Give me some sunshine! The reign of yellow in fashion
Yellow is not so mellow anymore. From Anne Hathaway to K-pop star Lisa, Alia Bhatt to Vaani Kapoor, celebs are drenched in gleams of sunshine on various appearances. As splashes of sunshine yellow dominate the fashion colour palette, designers and stylists share how to style it right.
Vivid, vibrant and vivacious — sunshine yellow is reigning the fashion radar, and how! Often associated with optimism and new beginnings, this shade of yellow has many takers both in India and overseas. Donning a tube top and skirt in sunshine yellow recently was BLACKPINK star Lisa, while actor Anne Hathaway opted for shorts and long T-shirt, complemented by a statement necklace and nude lips, for a Bulgari event recently. Closer home, mums to-be Alia Bhatt and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja looked super pretty in yellow free-flowing dresses, allowing them to ace maternity fashion without compromising on comfort. While actor Vaani Kapoor looked graceful as ever in an elegant yellow saree for Shamshera promotions, actor Mrunal Thakur opted for an infinity blouse and sharara in sunshine yellow, layered with a cape, while promoting her latest release, Sita Ramam.
What makes this colour so popular?
“Yellow symbolises happiness, new beginnings, enthusiasm and confidence. A Spring/Summer 2022 trend, it perfectly embodies the idea of a change. Yellow remains popular as an accent colour. It is fabulous with neutral bottoms like blue, white or black. You can minimise the effect by combining a yellow top with a blazer in a more neutral colour,” shares designer Ritu Beri. Echoing similar sentiments, designer Samant Chauhan says, “Yellow, with its auspicious energy and ever-radiating festive joy, is making a comeback in mainstream fashion now more than ever before!”
For designer Vaishali S, the colour reminds her of the sun. She says, “Yellow is often associated to summer, especially in the western world. For me, it is about energy. I often insert it in my collections to increase the rhythm and power. In the last months, you can find it brightening up my winter, summer, bridal collections and Haute Couture.”
Internationally, yellow is resonated with the onset of spring-summer, and is often seen in designer collections as well as on runways. “It’s summery and represents sunshine. For people in the West, it’s a big deal because they hardly see the sun,” says stylist Isha Bhansali, adding, “With Alia, I felt the silhouette worked very well, especially with her current pregnancy. It’s chic and sexy at the same time, which is tough to get right.”
The pandemic effect
In a world marred by a health scare like Covid-19, what better way to infuse positivity than through our sartorial choices? In this regard, colours like sunshine yellow top the chart. “More than ever, the post-Covid world has understood the importance of sunshine and feel good in fashion and everything else we do. There is no colour that gives as much optimism, hence, the reign of yellow all over fashion,” notes designer Anupamaa Dayal, adding, “A saree in shades of yellow is sensational!”
Stylist Rishi Raj, too, believes the pandemic has had a role to play in the popularity of this hue. “Yellow has always had a happy sunshiny feel to it. After the darkness that the world has recently experienced, it is but natural to express hope and positivity through fashion, as has always been the case,” he notes.
Style it right
According to Bhansali, sunshine yellow is fairly easy to style, for it suits many genres of clothing, traditional or western, as well as body types. “It is also versatile in terms of occasion. You can wear it in the day or night. With a bright pop colour like sunshine yellow, don’t go overboard with the rest of the ensemble. Don’t do matching bags, earrings, etc. Break the monotony, but at the same time, don’t add too much of contrast. If you’re doing colour blocking, purple is a great colour combination with yellow. With accessories, go minimal to celebrate the colour in the most balanced way possible,” she suggests.
Raj, on the other hand, believes the world we live in today has gone beyond predictability and a particular set of what classifies as trendy. “Wear a hint of yellow to spruce up a minimal look. It could be earrings or even eyeliner...or go all out and drench yourself from head to toe and make a statement! Make your own rules, go 50 shades of yellow and wear it in different tones,” he says, and goes on to share a word of caution: “Be careful with colour combinations. A yellow and black combo could remind people of a Kaali Peeli taxi!”
Author tweets @srinidhi_gk
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