Photo:
Courtesy of Stella McCartney; Launchmetrics Spotlight/Versace; Courtesy of Tory Burch; Courtesy of Gucci
If we’re being honest, most color trends are fleeting, but occasionally, one manages to break out of the cycle and become a “neutral” hue in its own right—red has done just that. Since last spring, we’ve seen various shades of red surface on the runways, but it wasn’t until we began researching for this story that we were fully convinced this color is here to stay. While we didn’t see one singular shade of red reign supreme, two noteworthy variations were found across the fall/winter 2023 and spring/summer 2024 collections: crimson and cherry red. With the former, we saw the highly saturated red play a bigger part in fall collections, but it did carry over into spring too! Designers often used crimson to make typical silhouettes feel sultrier. That aim was on full display at Stella McCartney in a double-breasted coat and matching slip skirt that came in crimson red. At Tory Burch, we saw how a longline wrap coat becomes fiery when fashioned from a crimson material. And then there was Ferragamo’s fall collection, which featured suits, knits, and coats in the brightest possible version of crimson.
If the fall collections were all about using this shade of red to dial up the heat, then spring was all about bringing it to a subdued simmer, which is apparent in the broad adoption of cherry red. Designers took this decadent shade of red and dialed up the ante by using it for “luxurious” items. For example, in Sabato De Sarno’s debut show for Gucci, leather goods like bags, moto jackets, midi skirts, and pumps all came in cherry red. Similarly, a Versace skirt suit came in drool-worthy cherry-red leather. Although the shades differ in vibrancy, they’re both a reminder that any color can be neutral if you’re willing to commit.