The runways were a chromatic feast, with everything — from T-shirts to trousers and gloves and accessories — appearing in a range of prismatic hues. Virgil Abloh’s debut collection at Louis Vuitton is a perfect example of the current colour movement, as his show was a rainbow of colour or, as he explains in the show notes, “a kaleidoscopic palette, evolving from off-white to polychromatic”.
Shades of yellow seem to be the hero of the season. At Ermenegildo Zegna, Kenzo, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, canary yellow stole the show. Meanwhile, red was a strong contender and hot topic at Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton, with head-to-toe tailoring drenched in crimson. And a serious case for neon was made on the runways at Versace, Acne, Louis Vuitton, and Hugo by Hugo Boss.
Menswear
The colours of the runway: menswear gets a bold update
Bright hues are taking menswear by storm, as designers are upping the ante with more colour than ever
Image: Pietro D'aprano
Bold, punchy hues are the clarion call of the season. Think audacious Crayola brights and flashes of luminous neon: the brighter the better. Whether you dabble by colouring in the lines with a few separates or want to go full spectrum with head-to-toe colour, playing with exuberant hues is fair game this summer, as the Spring/Summer 2019 collections give menswear a serious dose of colour.
Classic tailoring and sports-luxe separates are energised by what some people have deemed the “paintbox colours” of the season. Bright canary “Gen Z” yellow, candy-apple red, ultraviolet, and electric-blue sapphire are the main hues coming to the fore, while highlighter shades of yellow, orange, and pink are bubbling under as the unexpected yet oh-so-fitting shades for longer and brighter days.
Image: Getty Images
Image: Getty Images
The runways were a chromatic feast, with everything — from T-shirts to trousers and gloves and accessories — appearing in a range of prismatic hues. Virgil Abloh’s debut collection at Louis Vuitton is a perfect example of the current colour movement, as his show was a rainbow of colour or, as he explains in the show notes, “a kaleidoscopic palette, evolving from off-white to polychromatic”.
Shades of yellow seem to be the hero of the season. At Ermenegildo Zegna, Kenzo, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, canary yellow stole the show. Meanwhile, red was a strong contender and hot topic at Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton, with head-to-toe tailoring drenched in crimson. And a serious case for neon was made on the runways at Versace, Acne, Louis Vuitton, and Hugo by Hugo Boss.
Image: Getty Images
Image: Getty Images
The runways were a quick, palatable lesson, in colour theory, with many collections using complementary colours to differentiate key looks and create the perfect multi-hued wardrobe. Yellow was balanced with indigo at Ermenegildo Zegna, red was paired with cobalt at Alexander McQueen, and orange was met with ultraviolet at Kenzo.
How you wear and pair your colours is dependent on the kind of statement you want to make: the more contrasting the hues, the more audacious the statement, the more complementary, the more understated the look. Either way, as long as there is colour, you’ll be one sartorial step ahead of the rest.
You might also like...
The men's bag trend is on the rise… here are the runway highlights
Tailor-made: rethinking menswear
- From the October edition of Wanted magazine.