Palette Cleansing: Autumn Inspirations

Blue

Key Tones: Navy, indigo, sky blue

Blue is always at the core of most men's wardrobes for the simple fact that it is elegant and easy to wear regardless of the tone. Navy is the obvious go-to for the autumn and winter months, being a colour with depth and authority, and one that can take accents of bright hues really well (useful when thinking about shirt/tie options with a navy suit for example). Indigo-dyed cottons are brilliant too, providing a lighter colour with lots of tonal nuances in the fabric. Opting for tonal blue looks, that is, combining different shades of blue to create a monochromatic outfit is a great styling option that's easy and quick to pull together. If you are going to go top-to-toe blue or even navy, just be sure to mix up your textures to prevent the outfit looking flat.

"Let's face, we all take blue for granted. It has been such a stalwart in menswear that it's part of the style furniture, especially navy, which has become the de facto 'smart' colour. This season I wanted to highlight the dexterity of navy and lighter tones by combining it with interesting textures like wool, and indigo-dyed denim."

Green

Key tones: Olive drab, forest green

Green is the most easily viewed colour on the spectrum for the human eye so it only makes sense that it should form a significant part of your wardrobe. In autumn, as the leaves begin the turn, you can really play with a multitude of different hues, from rich dark forest green to more earthy hues such as olive drab. These colours work really will with greys, blacks, navies and browns, while the brighter tones such as apple and lime are better off uses as accents. Dark green and tan is a classic combination that looks really classy and sophisticated, while pairing the more olive-like tones with textural grey wools is always elegant.

"When I was last in the Isle of Wight in autumn, I was really struck by all the various green tones, which seemed to take on a new life depending on the light of any particular day. Hence I've incorporated an array of hues which bring a sort of muted elegance to the collection."

Grey

Key tones: Charcoal, ash

Grey gets an unfair rap for being deemed dull or boring (the British weather doesn't help with this) but when it comes to menswear, it can be a fantastic base colour that can look and feel warm depending on the fabric. We look our greys in nice textural wool fabrics, where the raised natural fibres help to bring out the nuances tones in colours such as charcoal grey. A charcoal wool suit can look so sophisticated and is the perfect canvas for contrasting flashes of bolder tones. Light greys can act much like off-white hues such as cream and are really easy to style in the shape of crew neck knits, whereas the darker grey shades are better off used in outerwear.

"Say the word grey and people immediately think of dull or boring, but in actual fact it's a really sophisticated colour that is fantastic with textural natural fibres such as wool. I love a charcoal grey suit - it has so much depth too it, and is a great canvas for bouncing off accents of bright colours."

Aubergine

Key tones: Burgundy, plum

A woefully underused tone in our opinion, the family of aubergine hues represent a warm alternative to black while also pairing beautifully with all of the aforementioned colours above. It brings a vibrant tone without being overpowering, and is so easy to slide into predominantly black wardrobes.

"I was inspired by the turning of the leaves in England and especially Scotland, where the canopy changes from green to yellow and orange, before finally this intense aubergine colour emerges."