The power of a scarlet suit

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Much has been made about the lady in red. In the 1999 sci-fi thriller The Matrix, she wears a scarlet halterneck dress as an irresistible distraction for Keanu Reeves’s character in the film’s simulated world; in Chris de Burgh’s 1986 hit single, she is an object of romantic infatuation; in popular mythology, she’s a jilted lover who haunts hotels and public spaces around the world.

But there’s more to the shade than shorthand for love and lust. On the spring/summer and autumn/winter catwalks this year, designers found fresh, even subversive ways to see red. At Prada’s AW23 show, scarlet textured leather was used for an oversized tailored jacket paired with a pencil skirt, with dickey-style collars peeking out from under the lapels; in Fendi’s autumn collection, tomato-coloured ribbed knitwear became a long and languid two-piece; and at Stella McCartney’s show, a floor-length teddy coat and top-and-trouser combo was realised in a particularly radiant hue.

For Maximilian Davis’s debut at Ferragamo for SS23, the creative director chose to lighten up the house’s historic deep-red branding with a more orangey-red hue “to provide Ferragamo with a new energy, life and passion”, he says. “Enhancing the red, making it more vibrant, allowed us to make a statement that there is a new energy, a new beginning.”

Naturally, Davis carried the red theme into Ferragamo’s AW23 collection, turning it into a big fluffy coat and a trad two-piece suit that stole the show.

Clare Smith, colour strategist at trend forecasting agency WGSN, says the recent popularity of red apparel is down to the demand for energising colours. “Red is an emotionally engaging and powerful shade — it can evoke a range of emotions, from optimism to feelings of desire, passion and empowerment,” says Smith. “A big shift we saw was Valentino’s move from AW22 bright pink to bright red for SS23, showcasing this dopamine shade across a range of dresses. This was one of the only brights in the collection and it was seen alongside a palette of black, white and skin-tone shades, allowing this red to really pop.”

Ssense’s vice-president of womenswear, Brigitte Chartrand, says the retailer has invested heavily in the colour trend for AW23, with 3,000 red options ordered to meet anticipated customer demand. Among her favourites are Ferragamo’s suit and The Row’s scarlet collarless wool coat. “In a moment where everyone is leaning into a more minimal aesthetic, the colour red remains eternally chic and classic, while subtly evoking sensuality, and something more playful,” says Chartrand. “Red is best worn in totality, in my opinion.”

Certainly, given how challenging the shade is to pair with other colours, it’s arguably easiest to wear head-to-toe. And, probably best kept for occasionwear, unless you want to resemble a walking warning sign in the office.

Perhaps that’s why the red suit has proved so popular. Singer Brandon Flowers wore a red suit with gold buttons when he performed with Elton John at Glastonbury last month (though his look did draw comparisons with Alan Partridge). Catherine, the Princess of Wales wore a Ferrari-red Alexander McQueen trouser suit at an event in January and for the King’s Coronation Concert in May; the prominent roped shoulders and asymmetric hem stood out against a sea of comparatively muted tones, and flew the flag for Britain and the monarchy.

The red suit has been used time and time again for political and royal symbolism. Catherine follows in the footsteps of Princess Diana, who often donned red tailoring, most notably a skirt suit made by Catherine Walker that she wore throughout the 1990s to various events. While Margaret Thatcher emphasised Conservative cobalt blue during appearances within the UK, for official duties overseas she often wore a bright red skirt suit — for example on a trip to Japan in 1991 and to meet Mikhail Gorbachev in 1984, and the red sateen two-piece she wore in Florida in 1993. Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton were also proponents of red tailoring — for patriotic reasons, and as a means to stand out.

“Wearing a particular colour has been symbolic of different ranks, roles and occasions as you travel through time and place, from Song-dynasty China to the Mughals of India or from Renaissance Europe to the Aztecs of Mexico, so colours definitely say a lot about influence,” says Robb Young, author of Power Dressing: First Ladies, Women Politicians and Fashion. “Those ancient associations can leave a surprisingly potent legacy in the collective subconscious of the modern societies that inherited the past, even when those associations are subtle or really nuanced.”

Sometimes, it’s just about making an impact in an unpredictable way. The red velvet Gucci suit that Gwyneth Paltrow wore to the VMAs in 1996 was so iconic that Gucci remade it for the house’s SS21 collection. Savile Row tailor Edward Sexton has used red tailoring throughout his career, including a double-breasted cord suit for Twiggy in the 1970s. “One of the most memorable red suits I made was for Naomi Campbell — a cherry red velvet double-breasted suit with a satin braid,” he says. “Red suits have a defiant sense of occasion about them, they really stand out. They bring a whole different meaning to ‘The Lady in Red’.”

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