Seek neutrals in a new light

With approaching cold winds and foggy nights, our wardrobe automatically tends to get repetitive and boring with neutral colours. The excess of neutral shades like grey, black, navy, white, khaki, beige is an essential part of Fall-Winter wardrobe, but who said it has to be boring. This season, try out some interesting ways to pep up the sublime colour palette and make it relevant for F/W 2018.

While neutral shades are a staple in every wardrobe for Fall, many people like to avoid them as they seem very vanilla unless styled well. Designer Ranna Gill tells you how to create contrast and depth with neutrals as she suggests, “A bright pullover under a trench in a neutral colour, a scarf or muffler in sunny yellow colour over a neutral ensemble or a cardigan in pastel over a neutral pullover will brighten up one’s face on a cloudy day. Other subtle ways to enliven neutrals could be tying up hair with a velvet hair tie in a gemstone colour, wearing a belt in a tribal woven pattern or print over plain neutrals, wearing badges or brooches over jackets and coats or pair neutrals with statement-making footwear. Take a cue from Scandinavian fashion, and invest in plaids as overcoats or skirts also spice up an ensemble. Animal prints are big for Fall this year as seen on the runway by Tom Ford, Von Furstenberg, Victoria Beckham, Michael Kors and others. Introduce it to your wardrobe as it goes perfectly with neutrals.”

Remember not to team up too many neutrals at once, a pop of colour is needed to balance the outfit or add texture to it like a coat in corduroy or suede for example. Designer Shilpi Gupta, recommends using the basic rule ‘less is more’ in this regard. “Neutrals can be molded in any form you want to present. If you want to give a classy look you, club it with statement accessories like belt, scarf, clutch anything in which you are comfortable or on the body part you want to enhance. If you want to go for a peppy and bubbly look, pair it with neon, poppy and deep shade accessories. Play with two or three colours together, not more than that,” cautions Gupta.

Embroidered peplum jacket with balloon dress by Kavita Bhartia

Winters are also the perfect time to flaunt festive and wedding wear across India, so when it comes to neutral shades for classic Indian wear the range of hues provide a versatile palette to experiment with. Designer Kavita Bhartia loves subtle shades for Indian wear, and has done a line of clothes in velvet and chanderi fabric comprising capes, high and lows, kurtis, skirts and jackets for this season. She mentions, “I love using Indian hand work, zardosi, sequins, threads and pearls in neutral coloured outfits. Add colourful dupattas, a cape or a zardozi jacket with a simple kurtis, skirt, lehengas or sharara to create new looks.

With neutrals, it is easy to team up different pieces to create new looks.” Similarly, for designer Smriti Morarka, neutral colours are an essential part of the Indian closet. She says, “Come winter and neutral shades invariably find their way to the top of the pile. I have often sensed a reluctance in embracing them from my younger clients and to them, my advice is that earthy shades do not have to be boring. With the right choice of accessories and in the case of a sari, with an appropriate contrasting blouse that also compliments your skin tone – you can churn out an extremely trendy look.”

Outfit by Shilpi Gupta

While designer Jayati Goenka recommends a bold monochromatic look to create a timeless appeal during winters. She says, “Neutral looks can be styled in contemporary ways and the fabric, print, pattern, and design plays a key role to keep it relevant according to the season. One generally just never goes wrong with these basic shades, be it a classic white shirt or a flamboyant trench in beige – neutrals are a must have for this season.” Whiles designer Akshay Raj recommends breaking of rules to make neutral colours fun and fabulous. He says, “The neutral clothing can be made more relevant by adding bright colours, construction, and surface ornamentation. International designers like Roberto Cavalli, Alexandre Vauthier, Alice+Olivia, Bibhu Mohapatra, Adam Lippes and many more have played with the colour palette to enhance the neutral clothing and made the runway look super stylish this season. Pair these shades with colourful plaids or graphic prints, quirky scarves or sassy shoes to bring out the fun element.