The Tasteful Color Trend Italian and British Women Are Both Wearing This Winter

Many of us learned hard and fast color rules for dressing at an early age, and breaking them can sometimes feel sacrilegious: No white after Labor Day. Don't wear more than three colors at once. Never mix black and brown, nor black and navy. But it's 2025 and, to be honest, there are more important things to worry about than following some arbitrary decades-old wardrobe edict. Why should we? That's certainly the question women in Italy and the UK have been asking this season, as they delight in pairing navy pieces with black ones—and even pieces that are both navy and black at the same time. I know, scandalous.

One of Who What Wear's editors in residence, Tamu McPherson, who's lived in Milan for 20 years, has been noticing tons of fashionable Italian women pairing black with navy and making it work. "Miuccia Prada has been the architect of one of the most influential modern color palettes," McPherson wrote recently. "Her Prada collections turned me on to the navy-and-black combination. After her black-and-blue pairings came onto my radar, I observed the combo showing up in some of the most sought-after collections and brands. When I ease into these tones, I feel impossibly posh—so much so that I can barely handle myself."

On Victoria Beckham: Victoria Beckham blazer and pants

Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham—Posh Spice herself—has doubly, even triply, endorsed the trend by not only designing a black, navy and white floral dress but also wearing it in London's Notting Hill just days after her husband David Beckham was finally made a knight of the realm. Not to mention Victoria has been a fan of the navy and black color clash for ages, and has been known to add black accessories to navy outfits, gleefully throwing it in fashion purists' faces while looking characteristically fabulous.

Keep scrolling to replicate the look.

Shop The Black and Navy Trend