COLOUR PLAYS an important role in our lives, often defining the mood we are in through the clothes we wear and making a statement about who we are – or at least aspire to be – in the hues we choose to decorate our personal space.

Leaders in home decoration choices Pantone last month named as the 2018 colour of the year ultraviolet, which it describes as a “dramatically provocative and thoughtful shade”.

“Historically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to ultraviolet. The colour is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today’s over-stimulated world. The use of purple-toned lighting in meditation spaces and other gathering places energises the communities that gather there and inspire connection,” Pantone’s trend-watching team enthused, adding, “enigmatic purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance. Musical icons Prince, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of ultraviolet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality”.

Pantone names “Ultra Violet” as colour of the year.

“The Pantone Colour of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute.

A few fashion designers appear to agree, albeit not entirely. Stella McCartney, for example, showcased the shade in her collection for spring and summer 2018 but also included in her palette jewel blue, sugar cane and orchid haze.

Looking ahead to what we should be wearing in 2018, the collection underlined the British designer’s commitment to “Skin-Free-Skin”, exploring classic tailoring and signature silhouettes through double breasted blazers and all in ones in black light wool and French moir made with sustainable viscose. Alter Nappa was cut into leopard patterns, appliqued onto sheer organza and allowed to float across the body in honey yellow, pale pink and black though here ultra violet failed to make the cut.

Stella McCartney adopts Ultra Violet for one of her designs.

Indeed, McCartney showed a definite preference for pecan and rosy nude, offering poplin dresses in organic cotton and deconstructed lightweight knitwear, with shadowing necklines and pairing the latter with Japanese jersey T-shirts in pure white.

More intense colours also came into play through knitted dresses in two-tone pink and denim blue moulin with oversized sleeves and a range of separates in magenta, bubble gum pink and fuschia red.

Coach opts for a boho look with pink and violet flowers.

American brand Coach meanwhile showed a definite preference for pink over ultra violet in its spring and summer 2018 collection, a downtown take on dressing up featuring rugged burnished leather and shearling, customised in an ode to graffiti artist Keith Haring’s New York City.

Nostalgic prairie touches and pretty pastel slip dresses covered with the faint trace of Haring’s signature squiggles emphasised the pink mood, while bags boasted floral hardware and Haring’s signature love hearts, also with blush shades as the stars.

Mulberry nods towards purple with its new bags for spring-summer 2017.

Iconic luxury British brand and champion of heritage blended with modern style, Mulberry delighted with a limited-edition capsule collection that underlined new signature styles, colours and leathers.

Creative director Johnny Coca brought back some of the brand’s most iconic bag silhouettes embroidered with an interpretation of the delicate flower that fills every branch and bough of a Mulberry tree in blossom. Fair enough, but wait, aren’t mulberry blossoms pink?

The new equestrian-influenced Amberley Satchel and the iconic Zipped Bayswater became the perfect canvases for the embroidered motif, alongside the Darley, which was made available in three sizes – a large pouch, zipped wallet and coin purse. All created in classic grain leather, the collection also included soft printed lambswool scarves, a slip-on sneaker and delicately crafted jewellery pieces, as well as a keyring that doubles as a bag accessory to add a touch of Mulberry charm to styles already owned and loved.

Mulberry icons the Bayswater and the Darley, along with the new Amberley silhouette were given a playful colour update featuring – wait for it – muted gold, warm lilac, rosewater, blush and dark blush and fresh tonal hues of blue.

For its part, Italian fashion house MaxMara was inspired by the colours of the French Riviera for its Resort 2018 collection, designing a sensible but chic wardrobe of sleek no-nonsense styles in deep ocean blue, sand, grey, white and shell pink.

Of course, many other brands have yet to launch their collections for spring and summer 2018 – those will most likely come next month. Will ultraviolet dominate the palette or will pink win the day?

MaxMara’s looks to the Riviera for its 2018 Resort collection. 

Pantone is betting on the former, saying on the runway or the streets, Ultra Violet is an enchanting purple that provides a theatrical linkage for both men’s and women’s styles. True to the coupled nature of ultraviolet, created by combining red and blue, ultraviolet lends itself to unique colour combinations in fashion and is easier to pair with all colours on the spectrum than one might think. With golds or other metallics, Ultra Violet becomes luxurious and dazzling; with greens or greys it evokes natural elegance.

THE last collection of clothing designer Azzedine Alaia will be shown in Paris next year, his couture house said on Monday.

The Tunisian-born designer, known as the King of Cling for the way his clothes hugged the body, died suddenly in November, reportedly of heart failure after falling down the stairs at his home in Paris.

Since then, rumours have swirled about the future of his label.

But the couture house said in a statement that it would continue, saying it would show the last ready-to-wear clothes and accessories he created in January and March.

Photo/AFP

“The multiple talents that make up the Alaia family – of which some have worked with him for more than 30 years – will stay with the house in this new era,” it said.

“This family will continue the vision and style of Mr Alaia, a timeless beauty that will take shape every day in his studios.”

The diminutive maverick, who ignored fashion-week convention by showing when and where he wanted, produced his first couture collection in six years in July, to rapturous reviews.

Supermodel Noami Campbell, his long-time friend and muse, who led that collection down the catwalk, cried at his graveside in Tunis.

The two were so close that Campbell called the designer “Papa”.

Alaia, 77, trained as a sculptor and went on to sculpt with needle and thread.

During the height of the Algerian war of independence, he moved to Paris, where he soon got a job with Christian Dior, only to be let go because he didn’t have the right immigration papers.

Despite the setback, he moved on to work with Guy Laroche and Thierry Mugler before going out on his own with his own wealthy clientele.

His label said a foundation was being created to safeguard his work, with regular exhibitions to be held in a space next to his studio in the Marais district of the French capital.

A retrospective of his work, “Azzedine Alaia, the Couturier”, will open at the Design Museum in London in May, when the brand will also open its first British boutique.

Prophere introduces an unexpected silhouette that is both disruptive in design and innovative in construction. The bold sculpted midsole reveals dynamic texture and an excessively thick three-Stripe mark branding creates the lacing system for the defiant style.

The raw-edge leather heel cage is complemented with a one-piece black, soft knit upper construction all while featuring technical innovations signature to the adidas Originals brand. Rebellious in design, Prophere defines a new standard in streetwear.

“With Prophere we wanted to take a different view of our archive and looked to the unapologetic aesthetic of the 90s, when the brand experimented with bold silhouettes. We took the provocative and uncompromising thinking of the era and reimagined it for today – a confident approach to branding and unexpected proportions of toolings were the inspiration for Prophere. With this silhouette, we connect the same energy of the nineties with the new generation,” said Nic Galway, adidas Originals senior vice president of global design.

The Prophere shoes are priced at Bt5,200 and available at selected adidas Originals stores, select retails and adidas.com/Prophere.

The new U collection will be available from January 26 at its stores and Uniqlo.com. Uniqlo U takes the LifeWear range further towards tomorrow by bringing new ideas to design, patterns, fabric development, and sewing techniques. The collection features brilliant hues inspired by nature in slightly oversized styling for effortlessly relaxed silhouettes.

Key collection colours are sky and sea blue and forest and grass green. Orange and red accents, stripes and borders, and other elements broaden flexibility. An exciting addition to the women’s line this season is an open collar shirt featuring thick stripes. A highlight of the men’s range is a multicolour border T-shirt in heavyweight cotton.

This season’s line incorporates coats that offer exceptional water resistance, windproofing, and breathability. The women’s blocktech short coat is both comfortable and stylish as townwear, employing a drawstring waist and a matte finish. The new men’s blocktech coat employs chambray twill fabric that is water repellent and windproofed, combining a clean silhouette with excellent all-weather protection.

The Autumn/Winter 2017 items made with 3D U-Knit three-dimensional weaving technique proved incredibly popular, employing Wholegarment technology to enhance fit and comfort. The new range enhances the look and feel by adopting high twist cotton fabric in two new women’s items; a 3D ribbed balloon sweater, with distinctive cuff and waist styling, and a 3D crew neck balloon dress, whose fit and flare silhouette enhances femininity.

Later in the season, Uniqlo plans to launch six new swimwear items that minimise seams to enhance comfort. They include a bandeau bikini with removable straps, a halter neck bikini for freer movement, and a bicolor bikini.

Find out more about the new collection at www.Uniqlo.com/UniqloU.