Camel is the new black

In 2007, fashion gurus said that white is the new black. The shop windows were replete with white fur jackets, white dresses, white shoes which perfectly coordinated with the white snow-flakes as display merchandise. This trend never took off. White is too cold, too Russian. Not warm enough for winter. And not practical like black. So we were back to square one.

Then, the year after they said that green is the new black. So designers came up with dresses in variations of green. I still cannot forget the striking mink coat that Fendi made in emerald green. But, wait a minute, can you imagine wearing green trousers to work instead of black? Or the little green dress replacing the little black dress to glitzy night outs. Or green cropped track pants at the gym instead of black. Not really. This trend too was shoved aside. This season the rant in all the fashion press is that camel is the new black. What is camel?
Good question. No, I am not referring to the four-legged humped creature, which can roam the dessert with stored water for months. It is the colour of the camel that I am referring to. Just clarifying. So why is it called camel and not beige or off white or yellow. Well, nothing really aptly describes the colour as it quite literally is the colour of the camel.
The fashion conspiracy amongst the designers may be to introduce a wide range of camel in their collection so as to sell more items, after all how many black jackets can a woman buy? Stella McCartney has camel cashmere jackets. Chloe has tops and dresses in nude. Alexander McQueen has belted drape dresses in camel. Fendi has classic silk tops in nude. Joseph has fitted camel leggings and trousers.
To me honestly when a woman is wearing a plain camel fitted dress or trouser, it seems as though she is not wearing anything. However, if you are diligent about following this trend, I recommend camel coloured accessories. Try a huge handbag in this colour or a scarf or a belt. For me, camel will never get the confident loud acclaim, yes this is a lovely colour; the way a turquoise, magenta or a bright Hermes orange would. Black is more sophisticated and elegant. Can we really ever replace black?
The writer owns a fashion brand based in Europe. She can be reached on info@amishi.eu [1]