How the humble fleece got a high fashion makeover

Cecilie Bahnsen x North Face - (CECILIE BAHNSEN)

The fleece is the sartorial equivalent of a steaming mug of hot chocolate. It’s comforting, and a little childlike; a powerful ward against the winter gloom. It’s frothy, a little nostalgic… but not exactly fashionable.

You pull one out on blustery hikes; throw one in the backseat in case of inclement weather. It’s never the main event, or the star of an outfit. It’s more of a necessary evil than an item du jour. Until, that is, now.

In 2025, fashion is not so much reinventing fleece and re-contextualising it. On the autumn/winter 2025 runways, Hermes showed oversized, chevron fleece zip ups; Prada played with patchwork fleece texture; and Sandy Liang paired fuzzy pullovers with crayon-bright miniskirts. We saw a whole lot of fun and novel ways to wear the winter staple — all retaining its sporty, no-nonsense essence, rope pull zips et al.

Cecilie Bahnsen is a savant of the style — fleeces often appear in her collections, which lean towards a kind of romantic minimalism. “Fleeces are the perfect layering piece and look so effortless over skirts and dresses,” the Danish designer tells the London Standard. “They offer a balance of comfort and warmth — essential in the Copenhagen winter.”

What Bahnsen loves about a fleece is its ability to lend “a nice contrast” to an outfit, to take away its seriousness and add a sense of play and mischief — this is, what she says, makes it such a "versatile” garment, to layer for an occasion, or just to throw on for a trip to the shops.

In this way, a fleece can perform as a casual counterpoint to a structured trouser, or the soft balance to a sharp, A-line skirt. Or put its texture against something shiny — liquid-like metallics for party season; or patent leather as an outer layer — or match its cosiness with silk for an outfit that looks indulgent but insouciant. “Fleeces are light, soft and give a sense of ease,” Bahnsen says.

So, if you’ve been convinced to invest in a fleece for the season, where should you look? Parisian slow luxury label Rier makes its signature fleece pullover in a pleasing array of block colours. Venice Beach-born ERL has been a go-to for well-dressed men for a while, but women could do with getting in on its kitschy-yet-cool styles, too. If you do go down the activewear route, try on Varley for size. The leisurewear go-to is making pieces that straddle the terrain between the gym, coffee and the farmer’s market with ease — its DoubleSoft fabric is unnervingly lovely to the touch.