Print & Pattern Trends for Fall/Winter 2025–2026: Inspiration for Artists & Designers
A little late with this print and pattern trend report, but better late than never as they say. As we step into Fall/Winter 2025–2026, prints and patterns are taking on a rich new depth—rooted in tradition, but with modern updates that invite reinterpretation. For artists, illustrators, and surface designers, this season is less about wardrobes and more about creative possibility. The following highlights are drawn from fashion runways, textile forecasts, and cultural shifts—offering a toolbox of ideas to spark your next project.
1. Plaid & Tailoring-Inspired Motifs
Plaid is back with strength, but not in the predictable sense. This season, designers are reimagining tartans, checks, and houndstooth with fresh colourways and oversized proportions. A recent Who What Wear trend roundup confirms its presence across the runways and even filtering into affordable retailers. At the same time, tailored patterns like pinstripes, argyle, and herringbone are spilling into womenswear, reflecting the influence of menswear on women’s design aesthetics.
Inspiration: Layer plaid grids with translucent textures, or modernize pinstripes with gradient fades or metallic accents.
2. Polka Dots & Polished Stripes
Polka dots are staging a comeback, spotted in collections by Altuzarra, Fendi, and Isabel Marant, according to Who What Wear. Meanwhile, stripes are evolving into illusionary and structural forms. Plumager’s print forecast highlights how these patterns are being reimagined into polished, architectural linework.
Inspiration: Experiment with layered dot-and-stripe hybrids, or warped linework that creates optical depth.
3. Animal Prints with a Twist
From leopard to zebra to cow, animal patterns are roaring into Fall/Winter 2025–26 with new energy. A feature in The Times highlights how designers are reinterpreting these classics in unexpected scales, colours, and contexts—often paired with conversations about ethical materials and sustainability.
Inspiration: Push beyond realism—think watercolour-inspired zebra stripes, or neon-accented leopard spots that speak to digital wildness.
4. The Chevron Revival
Chevron, once considered a dated millennial print, is suddenly back in the spotlight. Glamour recently pointed to Jenna Ortega’s bold chevron look as a signal of the pattern’s revival, making it a perfect retro-modern motif to experiment with.
Inspiration: Play with angled repetition in unexpected textures—metallic foils, patchwork collage, or layered gradients that give chevron a contemporary lift.
5. Warm Neutrals & Jacquard Textures
Textile forecasters emphasize tone-on-tone patterns, muted florals, and geometric jacquards in warm beige and earth tones. According to FashionNetwork’s fabric trends report, these quieter motifs often show up in knits, gabardines, and woven blends, providing subtle complexity.
Inspiration: Use layered digital brushes or hand-painted marks to mimic jacquard depth. Explore beige-on-beige florals or textural overlays that invite close-up detail.
6. Minimal Geometrics
Clean, structured motifs—squares, triangles, and modular grids—are emerging as a counterbalance to louder animal prints. Plumager’s seasonal print report notes a refinement of scale, moving toward modern, minimal geometry.
Inspiration: Think Bauhaus-inspired repeats or simplified vector layouts that feel sharp yet versatile.
7. Dark Florals & Brocade Motifs
Florals never fully leave the fashion conversation, but this season they’re leaning into drama. While not dominating runways, deeper colourways and motifs that echo brocade and paisley traditions are being highlighted in community discussions and niche forecasting platforms as strong directions for moody, layered textiles.
Inspiration: Rework heritage floral patterns with rich palettes—burgundy, forest green, midnight blue—or overlay them with brocade-inspired metallics.
8. Linear Autumnal Abstractions
Subdued, nature-inspired palettes are influencing linear designs: rustic browns, forest tones, and golden hues arranged in verticals or subtle striping. Moodboards from trend platforms and Pinterest highlight these earthy, linear interpretations as a grounding, autumnal counterpoint to bolder prints.
👉 Inspiration: Try organic linework that mimics tree bark, weathered stone, or woven baskets—textures that feel rooted yet modern.
Closing Thoughts
Fall/Winter 2025–2026 is a season of balance: between heritage and reinvention, minimalism and boldness, warmth and edge. For artists and designers, this means there’s room to play—whether through modernizing plaid, distorting stripes, reimagining animal prints, or bringing dark florals into fresh surfaces.
When approaching your own projects, consider not just what’s trending, but how you can translate these motifs into your medium—be it textiles, illustration, digital patterns, or interiors. Think of these trends as a launchpad, not a rulebook.
More From Art and Design By Teresa Cowley
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