Other places that you can admire red: In the Rothko-esque paintings of Reginald Sylvester II, currently on show at the Harvey B Gantt Centre for African-American Arts + Culture on the headband of Chloe Kelly, who scored England’s winner in the Women’s Euro 2022 final and in the prairie-style dress of Pearl, the axe-wielding heroine of Ti West’s new slasher of the same name. Founders Luca Lin and Galib Gassanoff described the look as a “birth of a new race”.
(In western culture, red was once synonymous with sin, witchcraft and heresy.) You could see McQueen’s influence in the latest show by Italian brand Act No 1, where a model emerged in head-to-toe red paint. But it also can be vilifying: In Alexander McQueen’s seminal 1998 Joan collection – all blood-red sequins, tailoring and lace – the designer presented his final look inside a blazing ring of fire, a nod to the execution of Joan of Arc. The decision to embrace this “danger” can be liberating – see Versace’s vampish collection of candy-apple corset dresses with sheer panels and sexy ruching, part of a wider effort to embody “new-generation attitude”. “Passion something desirable yet dangerous.” “You’ve got a multiplicity of negative ideas about red in connection with female sexuality,” she says. As Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at FIT and author of The Red Dress, points out, such symbolism is a double-edged sword. Even the invitation arrived in a glossy red box with a suspender belt and stockings.Īfter all, red’s oldest connotation? Sex.
Using cues from video games – who hasn’t been tickled by Fortnite’s collaborations with Balenciaga or Moncler? – they added oomph to sharp-shouldered silhouettes with carmine latex and textured red leather. In Milan, Dolce & Gabbana took red to the future, offering a virtual landscape of neon lights, towering skyscrapers and spidery avatars. “Bright red in particular can induce a feeling of excitement by raising our heart rate,” she says. Clare Coulson, colour strategist at WGSN, traces the current fixation to a “craving for a new sense of happiness”. According to fashion search engine Tagwalk, the number of “total red” looks has increased by 90 per cent compared with last year, while searches for the colour are up by 88 per cent. The shade has always been ubiquitous, but its prevalence on the AW22 catwalks points to a new era of sartorial authority. Red, an age-old signifier of the changing seasons, has returned – as much in our wardrobes as out in the natural world. Then came a flash of Ruby Woo lipstick, the swish of a scarlet Dior dress and the clack of Versace’s crimson platform heels. It was the early signs of autumn that first hinted at it: Russet leaves, fairytale toadstools and a hedgerow bursting with garnet-coloured blackberries.
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