colourblock fashion
REMEMBER Crayola Crayons? If your childhood was anything like ours, a brand new yellow and green cardboard box filled with pristine paper-wrapped wax crayons, or chunky felt-tip pens, was enough to send us loopy - and keep us occupied for hours. The art supplies company still exists, of course, but now it’s having a major fashion moment, thanks to a new make-up collection that launched last month on ASOS (letting grown-ups play with crayons again - what’s not to love?) and the so-called ‘Crayola brights’ trend that lit up the SS18 catwalks. A departure from the rainbow trend, which involves the whole ROYGBIV spectrum, this paintbox trend is all about colour blocking, picking a narrow palette of super-saturated shades and working them together in one outfit. At Mary Katrantzou and Calvin Klein, that meant shiny, sporty tops paired with high-waisted full skirts, while at Roksanda, models wore head-to-toe fuchsia, scarlet and azure blue. This is a trend that’s superbly suited to summer - particularly this year’s sweltering temperatures. Sunny hues, like tangerine, lemon and tomato red, make a delicious sartorial cocktail - but keep it to no more than two or three colours on one outfit, or you’ll end up looking a tad too much like a tequila sunrise. Coloured denim is also making a comeback this season, in the form of cute mini skirts with matching jackets add a pop of cool cornflower blue to contrast the sunset shades. Looking for a stunning occasion outfit? Take inspiration from Roksanda in a silky, swishy scarlet frock paired with matching heels, or make like model Jourdan Dunn in a fabulous orange maxi dress. Ready to embrace Crayola colours once more? Here are the best and brightest buys on the high street right now...