THE JOURNAL
You can get a lot of mileage out of navy, black and grey. That’s one of the reasons why we stock our wardrobes full of the stuff. But when it comes to cultivating a sense of style that’s both eye-catching and unique, neutrals can only carry you so far. For that, you need colour: the brighter and bolder the better.
Sure, fuel-rod green and highlighter-pen yellow aren’t for everyone. While they might seem intimidating at first, bright colours are much more wearable than you might think. The trick is to use them sparingly and treat them as an accent, rather than the foundation of your look. To apply an interior décor analogy, imagine them as the garish throw pillows to your tasteful greige walls.
There’s loads of it around at the moment, too. High-vis and neon shades are one of this season’s biggest trends, with everyone from fashion megabrands to cult streetwear labels getting in on the act, so there’s no better time to try them out. Here, we’ve picked out just a few of our own personal highlights – just the thing for explore your more colourful side this summer.
01.
Stone Island’s footie-raver shirt
Stone Island might be known as “the brand with the patch” (the logo patch on the sleeves of its jackets and sweatshirts is one of the streetwear crowd’s most sought-after status symbols), but cutting-edge fabric research and development is what it really does best. This Post-it note-yellow shirt is a case in point, the brand’s advanced dyeing techniques lending it an incredible intensity of colour that you have to see to believe.
02.
Liberal Youth Ministry’s acid-skater hoodie
Liberal Youth Ministry’s approach to colour isn’t so much liberal as positively exuberant: it speaks volumes that what you’re looking at now is probably one of the least colourful pieces in the Mexican brand’s current collection. (Don’t believe us? Have a look for yourself.) The abstract print and contrasting raglan sleeves lend this minty green hoodie a distinct old-school skater vibe; we suggest sticking with the theme and wearing it with denim shorts and Converse sneakers.
03.
Bottega Veneta green swim shorts
Few designers have done as much as Bottega Veneta in setting the current trend for vibrant colour. The Italian luxury brand turned fashion powerhouse set the ball rolling in 2019 with its now-famous “Bottega Green”, which it has now followed up with a selection of equally dazzling shades, including the highlighter-bright chartreuse seen on these shell shorts. This is one case where we encourage you to go all out: try wearing them poolside with a pair of the brand’s bright-green slides.
04.
The cosy ERL knit
From stylist and designer Mr Eli Russell Linetz’s namesake brand ERL comes this dégradé-effect sweater woven from a mix of bright green and black yarns that looks a bit like something your grandma would knit for you, if your grandma was Neo out of The Matrix. A standout piece that doesn’t need much in the way of support, we recommend wearing it with distressed denim and sunglasses for a techno-grunge, Mr-Kurt-Cobain-in-the-metaverse look.
05.
Moncler’s power gilet
A quilted gilet is, in many ways, the perfect vehicle for a pop of bright colour. It’s sleeveless, so the colour doesn’t totally overwhelm your entire top half, and it can be worn unzipped over a black or white base layer if you want to add a little contrast. This eye-popping green one from the quilting kings at Moncler might look like the result of an accident in a nuclear power plant, but it’s surprisingly easy to wear: just slip it on over an all-black outfit to see what we mean.