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With the fading of summer comes the usual rhythm: camel coats, chocolate browns, burgundy bags. Autumn’s familiar palette returns like clockwork, a comforting backdrop to the season’s shift. But Fall 2025 is slightly different. This season, the most unlikely shade has pushed its way to the front row: purple.

Yes, purple. Loud, slightly sleazy, impossible-to-ignore purple. And I have to admit—begrudgingly, almost sheepishly—I’m here for it.

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Already dubbed Barneycore, purple is replacing burgundy as the unexpected color of the season. From electric violet to regal plum, it has stormed the runways, seeped into trend reports, and is beginning to shift the cultural mood.

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I personally have never been a purple person. Purple has always been a tricky color. It doesn’t slip into wardrobes as easily as navy or beige, and it doesn’t have the universal flattery of black. It’s either regal or ridiculous, luxe or lurid—there’s rarely an in-between. Which is precisely why its resurgence feels so refreshing.

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For years, I associated it with school uniforms and novelty Halloween capes. But when even Vogue calls electric purple the color to watch—pointing to Gucci’s violet pea coats and McQueen’s eggplant ruffles—you start to pay attention. It's been crowned “the new pink” and the who's who are suggesting it could dethrone burgundy as fall’s default.

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Why purple, why now?

Fashion has spent the past few seasons buried in beige minimalism, wrapped in camel hair coats and whisper-quiet stealth wealth. The vibe has been polite, tasteful, and—let’s be honest—predictable. Purple feels like a middle finger to all of that. It’s brash, it’s unapologetic, and it demands attention. In other words, it’s the first genuinely exciting seasonal color story we’ve had in a while.

Here’s what I think purple’s relevance really tells us:

• We’re tired of quiet. Consumers have been suffocating under stealth luxury’s muted codes. Purple is a rebellion against understatement—a permission slip to be seen again.
• We want mood, not neutrality. In colour psychology, purple fuses the calm of blue with the energy of red. That’s why it feels both grounding and electrifying. Right now, when people want stability and stimulation in equal measure, that duality hits.
• We’re craving individuality. Purple has long been a queer-coded, non-binary color—sitting between pink and blue, refusing to be boxed in. Its rise now feels like fashion reflecting a generational push toward fluidity and self-expression.
• We’re leaning back into fantasy. Marie Claire cheekily called royal purple the easiest way to “dress like you inherited a fortune.” There’s a reason that framing resonates. After years of restraint, consumers are ready for spectacle again.

This isn’t about a Pantone chart or a seasonal forecast—it’s about mood. Purple captures the contradictions of this cultural moment: both regal and rebellious, nostalgic and futuristic, serious and unserious all at once.

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Why It Works This Time

What’s fascinating is how designers have styled it. Gucci went tonal—violet from coats to stockings. Miu Miu did it with go-go boots, making purple a playful accent. McQueen leaned gothic, Nina Ricci leaned decadent. In other words, purple isn’t locked into one mood. It’s flexible, shapeshifting. That’s rare in color trends, and it’s why this one has legs.

Usually, seasonal colors feel siloed—think millennial pink’s softness or Bottega green’s punchiness. Purple is trickier. It can go regal or retro, ironic or aspirational. Which makes it less a “trend shade” and more a cultural canvas.

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So yes, it’s Barneycore. It’s a little cartoonish. It’s divisive. I’ll admit it: I never thought I’d be praising purple. Yet here we are. And the fact that this once-maligned shade suddenly feels like the most sophisticated move you can make says everything about where culture is heading.

If you’re a brand, watch it closely. Not because you need to “do purple,” but because its rise is proof: consumers want more than safe minimalism. They’re seeking emotional resonance in what they buy and how they present themselves.