The Return of Joyful Colour

This year, as I wandered through the cobbled streets of Monaco and the art-filled avenues of Paris, I noticed something impossible to ignore: colour is back. Not the subdued pastels of quiet luxury, but colours that sing. From saffron coats to violet satin skirts, every runway and boutique window seemed to echo one truth: the world is tired of restraint. 2026 is the year of vivid energy, and for those of us who grew up with the expressive palettes of Africa, it feels like fashion is finally catching up.

In Europe, designers are calling it “dopamine dressing” — the idea that clothes can boost your mood through bold shades and playful combinations. But back home in Lagos or Accra, we’ve always known this. Colour isn’t just aesthetic; it’s emotional, ancestral, spiritual. It’s how we speak before we open our mouths. When a woman steps out in a headwrap of burning orange or a man ties on an aso-oke cap streaked with gold, there’s an energy that precedes them. You feel their presence before you even see it.

When I visited Lagos last December, I met with young designers who are shaping this narrative from our own perspective. Jermaine Bleu is translating boldness into elegance with a cobalt-and-cream suit that feels both royal and radical. Cute Saint is redefining streetwear with bursts of fuchsia and lime, reminding us that rebellion can be beautiful. MOT’s latest collection was a personal highlight: their use of mustard yellow and electric blues and greens brought me right back to the ochre earth and twilight skies of northern Nigeria. These designers aren’t following the global colour trend — they are the inspiration for it.

In many ways, this resurgence of colour in global fashion mirrors a deeper return to joy; something African creatives have championed even through difficulty. Our fashion has always been a response to life: weddings, mourning, resistance, celebration. Asoebi culture, for instance, remains one of the most democratic expressions of fashion colour-coded unity at its finest. Each hue tells a story: coral for tradition, white for purity, yellow for joy, blue for peace. What the rest of the world now calls “Dopamine dressing,” we’ve lived for centuries as a statement of belonging.

In London, I’ve seen more African fabrics on the streets than ever before — wax print skirts paired with trench coats, gele-inspired turbans made of tulle, beaded handbags sitting comfortably beside Chanel and Celine. Our colours travel, adapt, and transform, just like we do. Yet, amid all the fusion, one thing remains constant: colour is identity.

This 2026 trend toward vivid energy is more than just a palette shift; it’s a cultural conversation. It’s the world re-learning the joy we never forgot. And as African designers continue to shape global aesthetics, I can’t help but feel proud. The same bright oranges, lilacs, and royal blues that I saw dancing across Milan runways are alive and well in Lagos markets, stitched by hands that carry generations of knowledge. 

For me, dressing in colour has never been about attention. It’s about connection; to heritage, to emotion, to self. 

When I put on that bold yellow dress or wrap a pink scarf around my hair before stepping into the cold London air, I feel like I’m carrying a piece of home with me. I am both the stylist and the story — bridging worlds with every shade I wear.

So yes, colour is trending again in 2026. But in Africa, it never stopped. We’ve always lived in technicolour. The rest of the world is simply catching up. - JULIET BADMUS