Surrender to red

It's a festive favourite, and now red is rivalling black as the colour of choice for party wear. DEIRDRE McQUILLANsuggests how to wear it with aplomb

THERE ARE TIMES when getting into the red doesn’t just apply to the economy. Fashion shops report that Irish customers are reluctant to acquire yet another black dress in the face of the increasing visual assault of colour and print, with more en route for spring. There may be no such thing as the perfect black, but there are infinite shades of red, a colour with the strongest levels of intensity and the greatest power of attraction. Are we all ready then to try a LRD instead of the LBD for the festive season?

Apart from its Christmassy associations, red has been in the news lately with shoe designer Christian Louboutin's trademark battle over his signature crimson soles, and also for the success of the UK blog – Henri de Pantalon-Rouge – chronicling the current craze for red trousers amongst the bright young things in London and elsewhere. Red apparel saturates art and history. Who can forget, for example, the blonde dressed in scarlet in Edward Hopper's Nighthawks?

As an alternative to black, red and its multifarious shades is a little more of a challenge to wear, but according to Shelly Corkery of Brown Thomas, a Giambattista Valli red coat was an instant bestseller this season, as was a fitted red dress by Alexander McQueen. Her own investment piece was a red and orange number by Stella McCartney. “There is definitely a move away from black,” she says. “It’s a big new direction, particularly with so much print around, and it really stands out.” Wear a red dress with bare legs (or sheer stockings) and beige or nude shoes rather than black, she advises.

The spectrum of reds – from fire engine and tomato, to garnet, cranberry, Venetian, rust or fuchsia – have their counterparts in lipstick, and the same principles apply to shades that suit Irish skin tones. According to make-up artist Christine Lucignano, warm reds are the best option and are more user-friendly than those with blue undertones. She thinks the colours in the Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss range by Chanel look great with Irish skin. “It’s the little black dress for the face, she says.

Some of the best reds around are dark, deep and painterly, like those of Haider Ackerman, who matched them with other colours of the same intensity and sheen for his acclaimed current collection. Valentino is famous for bright red dresses, and designers such as Roland Mouret, Donna Karan, Vivienne Westwood, Hervé Léger and Ralph Lauren, and more affordable alternatives from Maje or Raoul, show that there is a dress for everyone to flatter their hair colour and skin tone.

John Rocha occasionally adds a shot of red georgette to spice up his monochrome collections and Joanne Hynes’s draped red velvet dress (made to order), with a faux fur stole was one of the hits of her winter collection.

As for accessories, print, particularly leopard or python shoes or bags, give a lift to red, while black ankle boots look cool with a short red dress and black jacket. Black opaques with black heels are safe, if a bit outdated, and work better with darker tones of red. Red bags and shoes in solid shades work in reverse; wear them with prints (containing a similar shade of red), with black, with nude, but never matching an all-red outfit. So hands up now, hues for red?