Trust me, lavender is the only colour you'll want to wear this summer

Dopamine dressing at its finest

lavender trend
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Forget about monochrome shades of black, grey and white, if the Spring/Summer 2024 collections made anything clear, it's that this season is all about dopamine dressing.

Breakout hues so far have been red, butter yellow and orange, but I have a soft spot for this subtle take on purple: lavender.

It took over each fashion capital from New York to Paris, with every designer interpreting it in a different way. At Michael Kors, models wore vibrant oversized sweaters and short trench coats with sandals. At Carolina Herrera, it was all about sheer lace dresses and separates, as well as pale lilac silk gowns worn with masculine black blazers.

Victoria Beckham favoured the hue on oversized suits and satin dresses, a vibe she also brought to her recent collaboration with Mango.

In Paris, at Issey Miyake we enjoyed layer upon layer of lavender on trousers, shirts, trench coats and hats.

But while the latter made for a striking outfit, for a more wearable look, I recommend pairing lavender with complimentary hues, such as the aforementioned butter yellow, mint or orange, or toning it down with black or denim.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.