Textures of all kinds played a prominent role in Erdem’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection.Courtesy Erdem
The easiest way to update your look this holiday season? Just add texture.
Moving beyond minimalist fashion and the so-called quiet luxury moment of recent years, “We’re now excited to play with new shapes and silhouettes,” says Joseph Tang, fashion director at Holt Renfrew. “We want to embody and try on different textures that evoke different emotions.”
Shoppers are looking to invest in designer pieces that feel luxurious and special – and the case could be made that “a textured item, a dress, a jacket or whatever it may be, is kind of what the new logo looks like now,” Tang says. At the same time, they’re also ready to have more fun with their wardrobes. “I think that this maximalist movement is something that people can get excited by, feel invigorated to invest in or try,” says Tang.
This exuberance and shift towards maximalism translates to plenty of play, especially for the festive season. Think embellished and sequinned gowns, faux fur and shearling coats, velvet suiting, satin dresses and even fringed shoes – worn head-to-toe or styled in eye-catching combinations.
Sumptuous textures were ubiquitous on the womenswear runways for Fall/Winter 2025, with many designers opting for ornate fabrications to make bold sartorial statements: over-the-top taffeta bows at Givenchy, brocades and velvets in Erdem’s collection, and crystal embellishment atop prints at Dries Van Noten. Tang notes that sequins were embraced by both contemporary and designer labels this season. In menswear, too, textures like corduroy, shearling and velvet are trending. For the holiday season, the easiest way to wear a bold texture is to start with that one “star” piece that you really love, says Toronto-based stylist Zeina Esmail. “That’s your statement and you build around it.” Whether that’s an embellished dress or a sequin skirt, the rest of the look should complement rather than detract from the hero item.
As shown in Chanel’s Spring 2026 show, feathers and other textures will continue their prominence beyond the holiday season.Courtesy Chanel
It could even be about “finding that one textural piece that is that ‘wow’ moment, but then grounding the rest of your outfit or your style back to something that’s a bit more neutral, but it could still be textured,” says Tang.
Another fool-proof way to pull off the trend, especially if you want to try mixing multiple textures within an outfit, is to keep things monochrome, suggests Esmail. For example, it’s easier to match a sequinned skirt with a chunky knit or feathered top if all the pieces are the same colour or within the same colour family.
Still, if you’re willing to try something different, what feels most interesting now is a joyful, more-is-more approach to combining textures and colours, says Esmail. The memorable finale look of Chanel’s spring/summer 2026 collection, for example, features a beautiful, multi-coloured feathered skirt. “[That] was such an impactful moment and it was bold; it wasn’t just…a black feathered skirt,” she says.
So, don’t be afraid to experiment a little this holiday season. “This is the time of year where we expect a more maximalist approach to dressing,” says Esmail. “I think people are having fun with their clothes.”