Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027 has come and gone with surprisingly little issue. There was everything youâd expect; stunning collections, excellent craftsmanship, and a variety of styles. And yet one collection surprised me. Silvana Armaniâs collection for brand Giorgio Armani was entirely in white, grey, and mostly black. This isnât odd when considering the brand. Giorgio Armani has long been known for its sleek and classic pieces. But the ubiquity of it for a Spring/Summer collection, usually connoted with bright pastels, was out of the ordinary. And when looking closer, many other brands incorporated black into their collection. Dolce and Gabbana, a brand not known for its minimalism, used it regularly in its pieces. Other brands such as Ferragamo and Diesel stuck to similarly minimal colours in the majority of their work. One of Gucciâs most memorable looks was Anok Yai in a black slip dress with a black fur coat overtop.
The role of colour theory
Maybe this is unsurprising considering the current popularity of wearing all black outfits. It has become a staple in everyoneâs wardrobe, seen as quick, easy, effortless and chic. Which is odd, considering in the popular colour seasons theory, the majority of people apparently canât wear it. The three Winter palettes (True, Deep and Bright) are the only ones with enough contrast and cool undertones to pull off the colour. Other paletteâs are instead advised to go to for warmer (Spring and Autumn) or softer (Summer) colours to avoid being washed out, or to wear it far from the face. Considering this, you would presume that most people stay clear of the colour.
Currently, fashion is very focused on effortless chic. Shirts are left untucked but drape perfectly. Simple wide leg jeans are tailored to perfectly fit the body. The importance of basics have been pushed to the forefront. Style icons include Hailey Bieber, Dakota Johnson, anyone wearing the âmodel-off-dutyâ trend. The truth is this style is calculated to look easy but perfect, and is mostly pulled off by those with the money to achieve it. But black clothes can be a way to mimic this style, to capture the same feelings they portray in their own easy, effortless outfits, and to play into this trend. Equally, the belief that black is slimming means your body might closer mimic the models, who are seen as having the ideal body type, no matter how healthy that ideal actually is. An easy, timeless, but trendy look can be created from only black clothes, without much difficulty to anyone who wants to participate.
Wearing all-black has other reasons for its popularity. Easy, comfortable clothes have been popular all through the 2020s, with athleisure and loungewear being worn regularly since the pandemic. A monochromatic outfit in black requires little thought to throw together. Instead of worrying about colour combinations, black jeans and a t-shirt will take two minutes to throw on, and, due to its widespread acceptance, will draw no extra attention throughout the day. In an increasingly stressful world, why wouldnât people choose this option?
This being said, I donât think colour has fully left the zeitgeist. All trends are on a pendulum, from minimal to maximalism, from patterned to simple, and back again. We seem to be moving out of a minimal period, with the slow death of the clean girl trend, and the continued popularity of Y2k styling, as seen in other collections in Milan (e.g. Roberto Cavalli). Black, and all-black outfits, will never truly go out of style. They are beautiful, classic and effortless. However, it will be exciting to see more colour reappear in everyday life.