Purple becomes the trending color for autumn 2026

The colour purple is linked to royalty, the Catholic church, Prince, Gordon Brown’s ties and Barney the dinosaur and now also to autumn 2026.

It has been named fashion’s favourite hue after appearing on autumn/winter runway shows, with designers such as Balenciaga, Celine and Valentino presenting collections entirely in purple.

Celebrities Jennifer Lawrence and Zoë Kravitz have been seen wearing the shade, while Naomi Ackie and Nicola Peltz chose it for red‑carpet appearances. High‑street retailers Cos, H&M and Asos are also offering purple knitwear and accessories.

The current tone is described as “royal purple”, a vivid version rather than a deep plum or a muted lilac, contrasting with the neutral palette that has dominated recent seasons.

Fashion insiders are embracing the brightness by often matching purple with red; Vogue recently announced that autumn’s “coolest colour clash” had arrived.

In 2024, trend‑forecasting firm WGSN foresaw the colour – labelled “fresh purple” – would dominate the coming autumn. Sara Maggioni, WGSN’s head of womenswear, said: “[We are seeing] a growing appetite for brighter, more expressive shades,” adding: “This reflects a gradual move away from the restraint of quiet luxury as consumers become more confident in using colour to express their personal style.”

Designers sometimes regard purple as “tricky” because it commands attention. Grazia’s fashion commerce editor Daisy Murray explained: “A couple of months ago I loathed it,” she said. “It was a lightbulb moment for me – I’m a big fan of a bold red, particularly in summer, so a punchy purple suddenly made sense.”

Author Kassia St Clair, who wrote The Secret Lives of Colour, notes that purple has long been associated with wealth and power. She recalls that Tyrian purple was produced from mollusc secretions near the ancient city of Tyre, but the method vanished after the mollusc population fell and the Byzantine Empire collapsed in 1453. “But the reputation of purple lingers,” she said.

The problem was solved in 1856 when chemist William Henry Perkin unintentionally created a bright purple liquid while searching for a malaria treatment. The new synthetic dye, called mauve, entered production and was soon worn by Queen Victoria and her granddaughter Princess Eugenie. St Clair said the colour became so fashionable that the satirical magazine Punch claimed everyone in London had “caught the mauve measles”.

Purple’s link with the elite persists today. “We do still have a simmering cultural awareness of the associations between purple and power,” St Clair asserted. “These things persist for an extraordinarily long time despite the fact people don’t know the history.”

Maggioni adds that the shade’s popularity is reinforced by modern factors. She said: “[Fresh purple] has a ‘phygital’ quality – it can work across physical settings and virtual worlds,” noting that its vivid, slightly otherworldly character suits digital imagery and immersive environments where colour can be intensified and transformed.

Purple garments are also practical for everyday wear, with weather influencing choices. Murray observed: “[Red and purple are the] colours of autumn and winter – think heather and rosehips.” St Clair added that purple feels right for dark evenings and is hard to imagine in bright spring light.