Fashion: Big block theory!
Colour-blocking in bold, bright hues has made a comeback. Here’s how to spin that colour wheel to your advantage
Colour-blocking simply means combining two or more blocks of colour in your ensemble. While the trend has returned, history suggests that it never really left. Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian’s colour-blocking technique has always inspired fashion designers. In 1965, Yves Saint Laurent extended Mondrian’s work to his designs and created the iconic Mondrian collection, which included shift dresses applying Mondrian’s “neoplastic” rules of placing blocks of primary colours, black and shades of grey, and horizontal and vertical separating lines.
London in the 1960s celebrated Mary Quant’s colour-blocked mini-dresses. The 1970s continued to incorporate the colour-blocking solids with small colourful prints or polka dots, whereas neon colour-blocking was a rage in
the ’70s disco era and ’80s. Salman Khan’s colour-blocked blazers in Hum Aapke Hai Koun are a good example of how it was used in ’90s Bollywood.
“New-age Indians are tech-savvy; hence they can surf, understand and implement new fashion trends in their wardrobes. It is a pleasure to see Gen-Z and millennials playing with contrasting, complementary or analogous hues to style their everyday looks that were not accepted earlier,” says fashion designer Nida Mahmood.
Try the tetradic scheme
Go beyond the usual suspects
Deciphering the trend
Tetradic colours are two sets of complementary colours found opposite each other on the colour wheel. For example, Google, Microsoft, and eBay logos follow a tetradic scheme.
This is a very rich and vibrant colour scheme, which helps designs stand out. Keep in mind that the vibrancy of the colours involved can cause them to overwhelm one another if not balanced carefully.
Styling takeaway
The formula is to mix four colours to create an overall look but let one colour remain dominant.
You don’t have to stick with only solid pieces when colour-blocking. It could also be layered with a printed knitted or crochet blouse with shorts or can be teamed with a pantsuit or plaid skirt. When layering a corset or shrug over your dress, pick one in a contrasting colour, like Brandon Maxwell did for Spring ’22. “There are warm, neutral and cool tones in the colour wheel. You can start with a colour of your choice and team it with colours close to it on the colour wheel to make sure the combination is safer and the colours pair well together,” suggests designer Aaina Mahajan.
An analogous palette
Three’s company
Deciphering the trend
An analogous colour scheme is defined as a grouping of at least three neighbouring shades on the colour wheel: blue-violet, violet, red-violet or yellow-green yellow, yellow-orange, etc. The colours of autumn leaves and foliage, leaves and plants in a forest, the sky and the ocean follow this scheme.
The safe bet is to follow Claude Monet’s colour palette from the iconic Water Lily series to style your look. It has all shades of greens, blues and purples with some red accents used for the flowers.
Styling takeaway
Analogous colours have a natural flow because they share common properties. There’s also a sense of harmony in this type of scheme since the colours are related. Combine two to three neighbouring colours with black or white as a highlight.
“I believe that colour-blocking using bold colours goes very well together if one truly wants to make a strong statement; however, a subtle way to go about it is using similar, analogous hues such as turquoise with blue or green or green-yellow with green. It’s easy on the eyes and looks quite chic,” says designer Rahul Mishra.
Team up with the Triad scheme
This is one triangle you’ll definitely love
Deciphering the trend
Triad colours are equidistant on the color wheel, forming a triangle.
An abstract expressionist, in his Colour Field paintings, Mark Rothko used a combination of orange and purple, giving a sense of infinity.
Warm orange with purple, (think of the FedEx logo) with a hint of green completes the triangle, just like Gucci’s Spring 2011 ready-to-wear collection.
Styling takeaway
Colour-block your ensemble in purple with a complementary shade of orange, or ease into it by choosing one and accenting with the other. Pick one colour for your clothes and then the other as a statement accessory; the coolest choices would be shoes, boots or your bag.
“Colour-blocking used vertically creates an illusion of height. If we use a long block for the top, it is easy to create the illusion of height. This can do wonders for short people”, says designer Nida Mahmood, adding, “Also, it’s high-time to explore the princess line with colour-blocking as it gives the illusion of a beautiful curve to the body.”
Classic chic & complementary
These colour combos are usually bold, which is why many sports teams use them!
Deciphering the trend
Complementary colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel. The two colours complement each other through contrast, allowing each one to stand out.
Vincent Van Gogh, in his masterpiece The Night Café, has used the power of complementary colours, red and green, to heighten the visual effect.
Styling takeaway
Yes, this daring combination of red and green can be worn this season. All you need is the right attitude. Throwing a fringed shrug on any soft flowy silhouette will give you the look you want.
“Colour-blocking with contrasting shades looks great. Just top it up with white accessories and cold icy make-up,” recommends celebrity stylist, Isha Bhansali.
Coupling contrasts
Too hot to handle
Deciphering the trend
Hot pink is a brighter shade of pink, introduced by surrealist fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who made it her signature colour. Yellow and yellow-green from the colour wheel complement pink.
Although Andy Warhol painted Marilyn Monroe in virtually all colour combinations, his ‘Pink Marilyn’ serigraph brought these fun pop colours into every fashionista’s wardrobe. The hot pink shade appeared on Spring/Summer ‘22 runways from Alexander McQueen to Dior to Versace, trickling down to the pret shelves for us to shop.
Styling takeaway
Combine three to four fresh and vibrant shades from the Pop Art palette and useone or two colours to accentuate the look using a bold accessory like a handbag, pumps, or jewellery.
“The best part about mixing and matching different colours in an ensemble is that one can create a whole fresh look each time. Each piece of clothing can have a longer shelf life as one is reinventing each piece by teaming it up with something,” states Nida Mahmood.
Try kawaii from Harajuku street style
Pastels feature heavily here
Deciphering the trend
Kawaii (which means ‘cute’ in Japanese) is a Japanese street style that offsets bold designs with soft colours. They create an outfit base with creams, ballet pink, lavender, light green, and baby blue and mix those with classic styles and cute prints.
Styling takeaway
The Harajuku kawaii style can be extracted through layering prints or checks with some solid colours, garments and accessories. You could use a printed top with some solid coloured pants and a jacket accessorised with solid coloured belts or high boots.
“Our youth is sharing and consuming experiences in real-time. They explore different high-fashion, couture and street styles to create their own style guide. I feel the new generation is mature enough to mix colours to create statement looks,” muses Pallavi Singhee, founder of Verb.
Take notes from Raza’s canvas
The artist offers a lot of inspiration
Pop quiz: What’s the best way to celebrate the 50 best restaurants from across the world’s biggest continent? Answer: By getting chefs from across countries to cook a 12-course meal, all to be served in one long, delicious evening!
That’s exactly what happened at Le Du restaurant in Silom, Bangkok, a few weeks ago, where seven chefs from award-winning restaurants in Singapore and Thailand came together to celebrate Asia’s best, and each other. These included Chef Pichaya Utarntharm of Potong, Chef Han Li Guang of Labyrinth in Singapore (famous for his chili crab), Johanne Siy of Lolla, Sri Lankan Rishi Naleendra of Cloudstreet Singapore, Dej Kewkacha of Kyo Bar, Sun Kim of Meta and the home chef, Thitid Tassanakajohn aka Chef Thon of Le Du and Nusara.
