There's something inherently costume-y about capes. Often associated with fairytale princesses, superheroes or villains, it's no surprise they've often been considered, well, naff.
They enjoyed a brief revival in the Autumn/Winter 2017 collections, courtesy of designers like Mulberry and Temperley, before quietly fading away again. Until now, and believe me, the Autumn/Winter 2024 iteration of the trend is the complete opposite to naff. In fact, capes have never been so cool.
We first saw some capes trickle into last year’s Winter collections at the likes of Coperni and Michael Kors, but this season, they completely took over, with styles to suit all tastes - from sporty to demure.
There was a checked coat at Balmain, a chocolate coat dress at Bottega Veneta, a vinyl layered coat at Chloé and a 60s-inspired short black cape at Celine. It wasn’t just outerwear that got the cape treatment though, with dresses and tops given extra depth by the addition of them at Bora Aksu and Batsheva.
The power of the cape lies in its ability to make any outfit look chic and modern - as long as you invest in classic colour ways such as black, navy, camel and cream, and focus on minimal silhouettes. I personally think that maxi lengths look a bit gimmicky, so for something more wearable day-to-day, it's best to invest in shorter styles.
From a practical point of view, you don't have to worry about creasing a newly ironed shirt, or not being able to squeeze in a chunky jumper. Just throw a cape on over your favourite jeans, knitted dress or oversized suit and you're ready to go.
Keep scrolling to shop the very best capes of the season.
Shop best capes
I fell in love with all of the capes seen on the runway at Chloe, but this classic style is the most versatile.
Part cape, part leather jacket, this style strikes the perfect compromise between the two.
This classic cut from Zara comes with a waitlist, so be sure to head straight to the checkout as soon as it comes back in stock.
This hybrid jacket is the cool-girl outerwear of choice.
This versatile cape coat will look great over wide leg jeans and a rollneck jumper.
