Asking about fall colors always comes with some combination of the following shades: burgundy, mustard, olive, brown, burnt orange, and tan. It makes sense given the scenery, with yellowing trees and gloomier skies aplenty during the season leading up to winter. But not everything that makes sense is worth wearing. Lately, I've been getting a serious case of the ick when it comes to all things that fall into the category of "stereotypical autumn," especially when it comes to colors.
Luckily, my growing disdain for fashion that can be worn to a pumpkin patch or for a day of apple picking seems to be shared with a majority of designers, as many chose an opposing color palette for their fall collections. Some, like Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta and Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons for Prada, went the way of pastels like mint and soft violet, and others, like Tory Burch and Ferragamo's Maximilian Davis, chose brighter, more vibrant hues like red and royal blue. The consensus? No one will be wearing shades of beige this fall, and you shouldn't be either.
Scroll down to shop the unexpected color trends set to dominate next season.
Margarine
In 2023, it seems that what everyone wants in the fashion department is to look and feel luxurious, and nothing checks off both boxes like buttery-soft and buttery-yellow pieces like those spotted in Jil Sander, Gucci, and Loewe's fall runway shows. Now, brands like Reformation, COS, and H&M are getting in on the shade, manufacturing more affordable pieces in cashmere and wool that are just as elegant and lavish as those spotted during fashion month.
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Fire-Engine Red
From summer to fall to winter—no matter the season, if it's 2023, red is trending. After a shockingly successful run during fashion month last February, when brands such as Ferragamo, The Row, Tory Burch, and Bottega Veneta all featured the color in one form or another, the bold shade's been everywhere. The hype isn't predicted to end anytime soon, especially after Hailey Bieber wore it thrice during her NYC press tour for the launch of Rhode's Strawberry Glaze Peptide Lip Treatment in August.
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Soft Violet
Typically, if you're wearing purple in the fall, it's more along the lines of eggplant than lavender, but not in 2023. Thanks to Jonathan Anderson and Blazy, the creative directors of Loewe and Bottega Veneta respectively, fashion's skewing more toward the pastel shade as opposed to anything remotely similar to O.P.I.'s Lincoln Park After Dark.
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Celadon
A few years ago, I wouldn't have been caught dead in anything minty green or blue, but after spotting celadon on the runway at Bottega Veneta and Prada last February, I can't seem to get it out of my head. Now that fall's almost upon us, I simply must add at least one item in the color to my autumnal style rotation. Tip: Add to the mint chocolate chip color scheme by styling it with rich shades of brown.
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Shop the matching Straight Leg Pants ($50).
Whitest White
It's not that white is a wild or crazy color—it's not. But it isn't a shade that you expect to see a ton of in fall collections. The "no white after Labor Day" rule has long been debunked, but even so, many have remained unwilling to forget it, storing their whitest white pieces away until Memorial Day the next year. In 2023, though, designers are finally giving us good reasons to style our beloved white pieces from summer all year long.
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Shop the matching Pleated Bermuda Shorts ($46).
Royal Blue
As much of a navy fan as I am, this season, I'm attempting to stay outside of my comfort zone for as long as possible and instead test my fashion limits with bolder alts to colors I know and love. Rather than relying on my navy pieces all season like I did a year ago, I'm following the lead of Tory Burch, Gucci, and Jil Sander and adding a few royal-blue pieces into my fall repertoire, styled with bold white or tobacco-brown accessories and outerwear.
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Green Apple
Hunter green, who? For fall 2023, the shade of green that fashion is most interested in is lighter, brighter, and more akin to a shiny green apple than a pine tree or a British racing car. For proof, see Emilia Wickstead's and Miu Miu's fall collections, which were littered with the vibrant, very anti-autumn hue.
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