The first wintry spells no longer mean shrugging into boring cardigans or in your average cashmeres. Make best friends with the haute (yet chilly) trends which will be fore-fronting the fashion scene of the season. Realign your winter wardrobe with these must-have style quotients, caught straight from the runway.

Fresh from Cape Town

Capes have embarked on a fresh love affair with fashion and we hope it stays the same the entire winter. Beloved of superheroes, opera-goers and runway queens; it's the elegant update your wardrobe never knew it needed. Take it sharp and structured, or go cosy up.

Hitting the Silk

Just when you were tiring of the Princess Diana throwbacks, the Queen popped up at London Fashion Week, and with her came a whole stack of signature retro silk scarves. Silk prints were brought to life in the collections of famed powerhouse brands collection. The collection boasted a blend of colourful and outstanding floral prints for an exclusive selection of scarves, silk overalls, stoles and dresses.

So tweed Blown into exaggerated

80’s proportions by designers like Marc Jacobs, rendered hyper-elegant at Chanel and Adam Lippes, and left to grouch and slouch away in supersize coat form at brands like Miu Miu and Calvin Klein, tweed has a shape shifting swag for the new season, and the best part is, you can wear it with anything.

Move over velvet; leather is here

Silk and velvet are all very well, but what to wear when you mean business? Increasingly, the answer from the autumn catwalks is a leather dress. Keep it short and sassy or ankle-length; deliciously irresistible or shirt-shaped and smart - leather is forecasted to be everywhere.

Animal Instinct

Call it a disclaimer: for autumn and winter, fashion is going wild for animal print. From leopard to ocelot, zebra to tiger, wild stripes and spots covered the catwalks, exuding power and independence and shameless self-promotion in equal measure. The difference now? The boldest iterations insist on a head-to-toe policy. Can you dare it?