MFW SS26 color trends: A focus on mood-boosting palettes
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Milan isn’t typically celebrated for bold use of color, often leaning instead toward monochromes and earthy neutrals. This season, however, designers injected a fresh vibrancy into their collections with standout shades of red, orange, and chartreuse green. At times these appeared in striking head-to-toe looks, while elsewhere they were shown with other, often off-kilter colors. Soft shades of lilac and mint appeared frequently, offering a gentle counterpoint to the brights. For more depth, designers often turned to a warm, reddish-brown, which grounded the palette with a richer, moodier feel.
Bright Red
Perhaps the most prevalent of the brights was a striking tone of bright red, just as we saw in New York. Designers showed both head-to-toe looks as well as in mixes with other colors, sometimes complementary and sometimes contrasting.
Ferrari SS26: designer, Rocco Iannone
Look 37: a bright red square necked fitted cotton poplin sleeveless top with low-slung burgundy leather cropped pleated pants, gathered at the waist, a wide sash belt and burgundy leather sandals.
Fendi SS26
Look 35: a perforated bright red leather hooded jacket with white zippered trim and perforated leather shorts in taupe. Grey socks and shoes finished the look.
Prada SS26: designers, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons
Look 20: a bright red deep v neck sweater over an olive-green army shirt tucked into olive green shorts with a black lace suspender skirt and white pumps.
Flame Orange
Milan designers embraced bright orange more than their counterparts in New York or London, showcasing it across a range of looks—from casual to refined—and pairing it with other shades to heighten vibrancy.
Alberta Ferretti SS26: designer, Lorenzo Serafini
Look 7: a satin mini dress in ivory and orange with a round neck, an A-line cape and train. Accessories included an ivory headscarf and tan suede moccasins.
No. 21 SS26: designer, Alessandro Dell’Acqua
Look 4: an orange skirt with a wrap front and ruffles, a grey knit short sleeved sweater over an ivory blouse with orange dots. Grey studded strappy loafers and black socks finished the look.
Onitsuka Tiger SS26: designer, Andrea Pompilio
Look 17: an orange canvas jacket with a fitted waist and stud fasteners over a black and ivory striped sweater and a cream knee-length pleated wrap skirt with gold buttons. Accessories included a black satchel and sandals and grey socks.
Chartreuse Green
A bright, high-energy green appeared on Milan’s runways, confirming its status as a key color trend carried over from New York and London.
Anteprima SS6: designer, Izumi Ogino
Look 23: a chartreuse chiffon tunic over a perforated long sleeved tunic of the same color and another one tied at the waist. Olive green sneakers and socks finished the look.
Lanvin SS6: designer, Peter Copping
Look 33: a short waterproof jacket with long sleeves, a funnel neck and a sash belt in chartreuse over short turquoise print shorts, acqua socks and a brown leather bag.
MM6 Maison Margiela SS6
Look 45: a slit necked mini dress with cap sleeves in chartreuse with orange trims and seams over an oatmeal-colored long-sleeved top and black high heeled loafers.
Lilac
A soft shade of lilac counterbalanced the bright tones. However when designers used it in conjunction colors like black or brown it gave it an updated modern edge.
Emporio Armani SS26
Look 71: lilac-colored harem pants and a matching long vest with bugle bead trim over a black sequined bra, black skinny belt, eyewear, bag and boots.
Moschino SS26: designer, Adrian Appiolaza
Look 46: a short-sleeved sweater with Trompe l'oeil lilac and white cardigan with black buttons over black and white sweatpants and black Oxfords.
Versace SS26: designer, Dario Vitale
Look 57: a lilac-colored chiffon dress with diagonal drapes under an oversized brown leather jacket and a lime green cardigan tied at the waist. Lime green and black lizard print pumps finished the look.
Mint Green
Cool, calm and refreshing, mint green was the second pastel color frequently served up on the Milan runways. Designers demonstrated its versatility, pairing it with a range of other colors from emerald and tangerine to grey and sky blue.
Beccaria SS26
Look 12: a mint-colored chiffon dress with embroidered florets and ruffles with a tangerine pointelle cropped cardigan and mint mesh sandals.
KNWLS SS26: designers, Charlotte Knowles & Alexandre Arsenault
Look 27: a stretch knit top with overlong sleeves with ombré cuffs, dark denim shorts, grey sheer knee-highs, green sneakers and a brown hobo bag.
Genny SS26
Look 12: a mint-colored blouse with a neck tie and sculptural sleeves with emerald green sheer chiffon harem pants and emerald green mini basket bag.
Mahogany Brown
Taking share from black, browns continue to grow in popularity. Milan designers offered up a specific shade of reddish brown for the spring season.
Antonio Marras SS26
Look 32: a broad-shouldered DB mahogany suit with floral print inserts, floral print tie and striped shirt, all in taupe.
Calcaterra SS26
Look 2: a mahogany silk sleeveless wrap top with matching relaxed pants, a neck scarf with a lime and white print, a shawl with heavy fringe, an oversized green and ivory tassel earring and green lizard lace-ups.
Keqiao SS26
Look 2: a mahogany jumpsuit with sheer button-down overlay and voluminous pants with a peach-colored chiffon shawl and ivory slippers.