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When asked to think about the colours of brown, beige, caramel etc., one often casts their mind to fall (or autumn — for all of our British divas). Whether it’s the crunching of crispy leaves under busy feet or cozy blanks in the warmth of a pumpkin-decorated home, the atmosphere of fall often takes us somewhere nostalgic in our minds. Fashion rules are shifting and society is leaning more ‘clean-girl/boy’ aesthetic with neutrals at the head of it all. So, in many ways these colours that we associate with only one time of year — are a lot more of everyday statements of sophistication and minimalism.
Source: ENFNTS Terribles
It Breaks the ‘Fall’ Monopoly
Fashion rules used to dictate (or highly suggest) that neutral fashion was strictly for fall. Within the past 10 years, summer has been a time to embrace colour, often in the form of y2k fashion, alt aesthetic or other sub-categories. Summer could also give boho chic vibes, from the resurgence of indie music festivals such as Coachella or Burning Man — people wanted to feel something deeper than just themselves. So, the question I and many others have asked is; why hasn’t this liberality been afforded to fall until now?
Designers from Paris to Tokyo e.g., Fendi in their FW25 RTW show deploying a ‘restrained yet opulent palette of deep browns, rich neutrals, and warm pastels’ (The Fashionisto) or COS with shades of ‘chocolate brown’ and ‘camel’ in their FW25 collection — are proving that neutrals can dominate in every season. From a simple camel linen dress in the July heat, or soft taupe separates in March, these shades so strikingly autumn, emanate vibrancy to warmer months. They aren’t seasonal, they’re stylish.
Source: Kat Collins for Who What Wear
Minimalist Movement
There’s a clear reason why a large portion of society have switched to neutral fashion — it just works. The colour schemes are adaptable, elegant and even opulent and mouldable. You can switch things up by layering different pieces, experimenting with structure and silhouette or even mixing unique textures. A monochromatic neutral outfit can scream put together, and this is often needed for individuals in corporate scenes who still want to feel fashionable and up-to-date. This also goes for bags — where in today’s online culture — we are seeing far less primary coloured handbags, and more natural toned blacks, browns, greys and even olive greens and wine reds for those wanting to try something colourful yet chic. By shedding this ‘seasonal’ label, neutrals have fully incorporated themselves into chic minimalism and Gen Z lifestyle.
Source: Alice Cary for British Vogue
Neutrals are and have been… everywhere
A lot of us see this rising popularity in minimalist, neutral fashion as a new thing, but it’s really not. They are timeless. Going as far back as to the early 20th century from Coco Chanel revolutionising womenswear by firstly introducing beige, white, black, and cream suits — collarless, box tweed jackets with a slim skirt — famously quoting ‘I take refuge in beige because it’s natural’, natural and not necessarily autumnal. Followed up by the early stages of Elsa Schiaparelli and Madeleine Vionnet, who emphasised cut and form not just colour, allotting these shades to allow more focus on garment design. This has been succeeded by brands such as: The Roy, Max Mara, Bottega Veneta, and COS, with neutral fashion pieces synonymous with quiet wealth and stealth luxury.
Source: Emma Spedding for British Vogue
The Kardashian-ication of Beige
If Chanel gave beige its first breath of life, Kim gave it a full-blown rebirth. What was initially seen as a colour for the purpose of design technique, simplicity, and class, very quickly became an international symbol of hyper-curated, social media luxury.
From the debut of the Yeezy collection in February 2015 in collaboration with Adidas during NYFW, audiences were captivated by the dusty neutrals — taupe, sand, bone and every tone of beige imaginable. No-one could foreshadow this becoming a uniform of digital era opulence or an entire movement. Many argue that this was the first time an aesthetic had seeped into other forms of design e.g., interior (with first looks of ‘Kim’s beige palace’ in Architectural Digest 2018, designed by Axel Vervoordt) or even graphic, with many small businesses taking up a very minimalist, beige appearance to their socials. The colour seemed to firstly democratise luxury, as anyone could tap into the ‘old money’ aesthetic with a tonal outfit and good lighting, and also blurred beige’s gender and season, with Yeezy tone-on-tone sweats, sculpted bodysuits, and nude mesh dresses turning beige into a year-round statement that could be dressed up to be classy, elegant, and sophisticated, or down to be comfortable, sensual, and unbothered.
Source: Getty Images
Now the question lies with you, is neutral fashion seasonal or not?
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