I *know* that you already know that this season’s new black is undisputedly beige. But I want to share why the most polite of colours has risen to number #1 spot, ousting out every other shade. It’s wasn’t some secret conference of designers who all decided to ditch the rest of the rainbow… it’s all down to Instagram.
What’s brilliant about beige is its blandness. Beige is unapologetically… beige. It’s the most meh of every colour. It’s bland. Beige doesn’t mind which bar you want to visit. Beige certainly isn’t stone or oatmeal or light tan. It’s just beige. And you can be sure it’s all over your Instagram this season as it’s the colour of the moment. But think carefully… it’s been all over your feed for several months now, hasn’t it?
That’s because the arrival of this season’s essential shade is all down to its popularity on social media. Everyone’s favourite influencers have been curating a beige aesthetic for aaaaages.
Think of the feeds that have that lovely daylit mood, focus on natural tones and feature all the coolest not-quite-mega brands like Nanushka, Cecile Bahnsen, Rejina Pyo… There’s lots of beige there, right?
Even the most popular VSCO filters with bloggers are set up for editing your photos to fit that beige aesthetic. A6 – according to later.com – is a ‘fashion blogger favourite’ and has been made to showcase subtle natural tones and echo traditional film photography. The Huji app also warms up your neutrals for that beautifully beige mood.
But there’s more to the trend trickle down than a lot of influencers wearing beige. Inside the industry, some designers have been derided for creating clothes for the catwalk that purely to entice insta-love and likes. A catwalk show was always the time when brands could create ‘traction’ (red, press coverage) and of course social media has helped them echo that impact. So why not go a little further with the embellishment and pattern if you know it’s going to get extra press? Designing something with the ‘gram in mind is not new and designers are as un-immune as us to the lure of the scroll or the spike of serotonin caused by a flurry of likes.
In the past, the way that designers decreed the colour of the season was *not* by taking a suite at The Ritz and all voting for their favourite colour in a secret ballot although it sometimes felt like it with the rate at which, say, purple, appeared on the catwalks. Behind the scenes trend forecasters (*dream job alert) have been working on long range predictions, looking years in advance and taking into consideration everything from food, travel and tech fashions to reach their future style and colour conclusions and when they head into design studios, fabric factories and trade shows to give their thoughts of what we will be wearing a few years hence, they would have certainly shared their thoughts on neutral tones – especially beige – meaning more beige fabrics went into production, it was at the forefront of the designer’s minds and echoed what their customers would want to actually wear. Which is what fashion is all about.
Right now, beige feels… right. It’s the easiest shade to wear head-to-toe – the ultimate styling trick of the moment – because no two beiges are made the same. If you mix a selection of beiges tones in one outfit you’ll look brilliantly styled… in that “I just threw this on” way. Because it’s a neutral it also goes perfectly with monochrome and if you want to be totally on trend, throw in some neon for a jolt of colour that will nail the street-style look. How versatile. Long live colours that are kind. Long live beige, although I’ve been noticing a lot of pumpkin on my feed recently…
