How do we define the colours that we're going to use from one season to the next? Well, the main factors are 1) fabric availability, ie what the mills have produced, and 2) Oli and the design team's preferences, which could be influenced by untold factors. Of course, there are always elements of the spectrum which never fail to belong in a collection: navy, black, white, and the gamut of neutral tones, but beyond those chromatic stalwarts, there are a host of vibrant accents or earthy understated tones that are up for grabs. Cohesiveness is important for us. We want us customers to be able to mix and match all the different elements of our collections so our colour palette needs to be considered, versatile, and able to seamlessly blend in with what's already in your wardrobe. This season, we've used three such colours that have a wonderfully stylish synergy that you will be able to incorporate in any number of outfits.
Mauve
Criminally underused, mauve is a beautiful spring and summer colour, especially when rendered in slubby linen and cotton fabrics which help to bring out all its nuances. It’s a pastel at heart, which means it's ideal paired with other pastel tones, as well as cream hues. One good find this season has been how nicely it complements our Sampson brown tailoring. Mauve is soft enough to wear as an outer layer without being too shouty, while it’s bold enough to be used as an accent of colour via a shirt colour or untucked hem. We’ve used it across a lot of our menswear categories this season, from polos and tees to collared jackets and shirts. Give it whirl, you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.
Chocolate Brown
The colour brown used to be considered a hue worn only in the countryside, hence the old adage 'Never wear brown in town' which was a reference to the act, punishable by mockery, of wearing brown shoes in the City of London. These days, there are no such arcane style rules and pretty much anything goes. Brown is often thought of as an autumnal hue, and while it does indeed excel in those months thanks to its earthy tone, it's also a fantastic base colour for spring and summer. It's versatile in its range for one - running the gamut from tobacco and tan right the way through to dark chocolate. It pairs beautifully with light neutral tones, especially cream, as well as two other tones we've gone to town on this season...
Sage Green
It's the colour on the spectrum with the wavelength that is most visible to the human eye so it should be no surprise that green is an intrinsic part of most of our collections, from pastels tones and pistacchio to dark forest greens and khaki hues. This season we have produced a number of different green tones across both cotton and linen fabrics to best showcase the dexterity of the colour. One of our key tones in the Coney Green, a light khaki hue with military undertones that makes for a great dance partner with the aforementioned mauve tone. Elsewhere we've used a more earthy 'Willow' green in our jersey offering by the way of a zip-through terry cord track top and matching shorts.