Touch Everything: The Season of Shearling, Fringe and Faux Fur
Fall/winter 2026 was a collection of things you want to reach out and touch. Here is how to bring that richness into a real wardrobe.
If one word sums up the fall/winter 2026 runways, it is tactile. Season after season we talk about silhouettes and colours, but this time the conversation was about surface — pile and shearling, fringe and sequins, fabrics engineered to look like something else entirely.
What the runways showed
Coveteur singled out Louise Trotter's second collection for Bottega Veneta as overflowing with fur, pile, shearling and fringe. At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy layered sequins that read like scales and added floral appliqué. Louis Vuitton's runway was taken over by shearling and fur, and in New York, Rachel Scott at Diotima opened her show with a three-dimensional organza intarsia technique that, from a distance, could pass for shearling.
Fur — overwhelmingly faux this time — returned in force too. Gucci explored belted fur coats, Chanel showed multicoloured versions, Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli went as far as fur trousers, and Alessandro Michele's Valentino offered coats that looked as though they had come from an heirloom wardrobe.
Why texture feels so right
Part of the appeal is simple comfort: these are fabrics made for cold weather. But there is something deeper. Trendalytics described a "more is more" mood across the season — layering for the sake of fashion rather than warmth, mixing neutrals with bold colour, going generous with accessories. Texture is the most sophisticated way to participate in that mood. A camel coat in shearling says more than a camel coat in plain wool, without saying it loudly.
How to wear it
- Mix, don't match. The most interesting looks pair contrasting surfaces: a fluffy knit with sleek leather, a shearling collar against crisp cotton, fringe beside polished suiting.
- Stay in one colour family. When textures are doing the talking, a tonal palette — ivory to oatmeal, chocolate to camel — keeps things refined.
- Start with a collar or trim. A detachable faux-fur collar or a shearling-trimmed jacket gives the effect of the trend in a single, versatile piece.
- Choose responsibly. Many of the season's furs were faux, and the quality of today's alternatives is remarkable. Vintage is another thoughtful route.
The takeaway
Texture is the rare trend that rewards a slow, considered wardrobe. A beautifully made shearling coat or a deep-pile knit will look just as good in five winters as it does in this one.
