A new academic year is more than just laptops and bags; it’s about a fresh start and the confidence to grow. From first-day jitters to the wardrobe and little supplies that make a big impact, every moment counts. Be it denim, rebellious or prep, fashion for the differently abled or pre-loved style, read our University fashion guide and get inspired for a brilliant year ahead.
At university, fashion is more than a personal statement — it’s a response to the world around us. As we step into Fall 2025, the campus will become a design canvas rooted in functionality, identity, and a bit of rebellion.
From structured neutrals with utility details from Helmut Lang or The Row to denim by Calvin Klein and GAP, students can redefine campus fashion. These trends aren’t just runway-inspired — they’re lived in. Fall ’25 is about dressing with purpose, layering with intention, and always, always pushing the boundaries. Planning your wardrobe for the semester can go a long way. That way, you don’t have to worry too much about your look on those early mornings.
For the upcoming semester, expect denim, relaxed tailoring, and gender-fluid silhouettes, alongside bold colours and statement outerwear. Expect vintage styles fuelled by secondhand fashion and a continued appreciation for adaptive fashion for the differently-abled student. Tommy Adaptive by Tommy Hilfiger launched iconic styles for the differently abled in 2016. Not sure where to start? We have compiled a University fashion guide.
Fashion Guide for the Fall 2025 semester
Structured Neutrals With Utility Details
This fall, the campus will lean into a clean, utilitarian aesthetic that combines structured silhouettes with technical and functional detailing. Students would be wearing sharp outerwear in muted tones like graphite, sand, and olive, enhanced with exaggerated cargo pockets, zippers, and modular attachments. The vibe is industrial-meets-tailored — a reflection of urban resilience and adaptability. It’s perfect for navigating busy schedules without sacrificing style.
Think of it as “Gotham City dressing” but elevated. Brands like A-Cold-Wall, Helmut Lang, and Alyx Studio are strong influences in this space. We’ve also seen this aesthetic echoed in COS’ structured separates and The Row’s oversized coats with minimalist precision. Students have been spotted in a grey asymmetric wool trench from Craig Green, layered over a tech-fabric vest with magnetic fastenings — utilitarian but sculptural. These pieces don’t just protect — they project.
Denim
Denim is a great alternative for something easy, breezy and comfortable. There are many ways to style denim but to keep things simple go for a graphic tee or smocked top. As the weather gets chillier, just add a jacket: denim-on-denim is a fabulous coordinated look. There are many options! Gap debuted its Fall campaign, “Better in Denim”, starring pop group KATSEYE: the campaign’s reintroduction of low rise denim through a bold, modern lens celebrates individuality and its reimagined classics like ‘Long And Lean’ reflects the diverse voices shaping youth culture today.
The Calvin Klein logo has reached icon status as a representation of modern minimalism. Now Calvin Klein reimagines the CK monogram—first designed in 1993—in a new CK Emblem print on its denim, as seen on K-pop star MINGYU. The power of product innovation, cultural relevance and iconic brand style codes takes their Fall 2025 campaign to the next level, backed by expanded product storytelling with new consumer shopping tools like the ‘Denim Fit Guide’.
Image Source: GAP
Knit Maximalism
Knitwear has broken out of its cozy box. This season, it’s bold, colourful, and boundary-pushing. Students are wearing oversized, hand-knit pieces with textures, draped silhouettes and surreal colour. Scarves double as body wraps, sleeves extend well past the fingertips, and garments are layered on top of each other for dimensionality. It’s knitwear as performance art — and it still works in a classroom setting. Leading this trend are labels like Loewe, whose recent collections use exaggerated textures and inventive shapes in knitwear, and Collina Strada, where playful, chaotic knits are sustainability-forward and full of personality. Marni continues to push knitwear into maximalist territory with colour blocking and mismatched patterns. Knitwear majors can wear a three-piece crochet set in shades of rust, cobalt, and lemon — each panel hand-dyed and stitched asymmetrically. It turns the hallway into a mini runway!!
Prep — and Reconstructed Prep
The perfect university wardrobe is when style sets the tone for the year ahead. Aéropostale, Sperry, Hunter and Brooks Brothers have launched collections that balance heritage with utility, helping students step into the semester with confidence. These styles are shaping how students show up in the classroom as identity meets design, production and storytelling excellence—through the lens of youth.
Image Source: Authentic Brands
However Fall 2025 is also redefining prep; there’s a movement toward deconstructed academic-wear — the look is ‘I ripped apart a thrifted Ivy League wardrobe and made it mine.’ Layering is key — think shrunken vests over oversized shirts, mismatched plaids, and vintage ties. This trend is influenced by Thom Browne’s shrunken suiting and genderless take on prep. Maison Margiela and Comme des Garçons bring the raw-edge energy: their AW25 collections play with academic motifs and distortion. Students can recreate a classic Brooks Brothers blazer with an inside-out construction and raw seams. And style it with Vivienne Westwood platforms and a striped tie — it would feel intellectual and rebellious all at once.
Metal Accents And Industrial Accessories
Accessories this Fall are no longer subtle — they’re built like they belong in a metal workshop. Chains, grommets, hardware buckles, and even carabiners are showing up on everything from shoulder bags to boots. This trend adds an edge to classic silhouettes. Students can customise their basics with clip-on metal rings or using chain belts as multi-purpose styling tools. It’s a great way to infuse toughness into soft or neutral-toned outfits.
Designers like Martine Rose, Rick Owens, and Givenchy have leaned into this aesthetic in recent collections, especially with their use of metal-plated shoes, structured bags, and hardware-laced outerwear. 1017 ALYX 9SM continues to be the blueprint with its rollercoaster buckles and tactical aesthetic. Try a black minimalist tote from Jil Sander with a chunky chrome chain for a personalised twist. It looks utilitarian and curated.
Diesel has collaborated with Eastpak for a capsule collection built on a shared spirit of nonconformity. Merging Diesel’s subversive streetwear lens with Eastpak’s functional design, iconic styles include Day Pak’r, Shoulder Bag, Shop’r Tote, Springer, and Transit’r luggage in a trompe l’oeil denim print and a mash-up of raw-edge Diesel denim and Eastpak’s Cordura fabric. Through a fusion of craftsmanship, Diesel encourages wearers to embrace their individuality while Eastpak has got the foundation for adventure!
University fashion for the differently abled
Differently-abled students have stylish options too. Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive brought adaptive fashion to the mainstream in 2016. For students with a disability, buttons or openings can turn the ordinary act of dressing for class into a struggle. Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive offers iconic prep-meets-modern styles – thoughtfully designed using magnets or Velcro closures instead of zippers and buttons, incorporating elastics so wearers can easily adjust their hems, and shirts designed to be put on arms-first instead of over the head. This semester, make getting dressed easier, without compromising style.
RELATED ARTICLE: Adaptive Fashion
Image Source: Tommy Adaptive by Tommy Hilfiger
Secondhand shopping for university is a vibe!
New season, new wardrobe? The best pieces aren’t always new — they could already be out there, waiting to be rediscovered. That’s why H&M Pre-loved and Sellpy are making secondhand fashion more accessible than ever. Each day, the H&M design team handpicks a selection of secondhand gems for its Pre-loved concept, offering customers a simpler way to shop vintage and build personal style — without buying new. This season there are summer party dresses, premium accessories, denim, leather and Studio archive. Pre-loved is available in select stores in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, London, New York, Paris and Stockholm, and at hm.com in 24 European countries and the US.
RELATED ARTICLE: Global Secondhand Apparel Market May Reach $367 Billion By 2029
Image Source: H&M Pre-loved X Sellpy
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
