Dark Academia: Inspiration for pre-fall and FW26

The women’s Pre-Fall 2026 collections will be rolling out from now through January, offering early clues about what’s ahead. While many micro-trends flare up and fade, the theme 'Dark Academia' continues to endure.

Our ongoing fascination with this brooding, bookish spin on school uniforms may well be rooted in our collective nostalgia for places like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts or Wicked’s Shiz University. Let’s explore standout pieces from the latest Pre-Fall collections to identify next season’s key items and styling cues.

The sweater knit polo shirt with long placket

Inspiration - Scervino Pre-Fall 25

A brown knit polo shirt with an extra-long placket; styled with a pleated mini-skirt in the same color, under a brown sheepskin coat with embroidery and brown suede boots.

The hybrid skirt

Inspiration - Antonio Marras Pre-Fall 25

A skirt half mid-length pleated check wool and half full-length pleated light brown wool over matching pants; styled with a light brown pinstripe jacket; a headscarf, braided belt and loafers.

The long tipped cardigan

Inspiration: Rochas Pre-Fall 25

A black cardigan with cream tipping and letter embellishment; styled with a cream silk mid-length tunic with a frayed black placket under light grey pinstripe straight pants, a skinny grey belt with R logo and black pointy boots.

The patchwork knit sweater

Inspiration: Ganni Pre-Fall 25

A heavy knit half-zip sweater in a patchwork of grey and cream squares; styled with a plaid wrap-front mini skirt, slouchy boots and a brown pressed leather handbag.

The check suit

Inspiration: Thom Browne Pre-Fall 25

A houndstooth plaid wool and brown suede jacket with matching pleated mini-skirt. Styled with a blue and white striped shirt, diagonal striped red and white tie and grey overcoat, round lens sunglasses, argyle socks with stripes, a leather and plaid wool satchel and penny loafers.

The long shorts

Inspiration: Maria McManus Pre-Fall 25

Taupe below-the-knee shorts; styled with a grey thick knit vee neck sweater over a white t-shirt and black pumps.

The straight tweed skirt

Inspiration: Coperni Pre-Fall 25

A check tweed straight skirt with an attached harness and belts; styled with a black mock turtle-neck quarter-zip top, black sunglasses, a check tweed satchel and black pumps.

The knit vest

Inspiration: Ralph Lauren Pre-Fall 25

Look 5: a dark green cable-knit vest; styled with an oyster-colored silk shirt and a tan-colored bias-cut leather mini skirt, a metallic belt, long tan leather boots and satchel.

The vintage-style suit

Inspiration: Valentino Pre-Fall 25

A two-button blue blazer and matching knee-length skirt with a slit front; styled with a red polo knit with white tipping; oversized eyewear, skinny white belt, cat brooch, black platform sandals, a black satchel and white long and short socks.

The DB gabardine wool coat

Inspiration: Gucci Pre-Fall 25

A sixties style 10 button dark navy coat with flap pockets; styled with cat-eye sunglasses, spectator loafers, black satchel and gold jewelry.