Fall Fashion’s Victoriana Principle

PERHAPS AFTER a few seasons of letting their hair down with 1970s silhouettes, designers were craving some constraints. Or maybe it was simply that everyone was watching a lot of “Penny Dreadful.” But when the lights came up on the fall collections, many looks arrived courtesy of the buttoned-up 19th century.

Models swished along in floor-skimming skirts and fitted coats at Marc Jacobs. They were poised in delicately lacy and ruffled, almost doll-like dresses at Alexander McQueen. They promenaded in moody silk jacquard and jeweled velvet at Givenchy. And at Comme des Garçons, a label whose collections are never easily defined, designer Rei Kawakubo enveloped models in yards of black and white lace for a voluminous and avant-garde take on Victoriana that surely never existed circa 1865.

New York-based designer Joseph Altuzarra used a light touch in his iteration of the look, a collection he called “Dandies and Swans.” Working a push-pull tension, he paired prudish blouses that had high, ruffled pie-crust collars with skirts slit un-priggishingly up the thigh. His lace-up boots—pointy and teetering with a single white frill peeking out at the top—exhibited a similar blend of the sexy and the demure.

But that delicious tension has always defined the Victorian aesthetic. It’s covered-up but form-fitting, sober in palette but often sensually opulent. “There’s an allure but it’s not overt,” said Tomoko Ogura, senior fashion director at Barneys New York. “It’s a departure from the body-conscious look.”

PHOTO allure bridesmaid dresses

Its subtlety allows elements like an elegant cut and rich fabrics to shine. Take the quiet drama of Givenchy’s elegant, dark floral jacquard jacket with a nipped waist and flaring peplum hem. Or Marc Jacobs’s navy-and-gray pleated maxi skirt, glinting with silver thread. A daring woman could pull this skirt off as day wear, subduing it with a white shirt and flats. Paired with a thin-gauge black crew neck sweater, it makes for an understated evening ensemble.

The trend is one that celebrity stylist Elizabeth Stewart, whose clients include Julia Roberts and Jessica Chastain, can particularly get behind. “It’s dark but still luxe,” said Ms. Stewart. “Everyone loves to wear dark clothes, but the incredible fabrics, like the brocade at Givenchy, just add an extra layer.” She recently put Ms. Chastain in a sapphire-blue velvet Givenchy dress for the Toronto International Film Festival. “There’s a teeny bit of transparency to the top,” Ms. Stewart explained. “That and the color offset any heaviness. It’s really beautiful and wearable.”

Tempering the heft of a Victorian motif—to avoid the impression that your outfit comes with a well-thumbed copy of “Jane Eyre”—is a crucial step in making the trend work. Matches Fashion’s buying director Natalie Kingham suggested combining a pale, high-necked lace or ruffled blouse from Sonia Rykiel or Chloé with trousers or jeans and a blazer. “Everything should have an element of modernity,” she said. “The romantic gothic look shouldn’t look literal.” Stylist Ms. Stewart, meanwhile, discourages severe beauty statements. Loose hair and natural makeup, she said, keep things buoyant.

Simply wearing something in either black or jewel-toned velvet, whether one of Valentino’s fall dresses or a design that’s a bit less dramatic, is another way to try on the trend without too much commitment. A velvet blazer, said Ms. Kingham, never goes out of style, while velvet shoes are much more resilient than you might expect. “A velvet shoe or clutch evokes that glamour and can be worn in an easy way,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite fabrics—and it doesn’t date.”

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