Our appetite for vintage glamour remains undimmed, as this October's release of Brideshead Revisited illustrates beautifully.

Take a look at the catwalk creations for this autumn/winter, and you could be forgiven for thinking you've seen it all before. With so many designs copied from – sorry, inspired by – looks of previous decades, especially the 1920s and 1930s, you do begin to wonder if there is ever anything truly new in fashion. But, in these straitened times, it's tempting to look back to the former grand eras of style, when everything – clothes, cars, food, homes – seemed so much more opulent, grand and sophisticated.

Brideshead covers the period from 1922, when Charles meets Sebastian at Oxford, to 1944, when he is stationed at the eponymous country pile on war duties. The new film delights in the fashions, with good reason. For both men and women, the 1920s was when fashion really started to get fun, undergoing a huge transformation. Previously, men had worn formal three-piece suits, but then far more casual styles came in –"jazzy" styles, with striped and light blazers and light-coloured trousers worn with Panama hats or boaters, plus flannel trousers, tweed jackets and brightly coloured knit slipovers, plus fours and wide-legged Oxford bags.

For women, the clothing transformation was even more revolutionary, as tortuous corsets were abandoned and hemlines rose.

Gender was toyed with, as women's hair was shortened into bobs and the silhouette moved from Victorian hourglass curves to something far more androgynous, with straight up-and-down tube dresses and dropped waistlines which favoured the slender and boyish.

Smoking, which had been a secret pleasure during the 1910s, became a flapper's delight, popular for keeping weight down, while evoking an air of chic sophistication.

This was the era that Coco Chanel came into her own, and suntans and sports wear were introduced as women became more free and active. Vogue identified other designers including Jean Patou, Jeanne Lanvin and Charles Worth as those at the top of the fashion tree. Trousers, in the form of pyjamas, came in as lounging about at home wear.

Opulence was key, often displaying influences and materials from exotic parts of the world, such as furs, and Far Eastern-style prints and kimono styles, leading into the bias cuts and layered satins of the 1930s.

Accessories were sought after and essential, with feathered fans, long strands of pearls, cigarette holders, rows of bangles and large pieces of statement jewellery – much like today. Silk evening scarves draped diagonally across the body for a languid look.

And this season it's all back as if it never went away, as fashion continues its love affair with heritage and opulence. For men, the look is all about traditional quality and the slightly quirky – check out high-end companies such as Ede & Ravenscroft and Gieves & Hawkes for investment dressing.

For women, there's even more, as designers from catwalk to High Street mix satin, faux fur, knits and big jewels for a gloriously vintage look that works for women of all ages, as Emma Thompson, as Lady Marchmain, demonstrates with regal elegance. Another Emma T fashion moment is on its way...