How to wear butter yellow — this season's trending colour

Butter would melt from the Goth energy and hardcore leather accessories seen together with light-yellow at Milan Fashion Week

Thu, 01 May, 2025 - 02:00

Annmarie O’Connor

It’s a vibe, yellow that is. No longer just a by-product of red and green, the summer-soaked hue has shifted from unsullied optimism and bold creative energy to more humble associations – butter, namely. Oh, and lemons.

Not to be pedantic but might we have put more thought into these seasonal descriptors? The current appetite for soft yellow is understandable. It’s all about the bait and switch. Paired with eggshell blue or chocolate brown, its pastel reputation acquires instant gravitas.

Frothy becomes formidable. Suddenly, we are stylish shapeshifters. I told you it was a vibe.

With citrus on side, lemons, at least, have a bite. Lemons have teeth. But butter? Butter would melt from the Goth energy and hardcore leather accessories seen together with light-yellow at Milan Fashion Week.

Butter couldn’t cope with cherry red in all its high contrast glory. Spoiler alert: you’ll be seeing a lot of this combination for autumn/winter. In fact, pay a visit to M&S now for shade-specific separates (think wide-leg trousers, bubble hem skirts and tops) that do double duty when the mercury dips.

For elegant iterations of tops and dresses, & Other Stories bought into butter yellow in a big way. Prefer something juicier? Try Next for the lemon variety.

Admittedly, I don’t wear either. My marigold suit from Sézane does the honours. That’s not to say, I won’t give it a go.

Inspired by the current colour combinations, I’m prepared to look past semantics and wear butter on my sleeve. Getting this out in the wash, however, should be interesting.

Milan Fashion Week AW25 street style