Florence was sunny, Paris was gray, but the industry’s most reliable bellwether is street style. Based on the crowds outside the fall 2022 men’s shows, the fashion forecast is onward with individual expression. This season that meant sticking with what works, be it sartorial or free-form, and evolving from there. Nearly every trend we called out from the spring menswear shows—rubber boots, granny scarves, wide-leg pants—is still going strong. The palette shifted a bit, from yellow to orange, but the bigger change was a return to monochrome black dressing, which didn’t read as safe when it involved texture or Rick Owens’s fierce and towering boots.

Still, world events remain unsettling, and the tendency toward protective gear remains and was expressed through camouflage and cargo pants, looks pulled from military lockers and workwear. Coexisting alongside that tactical approach to dressing, a back-to-school, varsity feeling is brewing. Letter jackets were an It item (see Irene Kim’s roundup here); penny loafers also hinted at a looming prep revival.

Street stylers countered the cold with imagination. Balaclavas are a thing, but so are faux-fur hats and halos. Adding a touch of fantasy to the goings-on were designer bags in small sizes and novelty shapes, like lemons, jockey caps, paint cans, and an all-weather duck.