The unexpected seduction of suede

Suede and fashion live a complicated love story. Perhaps it's because the trend took shape far from the runways, among aviators and 1950s bikers and then twenty years later with the psychedelic rise of the hippies, but ever since its first landing in ateliers, it has never had the impact to remain relevant for more than a season. Perhaps what makes suede look outdated in such a short amount of time is the range of browns it is knowns for, a rustic coloration that in the fashion world is wielded successfully only by accomplished designers. Not surprisingly, among the pioneers of the trend we find Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, and Miuccia Prada: the first a cornerstone of American aesthetics, the second a lover of street style and the colours of Morocco, the last the creator of an aesthetic later known as ugly chic (all worlds far from the timeless charm of Parisian elegance). However, if global Google searches for “suede” have been constantly increasing since 2020, with a +70% in the last year, there must be a reason, and for the first time in a few months, quiet luxury has nothing to do with it. The first brands to bring suede back into the spotlight at recent Fashion Weeks were once again rebels, with Acne Studios for SS24 presenting velvety leather miniskirts with a worn-out appearance, Loewe showing pants and trench coats with completely off-kilter proportions, Marni choosing muted colors like dove gray for floor-length skirts, and Miu Miu shortening them to historical minimums.

Right after SS24, for the colder season, other designers equipped themselves with suede and brought velvety expanses in shades of sienna, moss green, sage, and rust to the runway, with Matthieu Blazy from Bottega Veneta having the most fun in a sky blue jacket and skirt set. Jonathan Anderson continued to propose suede but within the JW Anderson collection with slippers and bermudas, while Jacquemus presented his own iteration of the trend, off-calendar and tinted with the brightest colors of the French Riviera. Sculptural fire-red dresses, wide-shouldered pea-green trench coats, pink skirts, and short shearling coats created a sharp contrast with the subdued flooring of Casa Malaparte. At FW24, Miu Miu took the SS24 suede to a more advanced level, adorning fully 1970s blazers with beads and rhinestones, while the very American Ralph Lauren was revived by Pharrell for Louis Vuitton, in the form of 21st-century cowboys among workwear, soft suede inserts on jackets and shirts, and also in a collaboration with Timberland. 

With a more conventional approach to the trend, even the Resort 2025 collection by Gucci has taken up suede, but on vintage silhouettes that retrace the Swinging Sixties of London, like double-breasted blazers, mini dresses, squared capes, and short-sleeved suits. At Paris Fashion Week Men’s, for his grand finale, Dries Van Noten perhaps proposed the most elegant iteration of the trend along with Zegna: the first with a warm gray work suit with an oversized collar, the latter with a range of coats that took their color from the flax fields that inspired the collection. The endless list of examples of luxury and non-luxury brands that have brought up suede at recent Fashion Weeks is compelling proof of how this material has finally found a new voice in the dynamic chorus of trends. Sneakers aside (here we mention the great classics Puma Suede and the Triple Stitch by Zegna), it really seems that the turbulent relationship between fashion and suede has reached a moment of calm. We just have to see if it will be another fling or true love.