I love the color red. Red walls, red roses and red lips, they all have one thing in common; they exude a certain amount of vibrancy not so easily duplicated by other colors. It’s such a symbolic color, too. It’s not only love but anger, and prehistoric figures related it to primal life and energy. So it is no wonder that Peter Copping, the new creative director for the Oscar de la Renta label, picked it as the primary color for his bull fighting-inspired collection. Peter Copping really used this collection to explore various facets of De la Renta’s life as well as a particular area of Hispanic heritage. The 2015 Pantone color report is teaming with vivid and daring color statements that Copping was no doubt picking up on.
Color is generally the very first characteristic of clothing that the consumer notices, so the color trends on the runway are just as important as the silhouettes and other embellishments. Though wearing red for the holidays and smearing on red lipstick for a big night out is not a new concept in fashion, designers are getting more and more comfortable using such vibrant hues in their ready-to-wear collections. This means we are seeing these colors more and more in stores and are spotting colors that usually have very situational associations being pushed out of their traditional boundaries.
I chose to make the primary focus of this outfit the full, red skirt. Even though the rest of the outfit is mostly comprised of black, choosing such a major part of the ensemble in the bright red draws the eye immediately. Pairing a vibrant skirt with an understated top, like this T-shirt (the entirety of A Tale of Two Cities is on that thing) makes it easy to pull off the rich red for an everyday lunch or a walk to class. For shoes, your opportunities are endless. I chose to stick with my dark hued theme and wear black booties as well, but never think that an outfit can only have one major color in the whole set. Pairing the skirt with a lighter pink or a complementary emerald green adds even more excitement to the outfit. Color is a part of getting dressed that is easy to experiment with. You don’t need to go out and buy something entirely new—you can just work with what you have. Designers and consumers alike are embracing an era of breaking stereotypes and using color in ways not done so before.
Get My Look: 1. A red skirt. 2. A (not so) basic T-shirt. 3. Your favorite shoes.
