No Offence to Jeans or Trousers, But These 5 Autumn 2025 Skirt Trends are Earning Me So Many Compliments
Of all the pieces that make up a cold-weather wardrobe, it’s often the case that skirts are overlooked in favour of structured jeans or polished woollen trousers.
However, as one of the biggest autumn/winter 2025 trends, skirts are swiftly becoming fashion’s underdog. You may not associate skirts with autumn-and-winter dressing, but winter-ready skirts are the hard-working item that does a lot of heavy lifting to help any outfit look elegant, whilst still providing cover from the biting elements.
So, when it comes to the autumn skirt trends of 2025, we really are spoilt for choice. You can blame this on the endless amount of skirts paraded down designer runways earlier in the year, with styles including Miu Miu’s soft pastel silk midi and Chloé’s billowing tiered maxis in glossy taffeta hitting boutique floors (and therefore ending up in the wardrobes of tasteful dressers).
Skirts are really playing their trump card this season, and designers are offering up elegant shapes with expert flourishes for maximum impact. Paired with a soft-as-butter leather jacket or faux fur throw, the key autumn 2025 skirt trends are injecting a sense of flirtatious sophistication into very timely outfits. Indeed, these are silhouettes that eschew the notions that a warming, comforting autumnal skirt has to be mantronly.
In fact, quite the opposite can be said for the skirts reigning supreme this season. Sure, they’re all made from durable fabric and give adequate coverage for lower temperatures, but they also arm the wearer with a quiet strength, like the new-season pinstripe Calvin Klein knee-grazer that Hailey Bieber recently wore to celebrate Rhode’s billion-dollar acquisition.
These are skirts that certainly mean business, but in a more playful, “office siren” way, like tartan iterations gathered and twisted through the front, or lace-trim slips brought out of the boudoir and into the boardroom. Most importantly, the key autumn 2025 skirt trends are all underpinned by a feeling of timelessness. Because they’re so classic, these are pieces you can buy now and wear for years to come. What gives clothing more power than that?
Keep scrolling to see and shop the five major autumn skirt trends of 2025.
The 5 Key Autumn Skirt Trends of 2025
1. Check Mate
Style Notes: This year, nostalgic prints have found a new footing. Whilst balmy temperatures complement more sprightly prints like polka dot and gingham, heartier patterns like check or tartan are well-suited to chillier days. The return of these flannelette fabrics can be traced back to Dior‘s Mary Queen of Scots-inspired Cruise 2025 show, hosted in the Highlands in June. However, expensive-looking high-street styles from COS and Massimo Dutti are equally in demand.
Shop the Trend:
COS
Draped Checked Midi Skirt
Massimo Dutti
Check Print Godet Midi Skirt
The panels on this will add great movement and dimension to your ensemble.
Miu Miu
Miu Miu Plaid-Check Midi Skirt
Checks don’t always have to be rendered in the deep, wintry shades.
John Lewis
Check Cotton Blend Midi Skirt
How to make classic tartan chic.
Beloved New Zealand label Wynn Hamlyn is revered for its innovative use of knitwear, contorting and manipulating basic fibres into something far more imaginative, like this woven skirt with a malleable dropped panel.
2. Pencil It In
Style Notes: Once reserved for stuffy offices and made from even stuffier polyester, pencil skirts are back with reckless abandon. On a personal note, I have to say I’m absolutely thrilled about it, as the sculpting shape effortlessly elevates an outfit thanks to its inherent tailored qualities. But I know I’m not speaking for myself when I say looking put-together without exhausting yourself is an ethos we can all embrace this autumn.
Shop the Trend:
Reiss
Wool-Blend Tailored Pencil Skirt in Black
The discerning minimalism exercised with this styling gives this piece a delicate ’90s-fashion feel.
Courtney Zheng
Irene Wool Silk Duchesse Midi Skirt
Don’t assume this clean-cut shape is devoid of personality. Just embrace styles like this one from Courtney Zheng, an emerging Australian brand, that comes with detachable contrasting silk bloomers.
MANGO
Faux-Leather Pencil Skirt
& Other Stories
Pencil Midi Skirt
Embrace your inner Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy with this designer-passing option.
3. Sheer Impact
Style Notes: The temperature dropping below 20°C isn’t always an incentive to stop baring your limbs to the elements. Whilst you won’t be rewarded with a dose of vitamin D, sheer skirts strike a delightful contrast against bulky autumn jackets or trench coats. This is a hack many Scandi fashion brands employ in their styling, and something I’m readily seeing style insiders across Europe adopt. The crucial part here is to layer wisely and layer well.
Shop the Trend:
Mode Mischief Studios
Bias Brief Midi Skirt
This gleaming blue skirt will look heavenly with a crisp button-down, boxy blazer and cashmere jumper. (And perhaps some pearls too, to tie into the liquid sensation of the material.)
Autograph
Layered Draped Midi A-Line Skirt
Supple and fluid, which is exactly what you want to strive for to combat the stiffness associated with the season.
Rise & Fall
Silk Organza Panelled Skirt
You needn’t worry about over accessorising with this trend either, as the mesh surface is intriguing enough on its own.
A monochromatic outfit is equally impactful, thanks to the interplay between the different grains.
Throw on a chocolate-brown knit and you’ll have a look bound to earn you compliments.
4. Lace Thrills
\Style Notes: Whilst the season is still nascent, we’re searching for ways to transition summer trends into autumn. Swapping out lace-trim satin shorts for lace-trim satin slips is one obvious but chic trade. Under a large, floor-grazing duster, the piece’s Parisian elements have a sort of coquettish, soothing effect that’s just so enduring.
Shop the Trend:
Reformation
Carolina Silk Skirt
I plan on replicating this entire outfit.
The White Company
Double Satin Appliqué Lace Skirt
Slouchy boots and sumptuous bombers pair perfectly with this skirt trend.
Next
Navy Satin Midi Skirt With Lace Trim
Navy and black is such an underrated, but nonetheless luxe, colour combination.
DÔEN
Elowena Lace-Trimmed Silk Midi Skirt
Anthropologie
The Tilda Knee-Length Slip Skirt
Romantic yet autumn-ready.
5. Pleated, Please
Style Notes: Pleated skirts are universally regarded as a preppy fashion staple, but for 2025, they’re taking less of a collegiate configuration, with shapes attuned to off-duty demands. Simone Rocha and S.S. Daley both showcased shredded pleated skirts during London Fashion Week back in February, proving this style certainly is a fashion fundamental in its own right, even with countless interpretations.
Shop the Trend:
A cropped woollen jacket will sit nicely over this skirt.
ARKET
Pleated Wool Blend Skirt
A staple in so many of the best British wardrobes.
VIOLANTE NESSI
Gentileschi Pleated Paneled Satin Maxi Skirt
A whimsical iteration that’s as glamorous as it is angelic. Simply stunning.
BURBERRY
Leather-Trimmed Pleated Checked Wool Midi Skirt
It wouldn’t be a British winter without the appearance of Burberry’s iconic Nova check, now would it?
A pre-belted piece, to take the fuss out of styling.
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