Blue and green should never be seen — or so the saying goes. But look to this season’s catwalks, and designers are throwing the colour chart out of the window. The AW18 collections were awash with “off” combinations, from rosy pinks mixed with flame reds at Peter Pilotto to Roksanda’s powdery blue interspersed with rich, blood-like burgundies. Emilia Wickstead, meanwhile, blended a turmeric-tinged brown with lemon yellow in a frothy and feminine midi-dress that was styled with a contrast raspberry shoe.
“Usual colour combinations bore me,” says designer Josep Font, of the Madrid-based house Delpozo. “I mix a lot of green with blue — I think all shades can be seen together. What might be considered odd for others is for me a fresh and appealing approach to colour.” For pre-fall 2018, the Spanish designer offered a painterly palette that clashed verdant jungle hues with minty greens and vivacious sunny yellows. His AW18 collection went even further — periwinkle blues were mixed with light browns and mustards; a woollen skirt was patchworked together in squares of camel and bubblegum pink. “The key is finding the specific shades that work well,” he says.
For Roksanda Ilincic, colour is part of her identity; her garments often feature a contrast cuff or sleeve. “This latest trend of unexpected colours is my speciality, I think,” she says. “I like to challenge the perception of what goes together and what doesn’t — usually I have this subtle palette that is then completely interrupted with unexpected bursts of ultra-strong colours like lapis blue and fluorescent reds.”