Fashion: Fresh fruit style diet

As is so often the case, the red carpet has provided the year’s first insight into what we are all going to be clamouring to wear for our special occasions and parties, come spring/summer. This month’s Golden Globes saw Naomi Watts and Taylor Swift in soft sunshine yellow strapless gowns (you can call it marigold, too), while our own home-grown National Television Awards featured plenty of both yellow and orange dresses and outfits.

We can probably blame the Seventies’ revival, especially for the orange. Ranging from peachy-punch through to bright pumpkin and a glowing russet, these are shades with depth, distinctively retro, reminiscent of reproduction and real Seventies’ furniture and soft furnishings. It’s quite a minimalist look, with pared-back bold shapes in, say, a burnt orange, making a statement all of its own.

Then there is yellow, in shades of light banana and sharp lemon through to canary and mustard. Again, these are tones that have a real life and depth to them. The point about all of these shades is that they are clean, clear and vibrant, not in the slightest bit wishy-washy. They are in fact the perfect colours to stand alone or to wear with pattern, or – characteristically for the coming season – with black or white, frequently used as contrast and definition, say, on a collar or as bold buttons.

Coats make for a striking way to start wearing new orange and lemon. For example, Emilio Pucci sent down the catwalk a stunning bright peachy orange double-breasted mini coat while Michael Kors showed a bright banana yellow felted duffle.

So invest in the zest. It’s two of your five a day, after all. What’s not to like?

* The Vintage Kilo Sale is at Leeds University this week, January 28-29, at Riley Smith Hall, University Road. You buy clothes by weight at £15 per kilo. Open from 11am, £1 entry, all welcome.