Five ways to wear the new season’s hottest colour.

Dear everyone who has only just come round to the idea of millennial pink, unfortunately, we’ve got another divisive shade to throw your way this autumn and winter. It’s orange, a colour that famously doesn’t rhyme with anything but, on the other hand and contrary to popular belief, does go with very many things. You just have to wear it the right way. Fashion being all about innovation, this is not just any old orange – it’s a particularly eye-catching, rich and blazing orange, which, in some lights, might almost be called red. You can see it in incoming collections across the designer spectrum, from Gucci with its luridly embroidered sweatshirts to more understated brands such as Folk, Albam and Incotex, all of whom have issued one or more pieces in this radioactive hue. All in all, it’s lovely, but it’s not exactly intuitive. Which is why we’ve put together some tips on how to carry it off, inspired by some of the most stylish men our roving lens has captured on the streets of style capitals across the world.

A jacket is quite a lot of orange to invest oneself in, but it can be effortless if you keep the rest of your colours simple. The wearer of this particular example has done a nice job of harmonising this statement piece by picking out the blue from its striped pattern and extending it in his T-shirt and trousers. Anyone who studied art to GCSE level will also be aware that orange and blue, being on opposite sides of the colour wheel, are what are known as complementary colours. An A* for this effort, we think.

Really, this raises many of the same considerations as the jacket, above. The only difference being, when worn in this casual way, layered over a long-sleeve white T-shirt, orange seems a little bit more fun and throwaway, which is nice. Perhaps the advice here is simply: don’t think about it too hard. In any case, in something like the above, you’ll be easily identifiable in a crowd, so it’s probably a particularly good look for going shopping with elderly relatives, or people who easily get distracted and lose you.

The brighter the colour, the better it will look against more low-contrast shades. This is plain to see here, as we witness these eye-burning trousers peep out from beneath a tweedy checked overcoat. The impact is increased by the dark colours of his shoes and hat. Doing a bottom-heavy orange also provides a nice surprise for the morning commute – all those people packed up against you on the Tube won’t realise quite how interesting and stylish you are until you alight and wave them goodbye. More fool them.

No, it’s not a carbonated, horribly calorific drink packed with carcinogenic food colourings, it’s a styling technique. Specifically, the addition of a bright orange accent to an otherwise thoroughly non-orange outfit. It works particularly well here in turtleneck form because of the more subtle, neutral colours of the denim jacket (light blue) and the coat (a classic camel shade). Though not of the same family, it does come with the same warning as Fanta, Tango, Irn-Bru and the rest, ie, you shouldn’t overdo it. To paraphrase the no-doubt Rolex-wearing, retired advertising guru who first launched Pringles on the general public: once you pop, you should stop.

Now, we realise that not all of us are as sartorially heroic as the bejangled peacocks that prowl eternally across our Instagram feeds. So here’s a tip for the shy guys: if you want a slice of orange, but aren’t keen on going full tilt, try going for a “pop” (see point 03, above) of the colour in your socks. It’s low-commitment, low-effort and, unlike most relationships of that description, won’t end in heartbreak or a string of angry text messages. Orange you glad?

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