Chronicle of fashion foretold: Orange for winter

New Delhi: If you like to think six months ahead, then think orange. Designers say the colour will dominate fashion next winter not only in India but abroad too.

Fashion trends are forecast six months before a season actually comes around. And orange is already splashing the collections of international names like Stella Mccartney, Vivienne Westwood and labels like Calvin Klein, Bottega Veneta and Hermes. Labels like Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton have gone out of the way and incorporated the colour in their men`s collections too. "All shades of orange - light and deep - are going to be heavily in vogue next winter. It is the colour for the season. People can wear full orange dresses, without feeling it is too bright, and shaded orange clothes too will be a hit," Leena Singh of designer duo Ashima-Leena told reporters. Their autumn-winter collection showcased at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) a week ago was dominated by kaftans, dresses and tunics in reds and oranges. Even their black-based saris had motifs in orange on the border. Orange was also the chosen colour for Indian as well as western clothes. An array of designers like Rajesh Pratap Singh, Anupama Dayal, Kallol Datta, Manish Arora, Malini Ramani, Jatin Varma, Charu Parashar, Neeru Kumar, Krishna Mehta and Masaba had used orange in some way or the other in their collections this time. They teamed up different shades of orange with bright colours like fuchsia, turquoise, yellow and green, apart from mixing it with white, beige, brown and black, to add some colour to the garments. The bright colour could help you beat the winter fog and chill. Designers Shantanu-Nikhil`s line was inspired by jungle safari and they made jackets, mini skirts and body suits with hints of orange. "We always use subtle and neutral colours in our work. But we always use a hint of some bright colour, which is going to be the colour of the season, in our line. Last time it was yellow for the spring-summer collection. But for the coming winter, it is definitely bright and even burnt orange," said Nikhil. Indian designers Hemant-Nandita, known for a splash of colours in their lines, too feel orange is going to be a rage in winter time. "I feel burnt orange is going to do very well in India. Indians like bright stuff, but nothing `jhataak` (loud). Orange is a very warm colour and well-suited for winters," said Nandita. "In fact, we feel a lot of citrus colours will be in demand for winters this time, unlike the usual plain colours - brown, beige, black, blue and white that people go for. Besides, once a trend catches on, it stays on for long in India. The blue and fuschia combination is now fading away...and orange is going to step in soon!" she added. So, even if you have plain high-necks, t-shirts and sweaters in neutral colours, you can jazz it up with an orange scarf, orange footwear, orange belt or just some accessory in orange to stay in vogue. IANS