Shearling, Pinstripes and a Green Screen

The coat stopped being a finishing layer this season and became the whole outfit. Across the AW26 runways — Saint Laurent's sweeping wool overcoats, Prada's structured layers, Hermès' cream shearling — outerwear was cut to define the silhouette, not just to warm it.

What is new this week is how wearable the idea has become. Buck Mason took the 1943 US Navy N-1 deck jacket and rebuilt it entirely in merino shearling, keeping the slanted pockets, button placket and throat tab but swapping the Bedford cord shell for full sheep hide with the fur intact. It is produced in Italy and priced at $1,498. Kith, meanwhile, dropped a genuine lambskin Shearling Bomber on Nov 13 as part of its New York Knicks 2026–27 collection, alongside an AVIREX shearling-collar aviator.

The rule for wearing it is simple: keep everything underneath quiet. A fine knit, straight trousers, leather shoes or minimal sneakers, and let the texture do the talking.

Today is the biggest sneaker Saturday of the month. The Air Jordan 11 "Green Screen" releases Nov 14 via Nike SNKRS at $255 (style code IQ5700-900), trading the patent-leather mudguard for an all-green suede build, inspired by the green-screen technology behind Space Jam. It is the third Jordan 11 in the film's 30th-anniversary run.

The week around it was just as busy. The New Balance Made in USA 990v7 launched Nov 6 at $199.99 in Kool Grey and sold out on newbalance.com within hours — the first new 990 since the v6 in 2022, with a softer FuelCell midsole and a bigger "N". And the Rick Owens x adidas Springblade reunion, announced Nov 9, goes on sale Nov 17: two runners at $590 and a boot at $850, the first Owens x adidas drop in roughly nine years.

The through-line is nostalgia with a twist: brands are not reissuing the obvious grails, they are reissuing the weird ones — the green screen, the blade sole, the dad shoe — and the market is rewarding the strangeness.

If shearling is the coat story, hairy knits are the layer underneath it. Mohair is no longer confined to cardigans — it has spread to beanies, scarves and knit polos — and the season's best sweaters are the ones with visible texture: cable knits, brushed mohair, ribbed wool.

Highsnobiety's Nov 12-updated knit edit leads with AURALEE's brushed mohair-and-wool sweater in deep blue, Patagonia's recycled wool-blend cable-knit crewneck, and Burberry's cashmere sweater in Willow green. But the smartest buy of the week is the cheapest: UNIQLO's F. Risso capsule, six 3D-knit sweaters at $49.90 each, with the striped V-neck in black and yellow as the standout.

The styling rule is the same as for shearling: one textured piece per outfit. A hairy knit under a clean coat, or over straight trousers with loafers, is enough.

Thursday night at the Chateau Marmont, GQ's 31st Men of the Year party doubled as a menswear runway, and the message was clear: tailoring is back, but it is not behaving. Pinstripes were everywhere — Matt Damon in classic Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Belmont Cameli in an ivory Vivienne Westwood double-breasted suit with burgundy loafers, Ayo Edebiri in an oversized navy Conner Ives pinstripe suit with a burgundy tie.

The most interesting looks were the ones that broke the rules politely. Andrew Garfield wore a sharp Edward Sexton black suit with a brown shirt, striped tie and Breguet watch — retro, but entirely his own. Anthony Ippolito lifted a black Dior suede suit with a cobalt-blue silk shirt. Vinnie Hacker skipped the shirt altogether under a Saint Laurent leather blazer with pinstripe trousers. And Guitarricadelafuente wore brown velvet embroidered Dior boots with an oversized navy pinstripe suit.

The takeaway for real wardrobes: the suit is a canvas again. One flash of colour, one unexpected shoe, one shirt left at home — that is the whole trick.

Highsnobiety's Nov 10 Shopper bulletin names it plainly: derbies are everywhere right now. Like the penny loafer before it, the derby is undergoing a cultural reintroduction, claiming space on the shoe racks of younger fans. The category runs from Dr. Martens' timeless 1461 to Paraboot's bulky Tyrolean Michael, with moc-toe in-betweens like the Barbour x Paraboot collab and John Lobb at the dressy end.

The evidence is in the collabs: a forét x Pennon drop, sacai's avant-garde take on J.M. Weston, and MM6 Maison Margiela's Salomon derbies all landed in recent weeks. The derby works because it sits exactly where menswear sits right now — between the sneaker and the dress shoe, polished enough for tailoring, tough enough for denim.

Pair them with the season's relaxed tailoring and wide-leg trousers, or with the Harrington-and-rugby-shirt combo that is defining fall weekends.