Time to ditch the neutrals
In the year of our Lord 2018, fashion is, to say the least, pretty extreme. Bags have shrunk to miniscule proportions and the hottest sunglasses are just millimetres wide, while, at the other end of the scale, outerwear has been blown up to enormous levels and a huge number of sneakers can only be described as, well, absolute units.
That’s why the next big trend that's infiltrating our Instagram feeds, highlighter pen hues, is pretty unsurprising. Not content with sending bold brights out onto their runways, the likes of Miuccia Prada, Virgil Abloh, Donatella Versace, and Demna Gvasalia have cranked things up to eleven when it comes to their colour palettes, with a succession of blinding neon looks rolled out for AW18 and SS19.
Now, it looks like they’re starting to catch on away from the runway too, after Kim Kardashian West was spotted wearing not one, not two, but three fluoro looks this weekend, and the likes of Bella Hadid, Kylie Jenner, Slick Woods, SZA, and even AHS’s Sarah Paulson have been getting in on the act.
Prepare yourself: neon is about to be everywhere. Here’s why.
IT’S BEEN ALL OVER THE RUNWAY FOR THE LAST TWO SEASONS
Sometimes, trends don’t catch on immediately, so it’s up to designers to parade them in front of our faces until they become a thing. See: Crocs. Across both menswear and womenswear, eye-wateringly bright brights first appeared as part of the AW18 season, on the runway at Kenzo, Fendi, Prada, Christopher Kane, and Balenciaga, where Demna teamed up with the World Food Organisation to create a series of logo sweatshirts, hoodies, and all-in-one tops and dresses in day-glo hues. Then, just as our eyes were recovering, the SS19 menswear shows hit, and with them more rave-ready looks from the likes of Versace, Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, and Craig Green. Will the upcoming womenswear shows feature more neon? We’re going to hazard a guess and say: highly likely.
KKW IS ON A MISSION TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
Remember earlier this year when Kanye West sent Kim K an email saying “you cannot wear big sunglasses any more. It’s all about tiny little glasses”? We’re wondering if he’s recently sent another style memo, only this time with the subject line ‘NEON’ – given Kim’s barely been seen out of fluoro hues in recent weeks. First, she was spotted in an exclusive Yeezy look made up of an orange hoodie and matching cargo pants, before heading shopping in LA in an acid green Rick Owens vest and vinyl mini. Then, she hit the high seas in – what else?! – a bright pink vintage Chanel unitard, and appeared at Kylie’s 21st birthday party in custom Yeezy in the same hue.
Rounding things off was a succession of fluoro yellow looks, including one floor length latex dress which managed to draw attention away from Kanye’s questionable footwear for at least a few seconds (no mean feat). Whether we’ll be writing another So Hot Right Now piece on matching your wig to your car in the next few months remains unclear. For us mere mortals, though, pairing your hair with a Ford Focus ordered on Uber is unlikely to have quite the same effect as an acid yellow Lamborghini, so probably not.
IT’S THE UNIFORM FOR A WOMAN-ONLY UTOPIA
...according to Miuccia Prada. And we all know that what Mrs. P says goes, right? Back in February, the legendary Italian designer sent a collection of tulle dresses, fluffy, techno fabric gowns, savage flame-heeled sandals, and Prada Linea Rossa styles down the runway, as part of her AW18 show in Milan. Afterwards, she explained that, in the wake of #MeToo she had wanted to create a uniform for women that would allow them to “go out into the street at night and not feel afraid,” as she explored the idea of a women-only safe haven. Approach with caution, boys: (Prada) pussy grabs back.
...OR THE IMPENDING APOCALYPSE
The idea of protection has pervaded the catwalks at all four fashion capitals over the course of the last two seasons, as designers responded to climate change, human rights disasters, economic issues, and the fact Trump is still sitting in the White House (how...HOW?!). Raf Simons sent models (including his muse, Dazed 100-er Gisele Fox) down the runway in oversized safety jackets and silver thermal blanket-style tunics, all edged with reflective and neon trims, while at Margiela, John Galliano presented a collection of protective vinyl overcoats, chunky fluoro-edged techno sneakers, and actual hazmat hoods for AW18. Do they know something we don’t know? Perhaps. We’d say the only thing left to do is kit yourself out in some neon Prada, just in case – you’ll be much easier to spot on the post-apocalyptic landscape when the evacuations start happening. They are going to happen...right?