Summer has finally arrived and at this year’s Portsea Polo it wasn’t just the sun that was sending out rays of golden light. Numerous women were seen trackside glowing in golden hues. The warmth of this shade of yellow is one that was seen en masse at last year’s New York Spring Summer Fashion Week. It was elected as the colour to be seen in for spring 2020 for the US and it seems the often-spoken folk law of Australia being slightly behind contemporary fashion trend is no longer legitimate.
This warm golden yellow has always been a colour that has been seen on the runways and within fashion editorials in Europe for centuries. This is what I would call a high rotational colour within the fashion trend. The interesting fact is that this colour is very rarely picked up by fashion buyers Down Under, and the reasons for this will interest you. There is no doubt that this golden-yellow not only warms the complexion of the wearer but also the hearts of those who see her in it. The reason why it has taken Australia so long to embrace this celestial colour with such enthusiasm is because in our young countries early history this colour was used as a symbol of shame and imprisonment.
I can hear you thinking, why would such a glorious and happy colour be one embraced worldwide but one to avoid in Australia? The answer is as old as the day the first fleet hit the Australian coastline. This golden yellow was almost the exact same colour that the worst or most dangerous convicts were given to wear after their initial arrest in the UK for transportation to the new colonial settlement which we now call home. These particular convicts were assigned to chain gangs and hard labour, dressed in this colour to make them feel foolish as the colour in Victorian times was seen in certain contexts as shameful.
Finally, we would like to send a very big thank you to our New York Fashion Week counterparts. Australian fashion has now embraced the colour of the sun and we are so pleased to share with you the stunning women from last weekend’s Portsea Polo who not only wear it well, they inspire us to give up the grey and hit the high street in order to slip into the grandiose hews of summer and go for gold.
Written by Fashion Editor – Todd Anthony
Photography – Toby Sullivan @justpose_
