Bright Colours for Spring 2012

The bright coloured clothes that popped up all over fashion week runways for Spring 2012 was one of my favorite spring trends. Colorful clothes are not exactly groundbreaking for spring, or for fashion collections in general. Indeed, it has often been noted that fashion trends don’t really change –  they’re cyclical. What changes is us–how we feel in our clothes, what attracts us, how we age and see trends differently. And although the use of bright colours for spring fashion isn’t exactly new, it has re-emerged in a few notable ways. One of the most pronounced uses of colour in this spring’s runways is the use of over-matching: head-to-toe cerulean at Haider Ackermann, yellow and orange at Nanette Lepore. At the same time, this matching of warm and cold tones almost seemed to clash. Blue on turquoise made an appearance at Luca Luca and the aforementioned Haider Ackermann. Another innovation was simply the variety of rich materials with which these colours were used. Haider Ackermann showed his use of bright colours with rich silks and draped sheers while also incorporating the bold patterns of Spring 2012. Badgley Mischka produced a magnificent collection of brightly coloured garments–reds, oranges, turquoises, blues and pinks.

From Left: Luca Luca Spring/Summer 2012, Haider Ackermann Spring/Summer 2012, Badgley Mischka Spring/Summer 2012, Nanette Lepore Spring/Summer 2012. All images courtesy of Style.Com

Finally, aside from the brilliant pairing of unlikely colours, designers chose to simply bring out entire rainbow’s worth of hues in single collections. Alberta Ferretti showed green, orange, mustard, fuchsia and turquoise in back-to-back exits. Nanette Lepore’s chosen palette was a neon fiesta of flowing garments that also included more subdued coral, purple and blue tones, topped off with brightly coloured makeup. Lepore explained the explosion of colour we’ve seen for spring, stating “[w]e approach colour from a new place each season…Everyone in this industry feeds off each other, and the fabric retailers have lately been pushing amazing, sturdy fabrics in these bright colours.” In the end, the colours used in this spring’s collections compose a veritable laundry list, and the sky is  the limit. Whether it be swooshing skirts of neon or sophisticated rust-toned silk, it must be remembered that colour is nothing new, we just need to see it with brand new eyes, and need to be willing to learn what we’re able to get away with.

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Carla-Jean carla@nowthatslingerie.com 

Photo Credits and Sources

Luca Luca Spring/Summer 2012 http://www.style.com/slideshows/2011/fashionshows/S2012RTW/LUCALUCA/ Runway/00090m.jpg

Haider Ackermann Spring/Summer 2012: http://www.style.com/slideshows/2011/fashionshows/S2012RTW/HACKERMAN/ RUNWAY/00180m.jpg

Badgley Miscka Spring/Summer 2012: http://www.style.com/slideshows/2011/fashionshows/S2012RTW/BMISCHKA/ RUNWAY/00020m.jpg

Nanette Lepore Spring/Summer 2012: http://www.style.com/slideshows/2011/fashionshows/S2012RTW/NLEPORE /RUNWAY/00040m.jpg

Nanette Lepore quote, Brittany Adams, Style.Com review for Nanette Lepore Spring/Summer 2012, http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2012RTW-NLEPORE.

Featured Image: Nanette Lepore Turquoise top and pink skirt: http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/2012RST-NLEPORE Badgley Miscka turquoise dress (cited above) Luca Luca Blue top and green pants (cited above)