So it may come as a surprise to learn that this season, fashion’s must-have shade of the moment is decidedly more understated: beige.
Thanks to designers like Burberry’s Riccardo Tisci the muted hue is no longer a byword for bland and instead being spotted on the well-dressed backs of Parisian street style stars and high-powered fashion editors.
In fact, the trend has proved to be such a hit with fashion fans since the spring/summer 2019 shows that the hashtag #beigeaesthetic now boasts more than 40,000 posts on Instagram.
Tisci stands at the vanguard of the colour’s revival having showcased a parade of looks that were dominated by beige tones for his debut collection at the luxury fashion house.
Here, Tisci took a typically uninspiring shade and transformed it into symbol of classic refinement.
“Beige is the colour that belongs to the house – we own it – and I wanted each photographer to have a different way of interpreting it,” Tisci said of his debut Burberry ad campaign.
“Some did it with the lighting. Nick was all about beige clothes, with all the girls in the beige suits, plus the house was very beige, brown, natural — and very chic.”
The standout collection was closely followed by similarly neutral offerings from a host of other designers, including Balmain, Tom Ford, Dior and Kenzo.
But, why now? What is it about neutral tones that is really getting people’s hearts thumping?
According to Alex Longmore, founder of Style School – an organisation that trains future fashion stylists – the rise of camel could be a reaction to current affairs and the rise of inconspicuous consumption – when a brand or person avoids outwardly displaying their wealth or social status.
“With ‘sustainability’ being the key word in fashion for 2019 and the perils of Brexit, frivolous spending is at an all-time low,” Longmore tells The Independent.
“I think beige is such a fashionable colour because it’s understated and conservative, which translates to being ‘timeless’ in fashion.
“Women want classics that are going to last and wearing beige is one sure way to achieve just that.
“I think it’s also partly because beige has always been deemed a functional colour and women are really thinking about what they invest in.”
Fashion stylist and costume designer Rebecca Lockwood agrees, adding another reason beige has seen such a surge in popularity is because it’s so versatile.
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