8 Controversial Color Combinations to Supercharge Your Spring Style

At Saint Laurent’s Spring 2025 show in Paris, a series of black, brown, and corporate gray suits was followed by an unexpected cornucopia of color. Creative director Anthony Vaccarello mixed chartreuse with magenta, emerald green with pumpkin, and saw cherry red as the perfect complement to mustard yellow. The unconventional color theory nods to a woman who has gone to their closet without regard for the “traditional” spring color trend combinations.

But this unusual approach in Vaccarello’s show—and across the Spring 2025 runways—epitomizes the growing 2025 fashion trend that spans ‘good, bad taste.’ This concept of colorful clashing—that also champions creativity and individuality—is the antithesis to the past few seasons of stark stealth wealth style and relishes breaking the rules to pursue self-expression—even if it is fashion faux pas.

These creative liberties step on color schemes’ many unspoken rules—some are harmonious, and others not so much. While a few are so potent when combined, they stimulate cravings for your favorite fast food. But Vaccarello wasn’t the only designer who rejected traditional pairings. Dries Van Noten, Bottega Veneta, and Miu Miu also colored outside the lines this season, switching up palettes and reclaiming color combos—like Christmas’s signature red and green—remarketing them as a surprisingly fresh springtime duo.