It's plain to see from our A/W 21 trend report that colour has a huge part to play for the second half of the year. The forthcoming season is set to be bold and rather beautiful with super-bright, densely pigmented shades taking a prime position across many a key designer collection. You'll find ultra-saturated coral, highlighter yellow, neon, Kelly and emerald green, lipstick red, juicy orange and punchy cobalt blue. There's an omnipresent pink aura throughout the runways, with every option available—from light baby pink to deep fuchsia—but perhaps that's no surprise considering how well established the pink colour trend already is at this point in the year. Perhaps a more surprising addition is the noticeable rise in purple: It's a divisive colour, for sure, but it's backed by the likes of Loewe, Ferragamo, Prada and more, so you know fashion people are going to take this seriously.
On the other end of the spectrum is a sea of minimalism: soft beige and oatmeal, wintry grey and plenty of brown. It's a more sophisticated palette, but it's certainly more sombre. Mid-blue denim underpins many looks and works well with both these more sumptuous tones and the aforementioned super-brights. What is worth noting, however, is that there is very little in between these two extremes. There's a rainbow on offer, and it's up to you whether you wear one of these colours head to toe, mix them in with equally vibrant different hues or soften them with neutrals. Keep scrolling for the colour trends we think will take off this autumn.
1. THE SUPER-SATURATED BRIGHTS
Head-to-toe canary yellow at Versace.
A vibrant pinky-red tulle dress at Molly Goddard.
Prada combined shades of electric blue alongside purple and black.
2. CHIC BROWNS
Saint Laurent's metallic, brown Lurex is so fab.
These soft tones dominated many a runway. Gabriela Hearst does them best.
Brown also comes in prints, both stripes and florals.
3. LONG LIVE PINK
Raf Simons tried out Barbie pink with bright yellow and acid green—it worked.
Chanel's pink was more of a deep fuchsia.
Thebe Magugu's pink trouser suit is all kinds of photogenic.
4. GREY ON GREY
Designers who went for grey did it head to toe, just like Lemaire did here.
Another great example of tailoring + layers + grey comes from Tory Burch.
And Petar Petrov's version worked with a more feminine skirt silhouette.
5. A DASH OF PURPLE
Purple accessories against black? That's the Stand way of doing it.
You could even mix in purple with the other super-brights, as seen here at Ferragamo.
Loewe's mix of purple, black, blue and yellow made the challenging colour seem more approachable.
6. VERDANT GREENS
Kermit greens work surprisingly well with black and tan—see Stella McCartney for guidance.
Lime greens worn together? A perfect look from Supriya Lele to get on board with ASAP.
Dark forest greens also apply. These leather Alberta Ferretti trousers are so great.
Next up, our editors' top shopping picks.
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