One colour that will always remain my favourite will be red. I remember there’s a phase in my life during the early years of university where I would buy mainly red item of clothing. But as I get older, I move away from the colour red and most of the time stay with the safe black, navy blue and earth tone.
Prabal Gurung, Luca Luca, Gucci
However, Fall 2011 display of red just make me feel like I need to profess my love once again for red. Varieties of materials that portray toughness and power or fluidity and elegance really capture my heart. The red that I’ve seen on the runway make the colour as if it’s the most versatile colour.
Kinder Aggugini, Just Cavalli, Proenza Schouler
Yes of course red against black is the safest bet, especially that it’s the fashion show for Fall, you will see many outerwear which to the beginner will be the easiest way to try red. You can easily pair it up with your existing wardrobe and give it a new life. But seeing the images from the runway, I can see there are so many ways you can play with red. Just Cavalli, even though sticking with the safe black pants, but combining red against red to give out a very brave look whereas Proenza Schouler combined printed pants with a metallic top which don’t look over the top at all. If I haven’t seen how they all put together, I wouldn’t be convinced on mixing red outerwear with anything than solid coloured attire.
But the one that really floored me was the solid red body hugging dress which really is what I would call a killer dress! I don’t know whether I have the confidence to wear them, but surely I still can’t take my eyes off them.
Castello Tagliapietra, Luca Luca
Here are a few tips on how to wear red:
- Don’t wear head to toe red. Choose one or two clothing articles in red hues and mix it with others.
- If you’re wearing more than one article in red, stick them to the same part of your body. For instance, in the Just Cavalli’s photo above, even though the model was wearing two piece of red but it’s only worn on the top part of the body.
- Pay attention to the balance of your clothing, if it already has heavy detailing, don’t over accessorize. But if it’s simple then you can wear something heavier. Opt for a simple necklace or bracelet just to finish off your look.
- Choose shoes and bags that are not too flashy but rather support the characteristic of your clothes. In another word, let the red piece be the center of your look.
- If you’re still playing safe, mix it with solid colours such as earth tone ones like caramel, beige and brown or darker shade like grey, black and navy.
Talking about colour combination, for me the winning combination is red and fuchsia! One combination that I never thought before. It oddly looks beautiful together.
Sonia Rykiel, Prabal Gurung, Kate Spade
Here are some more pictures to inspire you on how to wear red.
Dries Van Noten, Sonia Rykiel, Jonathan Saunders
*Pictures courtesy of WWD
