Discover Modern Heirlooms, This Season’s Most Romantic Trend

Fashion can fulfil many functions. It can be solutions-based, something that allows you to look the part at a work event or a date in the diary. It can be fantasy – a dress of dreams or a vacation wardrobe to make a postcard come true. Fashion can also be about finding pieces you’ll want to wear and cherish forever – so memorable that you can hand them down to the next generation as heirlooms. So, this season, designers are leaning into the emotional power of clothes, with collections that feature exquisite care and consideration, across different details to note. As designer Pauline Dujancourt says: “If a piece is passed from a mother to a daughter and it still feels right on her, that’s the deepest form of success I can imagine.”

Vintage prints are full of charm – especially the ones that look like they could have been discovered in a long-lost antique trunk. This season, such is the case with ditsy delicate florals on a corset at McQueen and chiffon layers at Anna Sui, camisoles at Dolce&Gabbana and a shiny jacquard at Valentino Garavani. Of course, these are classic florals, but they are far from staid. Look to the runway for inspiration, where Anna Sui’s ’90s heritage brought a swagger to vintage-style pieces, and where florals were contrasted with cargo pants for a cool-girl take on boho at McQueen. Alternatively, Colleen Allen’s yellow floral-jacquard cape has the opulence of yesteryear with an effortless drape.

As a fabric imbued with romance, lace is central to the heirloom trend – one found on slips at Heirlome, Saint Laurent and Tom Ford. Pauline Dujancourt has ensured lace is a key part of her designs – as seen on black camisoles and sweet over-the-knee stockings this season. The designer sees the fabric as almost a cheat code for dressing. “Sensuality within womanhood is something I think and talk about a lot,” she says. “I want to offer lingerie-inspired ready-to-wear pieces that women can wear every day.” Meanwhile, Suberville says ease is important. “I want women to feel beautiful, elegant and comfortable. Even our eveningwear has to feel comfortable.”

Statement accessories have an inherent heirloom quality – worthy of being conserved for the next generation, but also a way to add something exquisite to even the most low-key outfit. This season, pieces to keep and treasure include this perfect woven intrecciato Bottega Veneta bag in powdery blue, a special occasion-worthy embellished floral clutch by Dries Van Noten and an evergreen classic, in the shape of Gucci’s ‘Jackie’ shoulder bag. Named in honor of Jackie Kennedy, it embodies her timeless style – whatever it might be paired with.

Always associated with the ’70s boho girl – think of Joni Mitchell or Tina Turner – suede was key at Saint Laurent this season. A blouson jacket is an investment worth making – with fringing and studs, it works with a retro look as well as with more modern pieces. Elsewhere, designers gave a new feel to suede, perhaps fashion’s most tactile material, to bring a modern take on precious. See a classic pencil skirt reimagined in sand suede by Proenza Schouler or, for the ultimate in indulgence, the shape of a pair of straight-leg jeans transformed in silky grey-blue suede.

Having grown in status over recent years, the brooch is now most definitely back – making your lapels the site of the smallest fashion statements. A brooch particularly lends itself to the heirloom trend, whatever your jewelry aesthetic. See heritage brand Sonia Petroff’s Art Deco-style graphic design, or Saint Laurent’s ‘Cassandre’ brooch, where the classic logo is reworked in green, pearl and sparkles. Alternatively, for a real vintage feel, look to Valentino Garavani – a brand that is all about perennial glamour. A gold design with sparkles is straight out of a precious jewelry box and can be worn both on a lapel or, for added impact, at the neck of a scarf. Nonchalance is the key.