I’ve been following the Spring 2018 shows for the past month now. For work, it’s essential to know what’s trending on the runways, especially color trends. I don’t talk too much about my work on here, but I work for Kate Spade doing Concept, Color & Print. So it’s helpful to know what other designers are doing with color and print, sometimes to avoid doing something repetitive. Or to see if there are broad trends across the shows we need to respond to. In retail it’s important to have your own brand identity, but to know how to infuse a trending color or pattern if it’s appropriate for your brand. And it’s just really fun to see what magic the designers work each season. So I combed through the New York, London, Milan and Paris shows, and found 5 major trending colors: Bazooka Pink, Daffodil, Flame Red, Lilac and Emerald. There was also a good deal of Nude and White color represented, but those colors just don’t resonate for me in the way these do. I love bold colors, and there were some standout shows this season for color-lovers like me. Marc Jacobs was a color and print extravaganza, Marni used quirky combos to full effect, and MGSM was an electric rainbow. You can check out the full shows (and all the others) over on Vogue.com. But I’ve edited the shows down to the best representatives of each trending color so you don’t have to.

Bazooka

This is a cool-tone pink. It’s not pastel or neon, but a very vibrant mid-tone pink. Like the color of Bazooka chewing gum from when I was a kid.

Above: Roksanda Ilincic, Marni, Oscar de la Renta, Marc JacobsAbove: MSGM, Missoni, Marc Jacobs, Gucci

Daffodil

Just like real Daffodils, the yellow hue ranged from bright and crisp to a softer yellow shade, and everything in between.

Above: Christopher Kane, MSGM, Roksanda Ilincic, MissoniAbove: Dior, Ports 1961, Rochas, Marc Jacobs

Flame

This might just be THE color of the season. It was everywhere- I had easily three times the examples I’ve shown here. In most cases, it’s a warm, slightly orange-red, and very vibrant.

Above: Marni, Roksanda Ilincic, Bottega, Olivier TheyskensAbove: Christopher Kane, MSGM, Salvatore Ferragamo, Delpozo

Lilac

Lilac made a big splash in the New York shows, but also continued to pop up in the European shows. This was a true pastel moment.

Above: Christopher Kane, Max Mara, Joseph, BottegaAbove: Erdem, Bottega, Michael Kors, Missoni

Emerald

This one was a surprise for me! You generally see deeper, richer greens in Fall, but this Spring you’ll be seeing shades of Emerald sprinkling the stores.

Above: Missoni, Sies Marjan, Joseph, Salvatore Ferragamo
Above: Topshop, Ports 1961, Marni, Erdem

And there you have it, the top 5 Spring 2018 Colors! You may start to see them in stores a bit sooner, since trend-driver fast-fashion retailers like Zara and Topshop can speed things to market in a matter of months. But mostly, you’ll see these colors peak in February/March 2018 when the Spring collections start to hit stores. Happy color-hunting!

Images via Vogue.com