Winter wardrobes aren’t exactly renowned for their liberal application of colour. Neutrals—particularly grey and black—are the go-to shades of the season, but one hue this season didn’t get the memo… a purple haze has descended on many collections, seemingly oblivious to the colour-free decree.

And there’s not one particular shade dominating proceedings—the entire spectrum of purple is proving irresistible. Shades of violet that are especially rich, as seen at Skin & Threads, present a compelling alternative to black: managing to be dark, moody and appropriately wintery without being so…well, black.

On the opposite end of the scale, Karla Spetic introduces pastel, lilac tones in light fabrics (left) and her divine knits. As the pic above ably demonstrates, the colour makes for a great highlight against pale greys and other equally soft tones. Gorman (centre) pitches for the middle ground with classic purples used in block shades and tonal stripes, but my favourite incarnation is Kate Sylvester’s wine hue (right) which appeared throughout her Diamond Dogs collection, looking particularly fetching against gunmetal grey. And any dress that reminds one of a full glass of merlot has got to be good.

 

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