Alice Fisher on style: fluffy fashion

I’ve worked at lots of different fashion magazines. Cutting-edge style bibles, women’s glossies and biannual luxury guides: I’ve done ’em all. Despite a common goal of selling style, fantasies and clothes, these magazines differed enormously on one key factor: fun.

At some titles, there was palpable fear that they weren’t taking fashion seriously enough. I’ve sat in long meetings and discussed glittery tops, shiny shoes, pop stars and models with furrowed brow and serious nods. At one place staff weren’t allowed to eat lunch at their desks because lunch breaks should be used for lunch meetings. At another we weren’t allowed food in the office at all. Every so often, though, when the important people were out at important meetings, we’d run up and down the corridors wearing diamonds and fancy shoes out of the fashion cupboard. It was really cathartic.

I thought about this fear of fun as I read the new season trend reports. Most are descriptive and accurate – words like utilitarian, folklore and suiting are bandied about – but I felt sad that so many reports referred to the “texture” trend. This is such a serious word for the fuzzy-wuzzy, cuddlesome fluffy delights that came down the catwalk this season. [Louis Vuitton Bags]

The clothes were undeniably fun. How can you look at shearling coats in cartoon colours, furball jumpers and faux-fur wraps and scarves and simply write “texture” in your notebook? Everyone from Gucci and Marni to Calvin Klein and Chanel sent something you’d want to hug down the catwalk. Texture? Pah.

If you want to buy something frivolous that makes you smile, there are two British designers you should try. Helen Moore’s accessories company is 30 years old and she sources faux fur for her cute little collars, scarves and shawls from a local company in Devon. Hannah Weiland’s label, Shrimps, is brand new but already a big fashion hit. The colours are zingy and her coats, bags and bag charms are very strokable. Whichever you go for Cheap Designer Bags, you’ll enjoy wearing them.

If you want your “texture” to be versatile, this trend doesn’t just come in eye-stinging brights nor only in faux fur. Topshop and Asos have all manner of fuzzy jumpers and cardigans. I particularly like this one from Topshop. It’s super-soft and comes in soothing grey. Grey is a big colour for autumn and I like ticking off two trends with one cheap purchase.

You can invest in fuzzy clothes, too, though. I don’t like spending too much money on clothes that won’t travel well from season to season, but in the right colour and shape, there are fuzzy delights here that you could cuddle for years to come. Lots of high-street brands have great “teddy bear” coats in for autumn. Some look and feel as if they have been fashioned from cuddly toys, but others are soft, subtle and elegant. This coat from & Other Stories is smart enough to see you through any occasion, while these hairy Jérôme Dreyfuss trainers are functional as well as decorative.

However much money you decide to spend on these shaggy, fuzzy clothes, please enjoy them. Give yourself a snuggle when you’re wearing them, grin when you take them out of the cupboard. And whatever you do, don’t refer to them as textured.Fashion & Style