Colours, Patterns, and the season of Autumn…

As Miranda Priestly once said, “florals for spring. Groundbreaking.” I too am not going to underwhelm you by producing orange tones & neutrals for Autumn. I’d hate to be that predictable. 

Some of my observations and trend forecasting could potentially seem pretty rogue here but I have faith in my eye for trends and I'm gonna go for it. Even if you guys struggle to believe it.

Just watch. You can screenshot this and prove me wrong if you don’t see any of these colours or patterns around. I’m telling you - it won’t happen.

5 core colours to know about this Autumn: 

Now cracking on with the colours I predict will take over the season. I’m gonna start off bold with the red colour palette. Last year it was all Burgundy, Burgundy, Burgundy. This year, I think fashion will take a new turn. 

Tomato Anyone?

Tomato red is quite a statement however in this drastically evolving era in fashion i think people are already, and will further, begin to branch out and experiment further. 

The hues are endless, but I've put a few of my faves above. I want to see people brighter than freshly grown tomatoes. 

If you still need some convincing, envision a tomato red mini dress with knee high black boots and a black trench coat. MWAH. GENIUS. I will be wearing that this Autumn. 

You can even tone the outfit down with more neutral toned garments, and think about the range of a tomato. You’ve got Cherry Tomatoes, but also Plum tomatoes, and then Sun dried! Tomato takeover. 

Maroon Merlot -

Merlot, Red Wine, Maroon. I am in love with this colour palette! For those who love red, but prefer a more muted tone I have lots of faith in this one. I think Maroon and red wine kinda colours are really going to take over this year. 

To be very specific I'm going for a Merlot shade. Try to tell me I'm wrong - I dare you. I’d even put money on it that this will be a shade of the season. 

Muted enough to feel understated, but rich enough to make people look twice because of the maroon tint it possesses. I’ll see you in my Merlot coloured trench in October… 

Plums & Purples

this is stunning!

I have never been one to talk about purple, however I have been recently intrigued by a deep royal purple hue that I can only describe as plum violet. I must have seen one fashion diva wearing it that looked so amazing  it’s changed my entire perception of the colour. 

The Plum Violet swatch ( below left) is a perfect, cohesive, silky colour that literally screams elegance and sophistication. Purple is so back and I'm ready to see it in the upcoming fashion weeks (I hope!) As a once purple hater, I am now converted. The colour is stunning - I never thought I'd say that, but by taking a look at it I hope you can see the vision. 

If you aren’t such a fan of the deep purple tones, I think pure plum is going to blossom this year. Stemming from the red family. Plum is such a good colour to play around with because like a tomato there are a spectrum of shades.

Giving the perfect mix between red, pink and purple. If anyone's wearing purple I expect it will be more of a plum kind of palette as opposed to deep violet - most people like to stay safe than sorry.  

I’m hopeful purple will have its rightful moment at the top of the colour pyramid for a while, after all it is the royal colour for a reason. Fun fashion fact: The royal purple shade was historically was very rare to find and expensive to buy! The dye was made from rare sea snails. No wonder Ralph Lauren Purple Label will set you back an entire house deposit.

Look like a royal, feel like a royal, wear purple like a royal. I always did want to be a princess. 

Browns. Obviously.

Brown almost overwhelms me to think about, because of the sheer variety of tones to choose from. Chocolate is never going to go out of style. There is nothing wrong with a classic after all. Brown oozes elegance to me, it speaks volumes and easily elevates any outfit. 

I have definitely been influenced this year by the brown takeover. Coffee, tiramisu, chestnut, almond, chocolate, martini, mocha the tones are again endless and I definitely have a few handfuls of them in my current rotation. Pantone's colour of the year for 2025 has been labelled Mocha Mousse for a reason.

See here - Pantone - Mocha Mousse: Colour of the year 2025

I’ve put my favourites below that I think are going to devour and likely decimate the colour palette this Autumn (at least I hope so, or I'll have to sell my wardrobe).

Mint Green 

Spotted on the runway for the A/W 2025 season back in February, McQueen amongst others displayed mint green tones in superbly cut gowns. Most people won’t be donning mint-green gowns, but trust me, the shade will trickle down. 

Rihanna herself stunned in mint green while attending an A/W show, so if RiRi thinks it’s cool. It’s cool. As quoted in Vogue, “Rihanna wore a custom look that celebrated Anderson’s new take on tailoring, with a waistcoat fastened over the singer’s bump, realised in a mint shade that was seen on the runway.”  

Steer clear of Burnt Orange/ Rust -

Let’s cancel the burnt orange and rusty colours. It’s giving millennial and very much 2015 vibes. That could partly be because I had a rust coloured cringey slogan jumper from Primark which haunted my wardrobe for 4 years.

The Rust Pantone snapshot is exactly what I'm referring to. Too orange to be brown and too brown to be orange, it reminds me of freshly dug clay, and that’s not quite the earthy aesthetic I’m going for.

To each their own, if you think it’s a good colour please do let me know below because I would love to know if I'm accurate in my opinion or if my orange jumper from Year 7 has caused irreparable damage to my colour theory.

4 patterns to keep an eye on this Autumn…

Colours may dominate the runway, but patterns bring them to life. Here are five prints I’m wiling to place bets on for this season.

Bad or Plaid? 

Of course we have to have plaid, but this Autumn I want a really confusing amount of lines. I’m talking about the most confusing plaid you’ve ever seen. I want to be so perplexed by the amount of colours intertwining that I get a bit lost. 

A cohesive mix of colours interwoven at different thicknesses. Scarfs, dresses, t-shirts, trousers, accessories. Trust me you will be seeing it. So many crossovers that it looks a bit like my visions been impaired and all I can see is lines. Do you get the vision? Leave a cheeky comment below…

Teeny Tiny Polka Dots 

Specifically, I want to see micro polka dots, very small prints. Even more specific than that, I want to see more high- end print production. I think there is something so charming about a hand drawn pattern. Nothing confusing or complicated, just small imperfectly perfect handdrawn polka dots. 

How cute! A little hand drawn polka instead of the mass produced, overwhelming amount of fast fashion factory printed patterns we are seeing more and more. 

Lacey, Lacey, Lacey 

Now lace is a tough one because it’s a fabric and a pattern, however the majority of lace floating around the industry isn’t authentic lace anyway so I'm going to consider it purely a pattern. I think there will once again be an influx in lace trim. 

Not only that but entirely lace garments have once been a trend, and I'm sure still will be at some point. However, this year I want to see a bit more modesty, perhaps lined lace, with a statement colour underneath and lace on top. That could be really cool. 

Patchwork 

As a designer myself I know for a fact how time consuming and how much effort goes into patchwork. I’m not talking about patchwork prints which can be mass produced and look alright from afar but not anywhere near as charming and endearing as a real patchwork piece. 

There's already been an increase in the scandi style patchwork padded jackets, i’m gonna predict a rise in these jackets. Fingers crossed.

Patchwork is so artistic in the way that an artist has complete artistic freedom to curate each and every pattern to create one massive design that then becomes a walkable art instalment. I’m excited to hopefully see more patchwork around this Autumn.

Time will tell 

Will I be accurate or will this become an embarrassingly bad piece of evidence to add to my otherwise quite strong trend forecasting streak. Only time will tell and I'm hopeful at least some of these colours are going to end up sprouting to life in the coming months.

Either that or my vinted favourites and my overflowing shopping carts need to be emptied immediately. Do you agree with my Autumnal trend takes? 

with love, mimi

xox