The Silk-Coat Trend in Every It Girl’s Winter-to-Spring Wardrobe Leave a comment
It’s been over three months since I first laid eyes on Alexa Chung wearing a butter-yellow jacquard opera coat as a dress to a Christmas dinner in London hosted by musician and producer Mike Skinner. The silk-taffeta coat had a cocoon-like shape similar to popular styles in the early 1900s, as well as a fur collar and cuffs, which Bulgarian designer Viktor Gichev, who works at One of a Kind vintage archive in London’s Portobello Market, crafted using repurposed mink. It also featured a frog closure, or pankou, which are braided knots that stem from China’s Tang and Song Dynasties and are traditionally found on cheongsam garments, and tassel embellishment.
I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It’s been no help that most of those three months have been spent spotting similar ornate, silk coats with fur trim, on other It girls, including Margot Robbie during the Wuthering Heights tour, Kate Moss outside of the Ritz Paris, Tish Weinstock on the catwalk at the Conner Ives show during London Fashion Week, and now, on Zoë Kravitz, hand-in-hand with Harry Styles after his stint hosting Saturday Night Live last weekend. I’m guilty of forgetting the magic of fashion sometimes, whilst in the midst of it 24/7, but when you see pieces like these, it’s impossible not to be filled with awe.
Gichev’s designs, which are all made-to-order, have become the talk of many fashion circles, with comments of appreciation arriving under his posts from names like Camille Charriere and Adwoa Aboah. He makes them in his free time, designing Paul Poiret–esque pieces out of repurposed fabrics, like ornate curtains and more. In an interview with British Vogue, he described his practice of “letting the fabric talk.”
Essentially, instead of conceptualizing a garment and then sourcing materials, he finds his antique fabrics first and lets them dictate the shape they’ll be crafted into. It’s this method that’s responsible for the unique shape and bespoke nature of Chung’s coat.
(Image credit: Darren Gerrish/WireImage for Mike Skinner/Getty Images)
On Alexa Chung: Viktor Gichev coat
It’s no wonder that this outerwear style is appearing everywhere right now—it’s proven to be perfect for the confusing winter-to-spring transitional season we’re currently living in. The silhouette is similar to an Afghan coat (later nicknamed a Penny Lane coat after it was featured on Kate Hudson‘s character of the same name in Almost Famous, circa 2000), but far more lightweight and delicate, since it’s made of antique silk, as opposed to warm sheepskin like the sort that originated in Ghazni, Afghanistan in the early 20th century. What this modern interpretation lacks in practicality, though, it makes up for with artful aesthetics and unexpected versatility, with wearers styling their versions with everything from denim to gowns.
Arguably the most notable designer of today’s silk coats is Conner Ives, a fellow London-based creative with high-profile friends. Moss, Weinstock, and Kravitz’s lavish top layers have all come from Ives, who was born and raised in New York but moved to the UK to study at Central Saint Martins. Charriere has also posted photos wearing one of his designs, and Jennifer Lawrence wore one on the red carpet at the end of last year with a custom Armani Privé gown during her press tour for Die My Love. His designs are simultaneously everywhere and nowhere—forever discussed among stylish people, but never overexposed due to the handmade nature of his designs.
(Image credit: Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Tish Weinstock walking in the F/W 26 Conner Ives show.
Ives’ fall/winter 2026 show opened with Weinstock wearing a yellow, demi couture silk tapestry coat that, according to an Instagram post by the designer, was created using large, hand-embroidered silk tapestries dating back to the Qing Dynasty, which took place between 1644 and 1911 in China, marking a period of prolific cultural and artistic achievements, according to the National Museum of Asian Art. Motifs from these preserved tapestries were cut out and hand-appliquéd onto the silhouette’s silk crepe satin base to create the resulting outerwear. “A mind-numbing amount of work realized by a team that feels as passionate about craft as I do,” Ives wrote. “All made locally in London.”
The most recent sighting was of Kravitz, who wore a light-blue, short version with a sheer slip and vintage Manolo Blahnik sandals (sourced from The Vintage Marché). Her coat was custom-made and crafted with faux shearling derived from a wool-and-recycled polyester that Ives had on hand as dead stock from previous production. The look immediately went viral, and not only because she and Styles are one of the buzziest couples of the moment. Her coat was the star of the show, which also says a lot given that Styles had on a leopard-print Chanel jacket by Matthieu Blazy, one of the most talked-about designers in all of fashion this year. Kravitz’s look was, of course, styled by her longtime stylist Danielle Goldberg.
(Image credit: The Image Direct)
On Zoë Kravitz: Conner Ives coat; vintage Manolo Blahnik shoes
This coat’s appeal? The richness of its craft and appearance. With the price of clothing rising every day, when we invest, we want our purchases to still feel worthy of the high cost, and coats like this (whether you purchase one new from Ives or Gichev, or go the secondhand route, sourcing John Galliano–era Dior or vintage Sue Wong from eBay) will always be a good investment. So much care and time went into making them into one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art and future (or current) heirlooms. Of course, they’d be appreciated by the people who love fashion most.
Keep scrolling to shop the best versions available right now, old and new.
Preorder the Conner Ives Silk Coats
Conner Ives
Fox Fur-Trimmed Silk Robe Jacket
Conner Ives
Fox Fur-Trimmed Silk Robe
Conner Ives
Fox Fur-Trimmed Silk Robe Jacket
Sightings
(Image credit: Backgrid)
On Kate Moss: Conner Ives Fox Fur-Trimmed Silk Robe Jacket ($9200)
(Image credit: launchmetrics spotlight)
Valentino haute couture 2026
(Image credit: Neil Mockford/Getty Images for BFI)
On Jennifer Lawrence: Custom Armani Privé dress; Conner Ives Fox Fur-Trimmed Silk Robe Jacket ($9200); Hunting Season The Lola Bag ($595); Aquazzura sandals
Get the look: Afghan coat + graphic T-shirt + dark-wash jeans + mini bag
(Image credit: Neil Mockford/GC Images/Getty Images)
On Margot Robbie: Archival John Galliano spring/summer 1992 coat; Manolo Blahnik shoes; Jessica McCormack jewelry; Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses
Styled by: Andrew Mukamal
Get the look: Silk coat with fur trim + leopard-print knee-high boots
(Image credit: Launchmetrics Spotlight)
Valentino fall/winter 2026
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