Fashion

Mellow yellow: Meghan Markle and Amal Clooney shine in this summer’s top shade

From citrus to canary, yellow is having a moment in the sun

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at the Wimbledon men’s singles final on July 15th. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Tue Jul 24 2018 - 06:00

Every season has a break out colour. Millennial pink dominated interiors’ and influencers’ Instagram feeds last year, and now the bubble-gum hue has had a zesty, and regal approved updated. Coined Gen Z Yellow, due to its popularity with those born between the late 1990s and early noughties, celebrities and style mavens have swapped out their rose-coloured clothes for sunshine accoutrements.

Kicking off the sunshine parade was Amal Clooney attending the royal wedding last May in a honey yellow Stella McCartney dress. The yellow obsession continued, with a fashion curveball from Meghan Markle, when she shunned her usual shades of pale for a banana yellow sleeveless Brandon Maxwell dress in London last month. Kate Middleton also supported the shade of the season selecting a head-turning yellow Dolce & Gabbana dress for Wimbledon last week.

US actor George Clooney and his wife British lawyer Amal Clooney arrive for the wedding ceremony of Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle in May. Photograph: Alastair Grant /AFP

Name a shade of yellow and it has appeared on runways everywhere, so a glimpse at the catwalks will provide the inspiration you need to embrace the bright hue. With no-one shade dominating, we had citrus yellow, canary, rich butter and mustard. Make it a mellow yellow or be bolder and choose a standout shade.

You don’t have to be Gen Z, or a royal for that matter, to adopt the most ubiquitous colour of the season, you just have to know what to pair it with. With pastels dominating at the moment, yellow is beautiful mixed with soft shades of pink, lilac and powder blue.

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Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex with Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex at a reception marking the culmination of the Commonwealth Secretariats Youth Leadership Workshop in London in July. Photograph: Yui Mok/AFP/Getty Images

If the thoughts of teaming yellow with black looks too bumble-bee-esque, grey, nude or white are reliable partners to the zingy shade. If a yellow block-coloured dress à la Kate or Meghan is too full-on, try a printed mixed dress in a floral or graphic print instead. If you’re suffering from dress-fatigue, relaxed tailoring is proving to be a popular way of exploring yellow territories. Try a yellow-tinged suit with a lace trimmed cami or silk t-shirt to add a more feminine feel.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at the Wimbledon men’s singles final on July 15th. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

While there’s no better time than now to embrace yellow, you don’t have to regulate it just for warm-weather temperatures. No longer just signalling summer, yellow is guaranteed to add some sartorial positivity into your wardrobe, even for the cooler months. Slicing through autumnal layers with a squeeze of the mood-lifting hue will provide the perfect antidote to drab chilly colours. The joy-bringing burst of colour has already received the runway backing for autumn from Delpozo, Missoni, Bottega Veneta and Roksanda.