5 Colour Trends That Will Impact How You Get Dressed This Autumn

A colour palette can reveal a lot about the overall mood of a season, and while browns, navys and blacks will always be dominant autumn neutrals, there were some unexpected hues thrown into the mix for autumn/winter 2024. We saw a move towards colours that have transeasonal appeal, with looks that would feel right at home in a spring/summer collection. Of course, there were your typical winter coats, moody heritage checks and back-to-school tailoring, but there were also playful dresses and chiffons that you could wear in August and November. Colour had a lot to do with this all-year round positioning. Prada, for example, had a magnificent pink, bow-adorned dress that would be perfect for a spring wedding, while Chloé’s ruffled chiffons in rose, buttermilk and powder blues, all had a whimsical, summery quality to them.

As for styling, some brands, such as Prada and Miu Miu, experimented with unlikely colour clashes and bold pairings, but tonal dressing remained firmly on the agenda across all four cities. The look that felt the most fresh here was rich, mossy khaki shades that were styled head-to-toe at the likes of Ferragamo, Gucci, Burberry and Bottega Veneta. Judging by the autumn collections that are beginning to trickle into new-in sections, this is a colour that buyers and high-street brands believe has high commercial potential – Arket has gone all-out with khaki over the last week or so.

If you are tempted to add some more colour into your autumn arsenal, and not retreat into black and navy from now until spring, below you’ll find a breakdown of key colour trends for autumn/winter 2024.

Khaki

Tonal dressing continued to be a dominant styling move across the autumn/winter 2024 runways, and at Burberry, Ferragamo, Gucci and Bottega Veneta we saw a rich, earthy shade of khaki green worn head-to-toe. Khaki might be associated with utility jackets and cargo pants, however this autumn it’s more elevated and polished than military-wear – we saw pea coats, silk dresses and sheer separates in olive, moss and deep khaki hues. In Pantone’s colour trend report following London Fashion Week, it highlighted “Iguana” as a leading hue, noting that it is a “versatile arboreal green that underscores our appreciation of nature.” Minimalists, this one is for you.

Pink

Pink isn’t a colour you would typically associate with the winter months, however it’s a shade that designers were clearly enamoured with for autumn/winter 2024. Instead of saccharine, Barbiecore hues, we saw softer, more muted pinks at Chloé, Prada and Chanel. In the Run Through podcast, when discussing Kylie Jenner’s September Issue cover, Laura Ingham and Chioma Nnadi explain how the pink Prada dress adorned with bows was an obvious choice. “We knew it was a special dress, it stood out as one of the strongest pieces and almost defined the season in a certain sense,” explains Ingham, deputy director of the global fashion network. “Sometimes you have a moment at a show – you see something and think it will define trends and be a benchmark for the season, and this was one of those moments.” Pink was either worn head-to-toe, with a dress or tailored suit, or as a pop of colour among neutrals, whether via trousers, a shirt or a coat.

Grey

When it comes to neutrals, grey had a moment across the collections, from light washes to moody slate hues. Carven, MaxMara and Michael Kors are just a few of the brands that championed head-to-toe grey looks. A wider trend across the runways was heritage, country house looks, with tweeds, herringbones and argyles. Grey chunky knits and weighty tailored separates were key to this aesthetic.

Yellow

Yellow was a key colour trend for autumn/winter 2023, and despite it being traditionally regarded as a divisive shade, it is proving popular for another winter. At Prada, a marigold-coloured, short-sleeved knit was paired with a grey skirt, while Victoria Beckham, Jacquemus and Bottega Veneta had beautiful, softer buttery shades. The Pantone colour report for London Fashion Week also highlighted “Misted Yellow” as key to the palette, noting that it is a “lightly spiced, veiled yellow that manifests the beauty of the natural world.” Stand-out pieces across the collections include a boxy, mustard-yellow jacket at Bottega Veneta, a buttermilk longline coat at Gucci and a chiffon minidress at Victoria Beckham.

Blue

Blue is always dominant across the winter collections, however, instead of just navy or royal-blue, this season there were some lighter shades thrown in to the mix, such as sky blue and cobalt. The Pantone trend report highlighted two specific shades of blue: “Starlight Blue,” an “ethereal blue hue both lofty and airy,” and “Wave Ride,” a “tropical ocean blue inspiring our desire for escape.” Bottega Veneta had a show-stopping cocooning coat in a bright, sky blue, while Miu Miu had skirts and shirts in a punchy cobalt.