Look at fashion for advice!

An interior designer I used to work for once told me that fashion trends are always three years ahead of interior design. This insight became one of my guiding philosophies as I approach home design. As a young girl, I always looked up to my mom for many things, especially her fashion sense. Her ability to curate an outfit inspired me so much that I always wanted to bring that into my profession. Since I didn’t go into the fashion industry, I aimed to translate that inspiration into interiors. As I began to research this subject more deeply, I found that many great designers use fashion as a source of inspiration for their design schemes. Jake Arnold, Molly Kid, and Athena Calderone are a few examples of designers who incorporate fashion imagery into their mood boards.

So let’s talk about how to incorporate these fashion trends into the interiors of your own home!

Color is a great jumping-off point. For Fall 2024 and Winter 2025, we see a lot of darker colors like saturated browns, cobalt blues, merlots, and eggplant purples. However, we also see a sprinkle of lighter colors, such as sky blues, chartreuse, and baby doll pinks. These lighter colors foreshadow Spring 2025 color stories. Specifically in spring, it’s predicted that many of these colors will appear in sheer contexts, through very light and breezy fabrics. Consider incorporating some of these colors in drapery, paint, accessories, and even florals!

One of the easier draws from fashion is material, as it obviously translates into our homes through the fabrics we choose. Currently, fashion is very focused on suedes, liquid leathers, furs, and satin. In spring, we will transition to softer, flowy fabrics that include a lot of transparency. I envision this in a home with beautiful suede wallpapered walls, transparent creamy curtains, and a furry, comfy lounge chair.

The shift to more structured silhouettes has been introduced in this year's and next year's fashion lineup. Think of bolder shapes like shoulder pads, oversized blazers, bubble dresses, and tutus, mixed with slimmer shapes like mini skirts, ultra-pointed boots and heels, tight waists, and sheer tops. A way to introduce this mixture of silhouettes into your home could be pairing a very slim dining chair with a bulky dining table. You might also find a large, comfy sofa and lounge chairs paired with dainty side tables and coffee tables.

We are also seeing a shift from grungy Y2K style to a more elegant and glamorous aesthetic. More formal wear is becoming common in everyday outfits, including long skirts, pointed heels, tops with ornate details like bows and flared sleeves, extravagant dresses, and lots of sparkle! Spaces in your home that would benefit from this style could include dining rooms, great rooms/living rooms, and even your foyer. Look for elegant light fixtures, fabrics, and accessories to enhance these spaces.

Layering is another important aspect of this fashion puzzle. Designers are incorporating layers through accessories like jewelry, shoes, and bags, as well as through the clothing elements themselves. The more skin covered, the better! Think of turtlenecks, shawls, and even dresses over pants. You can achieve this type of layering through patterns in your fabrics, having multiple window coverings like curtains over woven woods, and even through multiple light sources like lamps, candlelight, sconces, and overhead lights, all paired together.

Ornateness is a trend that I believe we have seen coexist in both fashion and interiors. In fashion, we see this through patterns like stripes paired with florals, furs with fringe, and definitely a lot of accessories. In interiors, this is also reflected in patterns used in fabrics—whether that’s lampshades, upholstery, accent pillows, bedding, drapery, or wallpaper. Art is a great way to introduce ornate elements into your home, especially with detailed frames.

Other honorable mentions that deserve a shout-out are animal print and tech. These can be harder for me to integrate into my personal style, but there are definitely some great avenues for incorporation. In fashion, we are seeing a lot of cheetah print across various clothing articles and accessories. In terms of tech, this is evident through many printed patterns and the addition of technology into our accessories, like the new Chanel headphones and smartwatches. Within the home, animal print can be added in small doses to avoid overwhelming the space—consider accent pillows, smaller furniture items like seat cushions, or little accessories like vases or tableware. Incorporating tech can be easier with all the available technology today, and it can be done tastefully! A great example that comes to mind is framed TVs that appear as hanging pieces of art.

All in all, as you can see, there are numerous ways to incorporate fashion inspiration into your home. Whether you’re painting a room in a bold dark color, layering fabrics, or adding a dainty side table, drawing from fashion is a surefire way to make your home more beautiful!

Some sources used for this blog were Pinterest, Who What Wear, Harpers Bazar and Vogue.

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