Paint the Town Yellow
There seems to be one colour that's ruling the fashion charts for more than just one season now, and it's the colour yellow.
Wordsworth’s heart leapt with joy at the sight of ‘golden daffodils’, Van Gogh took solace in the summery hues of sunflowers, while Paul McCartney chose a Yellow Submarine to escape the drudgery of adult life. The colour yellow has enthralled poets, painters, and musicians for ages, but of late, the fashion world seems to be caught in the grip of this arresting colour. It all started with Queen Bey flaunting a bright yellow, silky hoodie during her 2018 Coachella performance and since then, the colour has seeped onto runways and into the wardrobes of many celebrities.
Bella Hadid showed up at the Dior Homme fashion show in Paris wearing an eye-catching fluorescent yellow suit and matching neon nail paint, while Meghan Markle looked like a ray of sunshine in the yellow, mid-length Brandon Maxwell number she wore to a function in London recently. A few months back, we saw Black Panther actress, Angela Bassett, rock a yellow fringe jumpsuit at the movie’s premiere. In B-Town, the colour seems to be a favourite with the ever-stylish Kareena Kapoor Khan, who donned a sunshine yellow skirt and blouse for a recent promotional event. However, this isn’t the first time the actress has flaunted this eye-catching hue as one remembers her pulling off a billowy, yellow Prabal Gurung gown a few weeks ago and a bright yellow and pink Masaba Gupta saree before that.
Why has this summery hue captured the minds and bodies of fashionistas? Stylist Aastha Sharma feels that the colour isn’t a stranger to red carpets or runways and that it makes infectious comebacks every few years. “Yellow keeps coming back season after season, it’s like black or white. Right now, it’s summer in many countries and yellow complements the weather well. It’s also such a diverse colour and has shades from lemon yellow to mustard,” she says.
Celebrity stylist Esha Amin too highlights the diversity of the colour. Pointing out a trend she says, “Shades of yellow differ from country to country. In Europe, you’ll see a lot of mustard, in Italy, you’ll see muted yellows, while in India we wear a lot of bright yellows. It’s an effortless, warm, happy colour and that’s why it’s being accepted so well.” While the yellow trend is brightening international runways, the colour complements Indian skin tones too. Designer Tanya Sharma suggests choosing a yellow that goes well with your skin tone. “Yellow looks good on duskier skin tones, but you have to choose the right yellow. A deeper yellow, like a mustard yellow is suited to duskier complexions,” says Tanya.
Aastha suggests downplaying the accessory game while wearing yellow. “If you’re wearing yellow, you don’t have to accessorize so much. It’s such a strong colour that it makes your entire look,” she says. The stylist also suggests choosing shades according to the time of day. “If you’re wearing yellow in the day, pair it with whites, nudes or light pinks. If you’re wearing yellow in the evening, pair it with black, gold or silver,” she adds.
Stylist Khushnaz Turner, who is a fan of the yellow trend, says that the vibrant colour goes well with denim and whites. “Yellow also goes well with darker hues like burgundy or navy blue,” she adds. Esha, however, feels that it’s best to pair the colour with muted hues. “The whole colour block zone is too passé now, so mute the yellow with a liquid gold, a dull silver or maybe nude. For men, mustard and white look great. Don’t try to mix two primary colours together, that vibe is over,” she advises.