'You should wear a colour so it makes you feel good': Designer tips for fall's hottest hue

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In a sunlit studio in New York City’s Soho neighbourhood, pieces from the COS Autumn Winter 2026 collection were arranged on display.

A palette of cool greys, inky black and rich navy blue was punctuated by a surprising pop of purple.

At the brand’s fashion show held in the bustling financial district the previous day on Sept. 13, pieces in the same vibrant hue could be spotted among the camera-ready looks of several fashion influencers and celebrities, in addition to appearing on the runway.

The colour, it seems, is shaping up to be a hit for the London-headquartered fashion brand, which is part of the Swedish H&M Group, although that wasn’t the initial plan.

“It wasn’t the first colour that we started with,” COS Creative Director Karin Gustafsson says of the standout shade. “We started the season quite dark and sophisticated, but with white, black, dark chocolate, navy, and then we had the steel grey.”

Looking at the collection as a whole, Gustafsson and her team realized they need something “uplifting” to be added into the mix. So, they settled on purple.

“It just felt right,” she says of the vivid colour.

While timeless basics and tailored pieces — often in neutral, wearable hues such as cream, blue and black — can always be counted on from COS, Gustafsson says it’s always important to add something unexpected into the mix. If nothing more than to allow wardrobe staples such as blazers and coats to touch on the colour trends of the season by association.

“You should wear a colour so it makes you feel good,” Gustafsson says of the accent approach. “Having brighter colours combined with strong colours that sort of grounds them feels good. That feels wearable.”

When asked how she would suggest styling a boldly coloured garment, Gustafsson pointed to my own outfit of wide-leg jeans, a simple white T-shirt and a plush, purple cashmere sweater from the current collection wrapped around my shoulders as a perfect place to start.

“It is a little bit individual, but I do really like what you are doing now,” the designer remarked. “Wearing it on top, like a scarf. But also layered. Layer a pop with a light colour or light grey, for example.”

At the brand’s fifth fashion show at New York Fashion Week, an event that went viral for an incident between the former CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Steven Kolb, and PETA protesters, the brand showcased 47 looks inspired by “corporate modernism and 1920s decadence.”

The designs ranged from weighty wool coats to a light-as-air chiffon dress. When prompted to pick a favourite piece from among the new designs, Gustafsson kept to the classics.

The designer pointed to an oversized, double-breasted wool coat with dropped shoulders in a rich shade of navy blue as her standout style.

“It is a timeless piece, but it is not just a timeless piece,” she says of the design. “Proportions are again considered to be right for this season, so we really fell for this sort of ever-so-slightly sharper shoulder, but not too much. And then it just folds with weight.

“It’s beautiful.”

Creating “considered” pieces that become mainstays of a person’s wardrobe — she notes that blazers and outerwear are among their particular strengths — is the underlying goal of all COS collections, according to Gustafsson.

“I think it is really knowing what, if it’s a whole product or if it’s an element of a product, what is the product going to do for the customer? To really, really, really think of what’s needed and what’s not needed, or what’s missing and what needs to be added,” she says of the practical design approach. “We always have these sort of wardrobe staples, but it’s also important that we move with time and that we pick up on what’s going on around us.

“So we don’t become boring and stand still.”

Balancing trendiness with timelessness is a challenge Gustafsson looks to balance in every design. Along with a casual confidence — and comfort — that can be translated to the individual wearer.

“You should feel that you are yourself,” she says. “It’s not about our clothes should wear the audience. The clothes should make the customer feel good about themselves and allow their personality to shine through.”