a schoolgirl look (already spotted last winter) which gives a contemporary twist to long socks, woollen stockings and gaiters that rise up along the thighs, as well as woollen tights, seen at Chanel

6. Tank tops 

 
Seen on a number of runways, knitted tank tops with crew neck and large straps are the height of chic, undoubtedly the must-have item in next winter’s wardrobe. Preferably in the classic version, a white cotton tank top worn over a pair of jeans, leather trousers or a skirt, for an understated but uber-cool allure.
 

7.  Head-shrouding garments

 
 
The typical adolescent-style jacket or hoodie thrown over the head, the latter being completely covered and shrouded in the garment, is something several designers have explored. In addition to being a nod to younger consumers, this trend, which is neither very practical nor one of the most aesthetically pleasing, can be seen as indicating a need for protection. Garments cover the head and envelop the upper body, and assume a triangular shape, like a tent or an oval.
 
This approach to morphology, designed to hide the neck and part of the head, was first adopted at January’s Paris Haute Couture Week by Viktor & RolfCoperniDolce & GabbanaRichard Quinn

8. Bouclé wool 

The need for protection is also expressed via the designers’ work on volumes, especially in very long, ample overcoats, and in cocooning shapes, with plush-effect dresses and clothes. Wool is knitted using all kinds of techniques, yielding bouclé, worsted and shaggy effects, and is increasingly replacing fur, now banned by the majority of labels. Yeti looks are by no means unusual.

9. Thigh-high boots

They are the essential accessory for winter 2022-23. Thigh-high boots are absolutely everywhere, featured in multiple colours, wallpaper fabrics, suede, silvery hues and even embroidered. They come in lace-up, dominatrix-style leather (Ambush, Del Core), in fairy-tale warrior or horseman versions (BalenciagaGCDSErmanno ScervinoGivenchy
 

10. Maxi clutch bags 

Micro handbags are about to be replaced by a new, equally coveted type of it bag: the maxi clutch. Like large, soft pillow-shaped squares, hand-held or carried under the arm, maxi clutch bags cropped up notably at CalcaterraAcne StudiosBottega VenetaDiesel