Fall Forward: Pre-Fall Looks Put You Ahead of the Fashion Pack

Fashion can be such a tease sometimes. Dangling delicious fall fashion week images in front of us for six long months is a torture technique like no other. Thankfully, right about now designers take pity on us and sate our sartorial hunger pangs. Below, a tantalizing four-course meal of pre-fall is served.

Velvety Goodness
Although this may be a fabric you’ve been donning since age 3 (family Christmas card anyone?), designers are rendering velvet with grown-up, all-out sex appeal. Case in point: the Alexander Wang Denim & Velvet Corset Top. You’ll wear it now with shorts and dirty ankle boots, and with a blazer and slouchy pants once the weather cools. To kill three trends with one stylish stone, the Velvet & Leather Jacket, also by Alexander Wang, pairs fall’s strong shoulders, hard rock leather, and rich velvet trim.

Over-the-Knee and Through the Streets
Don’t panic, those carnivorous cutout booties we all love will still be struttin’ up a storm this fall, but a girl’s gotta have options. Enter over-the-knee boots. Stuart Weitzman and Sergio Rossi are already commanding the room with their thigh-high heels, making the idea of a mini dress that much more intriguing.

Cut It Out
In all art forms, negative space is a crucial part of the aesthetic—and it’s also a huge story in fashion for fall. Like a great drama, this one ends with an unexpected twist. Take this Alexander Wang silk blouse: understated from the front, and positively electric once you turn around.

Jacket (or Vest) Required
Some designers are synonymous with fall, no? I mean you don’t think Alexander McQueen and picture perky summertime florals. This master of noir offers up a twill military jacket to add a little fetish-y McQ flair to cool summer eves. See by Chloé, typically so springtime in Paris, also gets in touch with its inner bad girl in the form of this hooded leather vest: great with bleached cutoffs now and over a shirtdress come fall. And finally, Helmut Lang brings his avant-garde edge to a YSL classic: the women’s tuxedo jacket. This statement piece adds brilliant contrast to all the worn-to-shreds looks of the moment.