Autumn/Winter 2027 Print Trends

Autumn and winter prints are chosen by the cloth they sit on. A houndstooth that is crisp on a wool coat looks muddy on brushed cotton, and a dark-ground floral that glows on velvet goes flat on a thin poplin. For AW27, the clearest way to see where prints are going is fabric by fabric.

Wool coats, blazers and skirts are the home of the traditional checks. The direction to watch is quieter: tonal tweed, herringbone and houndstooth where the contrast is low and the interest is in the texture.

• Palette: #4A3F35 (peat), #6B5B4B (heather), #8F7D68 (sand), #2E2A27 (charcoal-brown)
• Scale: houndstooth at 1/2 to 1 inch (12 to 25 mm) reads classic; oversized at 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) reads current
• Print tip: on printed tweed-look fabrics, add subtle fleck or slub texture, not just the check

See our guides to houndstooth and herringbone, and the tweed patterns category.

Velvet holds deep, saturated color better than almost any fabric, which makes it the natural home for florals on off-black, bottle green or oxblood grounds. Dark chintz is the shorthand.

• Palette: #1B1A1F (ground), #A63D40 (poppy red), #D9A441 (old gold), #4F7A67 (verdigris)
• Scale: blooms 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm); leave dark space between them
• Products: evening dresses, scarves, cushions, upholstery

Velvet often flattens fine line work, so favor bold, simple shapes. Our velvet patterns category is also worth a look.

Flannel is soft and slightly fuzzy, so small details blur. That favors big, simple plaids: buffalo check, wide windowpane, and tartan with broad bands. The twist for AW27 is color: forest-and-black, oxblood-and-cream, or chocolate-and-sage in place of the standard red and black. Our check and plaid forecast has palettes.

• Products: pajama sets, shirts, blankets, dog beds

Knitwear uses pattern differently, because yarn and stitch create the pixels. Fair Isle, argyle and Nordic bands are the usual references, and print designers can borrow the logic for printed knit-look fabrics: limited colors, stepped edges, bands of repeating motifs.

• Palette: #F1E8D8 (cream), #A23B2A (brick), #2F4A3A (spruce), #D7A64A (mustard)
• Scale: bands 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 cm) tall
• Suits: sweaters, scarves, socks, throws

For the knit tradition itself, read about Fair Isle knitting patterns.

Damask is returning to home textiles and eveningwear, but with a looser touch. Rather than strictly mirrored symmetric medallions, expect hand-drawn or slightly broken versions, in tonal colors such as aubergine on aubergine, or gold on deep green.

• Palette: #2A1A33 (aubergine ground), #4A2F52 (tone), #B9975B (antique gold)
• Scale: medallions 8 to 16 inches (20 to 40 cm) for wallpaper and curtains
• Suits: curtains, throw pillows, tablecloths, eveningwear

The damask wallpaper category and our damask pattern design guide are good references.

Corduroy and denim have a strong surface texture, so fine printed detail can lose definition. Stitch-like and embroidered looks tend to sit better. If you design for these, keep shapes simple and mid-sized, and think about patches and pockets rather than all-over repeat.

Across all these fabrics the color direction appears to be the same: warm browns and deep reds, forest greens, plum and aubergine, with off-black taking the place cream held in recent years. For specifics, see our autumn 2027 color forecast and the earth tone patterns category. Cream and ivory still work as accent colors, but as a highlight rather than a ground.

For the holiday end of the season, our Christmas plaid and tartan patterns guide shows how to carry these into December.

Describe It lets you write the fabric in the prompt, such as "oversized oxblood and cream windowpane check, brushed flannel feel". A seamless tile arrives in about 20 seconds. New accounts get 5 free credits, enough to test the same motif on a tweed, a velvet and a flannel palette.