Colorblocking In 2014: Here’s How To Do It

There was a time in recent style history when color was as big a factor as brand, shape, and fit. People who didn't seem all that interested in fashion really went for it with head-to-toe monochrome and colorblocking. (You remember, when Janet from HR was super thrilled at the interplay between her plum cardigan and her lavender dress.) And, as colorphiles ourselves, we loved walking down the street to see a whole rainbow of hues instead of the swell of black and blue we’re used to.

Fall may be rushing in, and bringing with it the annual surge of neutrals, but colorblocking obsessives like Peter Pilotto (and us) are still holding down the fort. As evidenced by the designer's spring 2015 collection that just marched in London Fashion Week, this time around, it's less about mixing your bold-colored solids together and more about singular pieces that come pre-loaded with stripes, grids, and patchwork hues jumbled together. It's more Jim Lambie than Piet Mondrian, for example. The show was a dizzying parade of shades zipping down a runway of hypnotic Dan Flavin-style light boxes. It was electric, and felt like just the thing to energize our blasé fall-dressing doldrums. Sorry, camel and gray, but we’re not quitting color just yet.