We saw Barbiecore inundate our feeds and closets after Maison Valentino’s Pink PP collection started a fuchsia frenzy (as did all the BTS shots of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling from the upcoming Barbie movie). Buttery yellow walked down just about every runway. Purple was snapped on busy streets, rivalling pink's popularity. And let’s not forget the maximalist displays that took over the red carpet, like Jodie Turner-Smith in that bespoke Gucci neon lime green number for the British Fashion Awards. 

It wasn't just celebrities and fashion elites gravitating towards colour. Despite our enduring love for minimal style and neutral tones, we also added more vivid hues to our own wardrobes in 2022. 

Beyond the obvious celebrity-influenced rationale behind wearing brighter tones, there’s actually a reason more of us wore colour this year.

Colour analysis expert and the head of colour at the prestigious London College of Style, Jules Standish, says it has a lot to do with colour theory. It's an academic or scientific understanding of colour which maps out how the three primary colours – red, yellow and blue – interact with each other to create orange, purple, green, and all the colours in between. All of the colours in the wheel have an effect on each other, and indirectly an effect on us. 

Colour plays an important role in conveying information nonverbally and creating certain moods. In her new book A Colourful Dose of Optimism, Jules explains that colours at the hotter end of the spectrum with longer wavelengths of light like red, orange and yellow can stimulate the senses, encouraging action, creating excitement and boosting energy. Whilst colours at the cooler end of the spectrum, namely green, blue and violet/purple, have shorter wavelengths of light and therefore are more restful for our eyes with a soothing effect on the senses. The soothing effect can even reduce blood pressure and help our nervous systems to keep calm.