Consider Yourself A Shopper #47: Suede Appeal
Plus I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a muumuu summer.
I'm deep in the moving groove, so I haven’t had much time to shoot, and with most of my clothes packed away, getting dressed has become more formulaic than usual. I scrapped the idea of building another 20 to 25 piece capsule, and this time I pared it down even further. We're talking about six core pieces. Most days, I’ve been wearing a variation of the same outfit: a t-shirt, a navy sweater, and either my favorite jeans or a pair of trousers from Saman Amel that thankfully arrived just in time. (They host trunk shows every so often, check their Instagram to see when they’re in town. If made-to-measure isn’t a must, you can find them on MyTheresa.) The only real switch-up has been outerwear. Last week in New York, we were hit with a chill and rain, so once again, coats became the outfit. And honestly, all I could think was Punxsutawney Phil was right.
When I’ve had a moment to step away from folding clothes and packing boxes, the one thing that’s been on my mind lately is suede. Suede jackets, suede shirts, suede shorts (which, like leather shorts, feel almost like an oxymoron but also so right), suede bags, suede chairs (!?!). You get the point SUEDE, SUEDE, SUEDE!!!
The suede of it all, for me at least, goes back to Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent. When you think about what actually makes its way from the runway into the way people dress, there are a few designers whose influence really shows up. The Olsen twins come to mind, with the Row-ification of fashion seeping not just into wardrobes but into the DNA of other brands chasing that same energy. Miuccia Prada has always been influential, not just through her work but also through her personal style. And while it might seem strange to describe Prada—or Miu Miu—as relatable, there’s something in the way she constructs her world that makes even the most fantastical ideas feel oddly familiar. Think of the knit paired with a ball skirt at Prada, or the bullet bra layered under a dress with straps that just wouldn’t stay up in the most recent Miu Miu show. There’s often an intentional awkwardness, a kind of tension between elegance and discomfort. It brushes up against what might be considered bad taste or a fashion faux pas—yet in Miuccia’s hands, that awkwardness becomes the point. It makes space for fantasy that feels personal, even a little vulnerable, which in turn makes it feel more real.
And then there’s Vaccarello, who I think is a slightly different case. His Saint Laurent doesn’t always feel wearable in a day-to-day sense (that’s even including his daywear), it’s more like a mood or a fantasy. He designs for the version of ourselves we sometimes wish we were: sharper, sexier, more cinematic. Even if that ideal feels out of reach, his vision still finds a way to filter into the market. He’s one of the few designers willing to really engage with sex and desire without watering it down. Sometimes it’s overt, like that pantyhose collection that got dragged at the time. But sitting here in 2025, I think it was kind of brilliant. He was onto something, even if we weren’t quite ready for it yet.
That’s what good design does—it plants a seed. Maybe you don’t connect with it right away, but when the time comes, it’s there waiting. Which brings me back to suede.
I’ve never been a huge suede person for one main reason: I’ve long written off suede as being too precious and delicate. But what’s funny is that for a large part of its history, suede wasn’t seen that way at all. It was considered durable and rustic and used in driving attire in the 1920s and riding gear before that. And while there are definitely precautions you should take with suede, the upkeep isn’t all that draining.
Traditionally, suede gets lumped in with fall and winter dressing. But for me, the suede itch didn’t hit until early spring. I suddenly wanted to wear a suede jacket or shirt with linen shorts and flip flops. Maybe that leans a little editorial, but that’s the fun of spring. You can get away with slightly out-there ideas.
Sure, you could call suede a trend, but I don’t really subscribe to that way of thinking. To me, it feels more like part of a broader shift—a mood, a moment—that’s shaping how we’re getting dressed. If you’ve been reading for a while, you know my relationship with “trends” is complicated. It’s not that things don’t trend anymore, but the old way of talking about them doesn’t quite hold up. And honestly, if you really want to plant your flag in trend territory, you can make a case for almost anything as long as you’ve got some receipts, or at least a convincing argument (maybe it doesn’t even have be terribly convincing you just have to have an argument). That’s part of why I’ve started to think less in terms of trends and more in terms of moments. It’s not a perfect distinction, but moments feel broader, less tied to a specific item and more rooted in a mood or sensibility. That makes them feel, for lack of a better word, more real.
And these moments aren’t happening in isolation—they’re overlapping. There’s the “boom boom” aesthetic, a very palpable 70s revival, and what I’d argue is the beginning of a full-on 1920s/30s Art Deco return. (I’m sure there are other valid moments unfolding, but those are the ones I’m personally tapped into right now.)
You can see all of this in Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection. The “boom boom” shows up in the suiting, modeled after Yves Saint Laurent’s own style, right down to the oversized glasses. The 70s are there in the floor-length lurex dresses and skirts layered under jackets (including a suede one) and the massive wooden and resin necklaces. And the 20s/30s show up in those pajama suits and robes that floated down the runway mid-show.
What makes suede feel right for spring isn’t just the material itself. It’s what it represents right now. There’s a larger shift happening in how we get dressed, one that’s less about seasonal rules and more about chasing a feeling. Suede, especially the way it’s been styled in recent collections like Saint Laurent’s or even Isabel Marant, taps into that blend of cinematic nostalgia and lived-in elegance. It bridges the 70s sensuality, the Art Deco glamour, and the off-duty polish we’ve been gravitating toward. So even if a suede shirt with linen shorts sounds like a contradiction, maybe that contradiction is the point. It’s about dressing for the version of yourself you’re leaning into, not the one dictated by a calendar.
What’s in my shopping cart and on my mind (like this Mr. Chow collaboration?)
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