High-neck jackets return as women's outerwear for fall

Sales of high-neck styles surge at Roem, Spao and beyond

Spao's women's high-neck blouson jacket [Eland World]
Spao's women's high-neck blouson jacket [Eland World]

The high-neck jacket — once seen as the exclusive domain of male drama series leads in the 2010s — is back, this time drawing attention as a fall outerwear staple for women. As temperatures drop in the mornings and evenings, the style's tall, neck-hugging collar has been winning over shoppers.

Industry sources said Sunday that while high-neck jackets were once marketed primarily as outerwear with a masculine aesthetic, a wave of new products featuring oversized silhouettes and softer fabrics has broadened their appeal into everyday women's wear. The design has spread beyond leather jackets to blousons, trench coats and other outerwear styles.

Sales figures reflect the trend. September outerwear sales at Roem, a women's fashion brand operated by Eland World, jumped 308 percent year on year. Faux-leather items — led by a high-neck faux-leather jacket — proved especially popular, pushing faux-leather category sales up 85 percent.

For its fall/winter 2026 season, Roem introduced a range of high-neck outerwear pieces varying in fabric and length, including an oversized high-neck faux-leather jacket, a high-neck short trench coat, a high-neck cardigan and a high-neck sheer windbreaker.

A similar pattern emerged at Spao, where the women's high-neck blouson has become a signature product. Searches for "high-neck" on Spao's official website surged 621 percent from the previous month. Last month's outerwear sales rose 82 percent year on year, with blouson-related sales up 521 percent and synthetic leather items up 136 percent.

The high-neck trend has also reached luxury fashion. French luxury brand Balenciaga presented a high-neck leather jacket in its fall/winter 2026 collection, and Saint Laurent released a jacket with a similar silhouette priced at 9.9 million won ($7,280).

"Outerwear that keeps the defining feature of a tall, neck-wrapping collar while varying the color, fabric and length has been very popular," an industry official said. "An early cold snap this year has driven real demand for the high-neck style on top of the fashion trend, and we expect the popularity to carry through winter."

Roem's high-neck short trench coat [Eland World]
Roem's high-neck short trench coat [Eland World]

siuu@heraldcorp.com