Is Yellow the New Pink?
From buttercup to sunflower, shades of yellow illuminated Spring/Summer 2024 collections at New York Fashion Week.
Across collections from designers from Ulla Johnson to Alice + Olivia, Sergio Hudson, Coach, Kate Spade, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Dauphinette, the hue appeared in countless shades, from soft pastels to bright neons and metallics.
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According to experts from the Pantone Color Institute, colors showcased at NYFW evoke both nostalgia and transformation, “as we embrace a more positive way of living.” The group chose Lemon Drop, a soft, “sugar coated” organic yellow reminiscent of the popular candy (or cocktail) as a fixture in its SS2024 color palette, noting that the energizing color is “filled with zest.”
Designers opted for fresh and familiar silhouettes, fabrications and motifs for spring, from romantic ruffled sleeves to breezy combinations of silk and lace, sheer, gauzy applications and textured wovens. In a bid to modernize the familiar, Hudson pumped up the color’s impact through a contrast with darker shades like black and brown. Coach punctuated its line with a creamier version of a highlighter yellow, applied to streetwear, distressed knits and sheer lace, while Kate Spade used a similar shade to bring an edge to its polished tailoring.
“A new sense of freedom” is reflected by the “evocative yet familiar” spring palette, which features complementary classic spring tones like lilac purple, chambray blue and mint, Pantone said. Lemon Drop is strikingly similar to the group’s 2021 Color of the Year Pick, “Illuminating,” a cheerful sunshine yellow that Pantone described as “warming and optimistic” as the world began to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Three years later, amid new and different global pressures, color experts believe a similar reset is in order. “Colors for NYFW Spring 2024 inspire feelings of release. Opening the imagination and amplifying and liberating our own unique artistic spirit, they enable us to express ourselves in more inventive ways,” Pantone Color Institute executive director Leatrice Eiseman said. The palette will “introduce a new interpretation of current times as memories of the past, and a glimpse of the future bring hope for the present,” she added.
