Magenta, red, orange: Which colour will take centre stage in fall wardrobes?

Red was in the spotlight on the catwalks of Ferragamo, Dolce & Gabbana and Isabel Marant.Image: Marco BERTORELLO / Miguel MEDINA / Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP

A new season means a wardrobe update. So, with fall upon us, it's time to delve into your closet to dig out fabrics that are thicker and snugger and to swap the vibrant hues of summer for warmer colours. Still, it remains to be seen which shade will be the star of the season...

Late last year, Pantone revealed its customary colour of the year for 2023: 'Viva Magenta'. For those not yet familiar with the hue, it's a shade derived from red, with hints of violet and pink, symbolizing, among other things, happiness, power and optimism. But is it the colour that will dominate fashion trends this fall? Yes and no... Because red seems to be the colour of choice for fashion fans and designers alike, according to data compiled by the global fashion search engine Stylight.

All over the runways

At the fall-winter 2023-2024 fashion shows held last February and March, the leading luxury labels made red their colour of choice for the season, using it in a multitude of different shades. Carmine, vermilion, raspberry red, cherry red and scarlet all got a look-in, with the colour synonymous with passion and power proving a firm favourite at the Fashion Weeks of all four fashion capitals. In Paris, Balmain, Stella McCartney, Loewe, and, of course, Valentino offered numerous red looks, as did Ferragamo, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana in Milan, not to mention David Koma and Christopher Kane in London.

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After being seen all over the catwalk, red has since been adopted by a host of celebrities, content creators and influencers, including Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Cardi B and Dua Lipa. As is often the case, the trend quickly spread across social networks, with the hashtags #red and #redoutfits racking up over 30 billion and 200 million views, respectively. This was driven by posts showcasing single-colour silhouettes—in red, of course—and tutorials showing how to combine the colour with a host of accessories.

Red leather on the rise

Looking at the items in this colour that will be all the rage this fall, it would seem that red leather—a classic—is shaping up to be a standout. Fashion search engine Stylight reported a 182 percent increase in user clicks for this category of clothing and accessories compared to the same time last year. But that's not all: red accessories seem to be particularly popular as fall approaches. Red sunglasses have seen a surge in interest in recent months (+66 percent clicks), as have red handbags (+30 percent clicks).

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Nevertheless, it's monochrome silhouettes that stood out on the catwalks of fall-winter 2023-2024 fashion shows and which are proving a hit with fashion fans on social networks. Here, it's not a question of standing out with a simple accessory but of fully embracing this bold, fiery colour.

For this report, Stylight analyzed the search behaviour of its 120 million users in 15 international markets on an annual basis between January 1 and August 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.