Another fashion month has come and gone, leaving with it a trail of street style and runway trends to unpack as we navigate what we’ll be wearing next. Perhaps the most exciting trend of all is the head-to-toe beige looks that seemed more at home in the lounge room than on the streets of New York, London, Milan and Paris. This March, street style stars from all four cities on the fashion month rotation proved that low-key comfort-dressing is in their wheelhouse, while these aforementioned neutral tones were the chic way to approach it.

In New York, show-goers were swathed in ivory teddy bear coats and a nude-toned trackpant, paired with a Bottega Veneta bag, of course. Perhaps it was the rain or unpredictable weather but turtleneck sweaters in the same tones were also a go in New York; while in London, the shivering temperatures translated to beige knitwear layered under blazers in the same colour family. Even hoodies were spotted in the English capital.

As fashion month marched on, the trend continued in Milan and Paris. (Slightly) warmer temperatures in Italy meant show attendees could get away with a knitted dress version that still very much felt like all-neutral loungewear, worn with strappy heels and a statement bag. Other Milan front row guests appeared as if they were running errands on a Saturday morning, rather than attending a fashion show, with slouchy beige trousers, a comfy beige knit and–you guessed it–a beige overcoat to finish the look. Even in Paris—perhaps the most elevated of all the fashion months in terms of dress codes—there were textured taupe coats to nestle into or an oversized two-piece suit in a relaxed alabaster fabric.

What caused this dedication to cosy-comfort for autumn/winter ’20/’21? It couldn’t just be the fact the shows kicked off in winter in the northern hemisphere, as they do each February. Was it a subliminal response to the coronavirus, where guests felt like a low-key approach was more appropriate? Was it a serious commitment to the overall mood of comfort-dressing that’s only grown in popularity over the past year? Or a response to our “very busy, lots on” mentality that’s pervaded the zeitgeist? And what of the beige trend, where almost every attendee seemed to be in biscuit, camel or tan? Whatever the catalyst, we’re making this our moda operandi come winter in Australia

Here, we’ve pulled together all the slouchy, swathing, I-woke-up-like-this, effortless looks that prove comfort is cool and beige isn’t boring.