Drop Day: Infrared Jordans, Velvet Nights, Big Gold

Thirty-five years after MJ wore it to a championship, the Air Jordan 6 'White Infrared' is back. The 1991 bring-back lands today, November 7, in full family sizing, with the adult pair at $215 via Nike SNKRS and Nike.com. It is one of the model's legendary launch colourways, white leather with Light Crimson and black accents and Nike Air heel branding, and the first retro of this colourway since 2014.

The interesting part is the market around it. Resale trackers had pairs listed under retail before the drop, with some sizes asking as low as $172, which makes this one of the rare grails you can actually buy at retail today instead of chasing. For women styling it, the clean white-and-red palette is doing real work right now: it sits easily with the season's wide-leg dark denim, chocolate suede and grey tailoring, and it is the rare retro that reads as fresh rather than costume.

If you miss the 6, the week's other sneaker story is the NikeSKIMS Waffle Racer, a women's-exclusive archival runner arriving November 10 in three colourways at $130. Kim Kardashian's Nike line has left the silhouette almost untouched, which is the point: a plain, wearable retro runner at a moment when everything else is getting louder.

The invitations are starting to land and this year's party dress code is already settled: velvet, scarlet, sequins, bows and long gloves, straight off the Fall/Winter 2026 runways. Ralph Lauren, Khaite and Alaia made the case for velvet; Michael Kors went all in on red sequins and feathers; Sandy Liang made bows the whole point.

The shift this year is in how it is worn. The chicest version is one hero piece, not a head-to-toe costume: a sequin skirt with a chunky knit, a velvet mini with bare legs and a long coat, a scarlet blazer over black tailoring. Emerald, burgundy and plum are the jewel tones doing the heavy lifting, and searches for sequin sets are up sharply as the season turns.

Reformation's holiday edit is a good temperature check on where the high street has landed — deadstock velvet minis and burnout-velvet midis in red and black, cut to be worn more than once. Buy the texture, keep the silhouette simple, and let one piece do the talking.

While everyone was watching Fair Isle, the fisherman sweater quietly took the season. Chunky cable and ribbed knits are the defining texture of Fall/Winter 2026: oversized, slightly slouchy, worn half-tucked into wide-leg denim or pleated skirts, with a collared shirt peeking out underneath. The formula is simple — chunky texture, simple bottom, one strong shoe.

Aime Leon Dore's 40-piece Fall/Winter 2026 womenswear collection, out October 30, is the clearest sign of where the smart money is: Greek-inspired jacquard cardigans, a boiled-wool letterman sweater and a twisted-rib cardigan, sitting next to heavy outerwear and deconstructed New Balance Mary Janes. It is the label's largest dedicated women's range to date, and knitwear is its backbone.

At the other end of the price scale, the fisherman knit has become the rare trend with a genuinely good budget version. Quince's Mongolian cashmere fisherman styles — a quarter-zip at $125, a crewneck under $100 — have racked up thousands of reviews, and the styling is the same at every price: cream or oatmeal cable with dark denim, burgundy with charcoal, oversized and unbothered.

If there is one texture that defines the autumn bag, it is suede — chocolate brown, toffee, dark taupe — in soft, slouchy shapes that sit under the arm with a long wool coat. The season's bags have gone tactile: suede totes, croc-effect bowling bags, east-west clutches, top handles. The stiff, logo-first bag is having a quiet season.

DeMellier is the name that keeps surfacing. The London label's New York family — the wide belted tote, the Midi, the new crossbody — has become the contemporary default, and October brought two creator collaborations that pushed it further: Lena Mahfouf's limited-edition New York in fern suede and smooth khaki leather, launched October 8, and Elsa Hosk's co-created tan suede version. Suede is the through-line in both.

The smart buy is the shape, not the collaboration: a softly structured suede tote or bucket in a deep neutral that works with denim, knitwear and tailoring alike. Chocolate suede is the easiest version of the trend to wear every day, and the one most likely to still look right next autumn.

Quiet luxury had its run; the jewellery has now gone loud. ELLE named bold, 1980s-inspired gold one of the four key jewellery trends of the season, and the runways agreed — maximalist gold at Saint Laurent, Mugler and Celine, sculptural earrings at Valentino, supersized hoops and cuffs everywhere else. Pinterest searches for chunky jewellery have more than doubled year on year.

The red carpet is already there. At the Academy Museum Gala, Dakota Fanning wore layered vintage Cartier gold — a tubogas-style choker and thick bracelet from 1988 — against an embellished sheer black YSL gown, while Elle Fanning went the diamond route in a Y-shaped Cartier high-jewellery necklace. Two sisters, two of the year's biggest jewellery trends, one room.

The rule that keeps it modern is restraint: one substantial piece, the rest calm. A chunky chain over a black turtleneck, a wide cuff with a camel coat, domed hoops with a simple neckline. Let the gold do the talking and keep everything else quiet.