For the Resort 22 season, the designer’s collections made it clear that color blocking is back. Vibrant hues in contrasting combinations are here to take over our wardrobes.
Fashion is always coming back around. What we wore yesterday, we’ll wear again tomorrow, and what we’re wearing today is a remix of something we wore years around. Yes, fashion comes and goes. Over the last few seasons, we’ve seen a revival of nineties and early-two-thousands fashion: the irreverent silhouettes, textiles, and aesthetics that were characteristic of the years in which we all walked around withs flip phone, mini bags, and scrunchies. But for the Resort 22 season, one of the biggest trends across the collections was color blocking.
The color blocking trend is not new, if we look at the fashion almanac, we can find records of it dating back to the 60s. One of the first, or perhaps the first, garment in this trend was the mythical Mondrian dress by Yves Saint Laurent. This emblematic silk and jersey A-line dress is a clear example of color blocking. Color blocking combines at least two bold and often contrasting colors resulting in a striking and exciting outfit. Since then, we have seen this trend become a favorite of emerging and established designers. It invites the use of vibrant hues and plays with unusual combinations, resulting in truly intriguing and eye-catching outfits.
The last time we saw this trend become a favorite among fashionistas was in 2010 and the years that followed. The catwalks were filled with contrasting colors that really worked. It was a time in which people were looking to bring a little joy back into everyday life after the depressing years of the 2008 recession, and colorful clothing helped. Today we are experiencing something similar. We seek to fill our days with happiness, and one of the best ways is with a little color in our wardrobes.
For the Resort 22 season, we saw this trend from different designers. Some, like Riccardo Tisci at Burberry, played with contrasting intensities of same hue, or a play on complementary colors (blue – yellow), like Nina Ricci. We saw two-tone options from Proenza Schouler, No. 21, and Moschino, and looks that combined three or more shades from the Valentino, Tory Burch and Monse collections. Color blocking can be done in all types of shades, from pastels, like those in Missoni, to neon or in more vivid tones, like those in Louis Vuitton.
At a first glance, this trend seems easy to achieve–like combining an orange blouse with electric blue pants–but it is more difficult than that. It is a trend in which the line between chic and kitsch is very thin. Remember that to be great you have to start with the basics, so start by including small but colorful pieces in your outfits and then increasing the boldness. If this is your first time trying out this trend and you don’t want something too extravagant, try combining a basic outfit (jeans and a white shirt) with a vibrant colored jacket and a bag in a contrasting color. If you already feel more confident, mix different colors (two or three), but to achieve a coherent look, try to repeat shades in the outfit. For example, I wore a purple velvet blouse with high-waisted canary yellow pants, neon green pumps and a pale orange belt, and to complete the look I went with a Chanel Boy bag in the same shade of orange as the belt. This small detail brought unity to the whole look.
Without a doubt, this is a very lively trend that will bring us some happiness. So, go ahead and incorporate a bit of color in your wardrobe because color blocking is here to stay.
Get the trend
