Capsule #65 ft. Isabella Greenwood

Hello hello,

NYFW kicks off today, which means starting next week, our next few issues will be fashion week focused (of course our regular other bits will remain).

The plan is to do: one big show worth seeing, one smaller show worth seeing, and a few trends/themes/thoughts from the week. There will be a lot happening but that should allow us to engage with a quality slice, hear the biggest conversations, and have some sense of overall vibes. Exciting!

Also do follow @capsule.world on Instagram for fun Stories bits from London Fashion Week - I’m heading to a few shows and will share!

For this week, we’re sharing your favourite things from the summer, predicting some autumn trends, and a transitional piece I can’t stop looking at: suede jackets.

Have a great weekend!

Holly x

P.s. if your newsletter gets cut off, click ‘read online’ in the top corner. I promise the images are worth it!

Welcome autumn…

Last week I asked you to share some things you loved this summer. Here’s a selection 🫶✨

Just wanted to bottle these before the focus starts to shift… Over the past week, all my feeds have migrated to showcasing autumnal moodboard content. Christian Girl Autumn has risen from her slumber. We’re bookmarking this line from The Great Gatsby.

And we’re romanticising images like this.

What might this autumn look like? There are staples that will remain - jeans, boots, knitwear, maroon - but there’s plenty of space for fresh updates and new hyperfixations we haven’t quite realised yet, and can be hard to properly pick out until some time has past. One good place to look is the Pinterest seasonal trend reports, which seem to be a pretty good indicator of what eventually plays out — for their summer 2024 trend report, for example, they mentioned brat green (+460% "lime green outfits"), maximalist Y2K fashion (+5,500% "alt baddie" core), and futuristic/cybercore aesthetic (+6,030% "Y3K" core). That tracks for all the Balenciaga-esque raver sunglasses, the Gen X soft club blues and greys, the micro skirts over anything.

Here is a list of autumnal trends/vibes, informed partly by Pinterest’s autumn report, partly by the AW24 shows, and partly by my own very non-scientific tracking (saving photos constantly, reading articles and comments sections, looking at trendy people).

1) Preppy and bookish

Kaia Gerber and Dua Lipa both have book clubs. Kendall Jenner is often photographed with a contemporary novel. Miu Miu spent the summer popping up with their Summer Reads activation. Literature and fashion are very much working hand-in-hand right now, which we’ll see play out in clothes and how we accessorise over the next few months. Think: collared shirts over knitwear, ties, knee high socks. Glasses, bags big enough for books, wired headphones. The girls looking like they are running between university classes in a rom com when they are actually on the way to the pub. This type of preppy aesthetic is fuelled by back to school nostalgia — we want things to feel different come September, and we’re willing to dress for these potential new opportunities.

2) Japanese influence 🎏

Japan is increasing in popularity as a travel destination - since 2019, bookings to Japan have spiked 1300% amongst millennials and Gen Z, and Japanese design and culture continues to influence how we dress and what we do. Pinterest data shows increased interest in:

• Japanese design (Japanese vintage art +270%, Japanese futon bedroom +245%, Zen bathroom +200%, Japanese zen garden +120%, Japanese living room design +135%)

• Japanese flavours (Mochi recipe easy +75%, Japanese candy +70%

  Deconstructed sushi bowl +370%, Chicken karaage +80%, Katsu curry +100%)

• and Japanese beauty and fashion (Japanese side bangs +1645%, Japanese inspired nails +600%, Igari makeup +460% (flushed makeup look), Japan autumn fashion +140%, Japanese long skirt outfit +85%)

Particularly with design, I think young people want a reference point for calmness or minimalism that’s not millennial grey. The obvious reaction to that is bright maximalism - bold colours, lots of prints, objects everywhere. But for many people this doesn’t always feel right. It’s overwhelming, especially when we’re looking for a respite from work and spending so much time online. Japanese design offers a way out of that, that has depth and intrigue, but most importantly, space to breathe.

The same is true of fashion and beauty - there are the playful Tokyo elements that feel youthful and fun, but they sit alongside an interest in high quality basics, contemporary tailoring, and neatness.

3) Chocolate brown bags 👜

Nothing too deep at play here other than noticing that most designer brands used to make handbags in black, plus another colour each season for the more daring shopper. It now feels like dark brown has been widely accepted as a neutral, and as a result, chocolate brown bags are in most of the high street and mid-level shops. It’s good!

And the high street/mid-level versions, in Arket, Anthropologie, Massimo Dutti, and Mango.

4) Creative layering 👔

This is something that a few readers called out in my question last week for what they want to buy or try this autumn, and the Pinterest data backs it up too. Some breakout trends: jersey with skirt outfit (+2000%), skirt over jeans outfit (+695%), dress over skirt (+295%), sweater with jorts (+105%), long layered skirt (+125%) and Japanese long skirt outfit (+85%). I think this warrants a Capsule deep dive in future!

5) Upcycling and customising 🪡

Taking the energy of bag charms, fused with the struggling bank balances of the cost of living crisis, plus an increased desire to reduce waste, and you have the perfect conditions for upcycling and customising things we already have. This is something I plan to dig into further after fashion month is over - inspiration for getting crafty or just seeing our existing closet in a new light. Pinterest is a great indicator here, too - some breakout searches: DIY bags jeans (+225%), patchwork bags diy (+170%), canvas tote bag painting |(+245%). I hope to see more of it!

Moving on: an autumn thing very much here…

Suede jackets! Special enough to feel exciting, timeless enough to make the commitment. And like clockwork, fourteen years after the first one, Alexa Chung announced another collab with Madewell this week, in which a suede jacket and skirt takes centre stage.

As ever, some inspiration for you if you are thinking of adding to your collection, or want help styling something you already have. All of these formulas work with any brown jacket, too, so if you have a brown blazer, you’re all set.

Links: Jacket (House of Bruar), skirt (Zara, similar version here), t-shirt (& Other Stories), shoes (Oasis), sunglasses (Le Specs), bag (Pull & Bear)

Links: Jacket (Massimo Dutti), dress (Zara), scarf (Rixo), earrings (Mango), boots (Anthropologie), bag (Mint Velvet)

Links: Jacket (vintage via eBay), jeans (& Other Stories), t-shirt (Everlane), bag (Etsy), belt (Anthropologie), boots (Miista)

Alternate suede jackets: 

1. Rixo Dionne Suede Jacket (£330)

2. Sézane Will Jacket (£225)

3. Next Brown Suede Cropped Jacket (£190)

4. Free People We The Free Blair Vegan Suede Jacket (£158)

5. La Redoute Suede Press-Stud Jacket (£80)

There are also loads on eBay, Depop, and Vinted. If you search ‘brown suede jacket,’ you’ll find dozens.

Next up: a video worth watching…

This woman talking about how hobbies are a good pathway to happiness. Especially important as the summer season slips away. Less wallowing, less overthinking about work and relationship and where you’re life is going, more time spent trying something new or tending to something you know you enjoy. I won’t stop reminding us all.

@_alexiscartagena

Where are my girlies with a hobby 🫶🏾💙

And finally…

Fashion and pop culture news from the week:

• Clare Waight Keller, the designer previously at the helm of Chloe and Givenchy, is now creative director at Uniqlo

• Bows aren’t dead, ask Alexa Chung

• How did it take so long for this to happen?

• Luckily for us, Lorde is making music with Dev Hynes in New York

• Zoe Kravitz news: she’s on the cover of W magazine (do check out the pics) and Channing Tatum posted this gorgeous ode to her

• In other Men Doing Nice Things news… this 🥺

• Why are celebs all wearing this same top???

• The Rihanna J’Adore Dior ad is here 

• Solange is the face of Wales Bonner this autumn

• There are strong rumours that we’re getting a Brat remix album in October 👀

• And NYFW is underway, starting with a Paris Hilton performance at the Nylon party

This week, Isabella Greenwood popped into Capsule to share what’s 🔥hot🔥 and what’s not 🙅‍♀️ …

Isabella is a London-based writer and curator, with a focus on gender, mythology, folkloric epistemologies, internet culture and film.

📺 Watching: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in the cinema, and the NYFW shows as they make it to YouTube and Vogue Runway.

📖 Reading: The Cut’s profile of Chloë Sevigny ahead of her 50th birthday. And this piece on why the convenience of having an app to help us with everything (even assembling our own furniture) isn’t actually helping us.

🎧 Listening to: Two albums for two moods: Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal, and Magdalena Bay’s Imaginal Disk. And ahead of fashion month, Emilia Petrarca’s episode of The New Garde with Alyssa Vingan, in which she talks about her fashion week experiences with The Cut and W mag.

To return to our girl reminding us that having hobbies makes you happy, Flossie also wanted to share that two top Google trends this week were "puzzle subscription box" and "fabric subscription box". It seems some of us are already a few steps ahead prepping for fall fun, and we couldn’t be more here for it.

If you’d like to adopt Flossie or one of her friends, click here to learn more.

🖤

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear how you’re finding Capsule - let me know here. And if you have a friend who might like it, do refer them! 🥺

See you next week 💋

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