Color of Blood

Red is ever-evolving, or at least it is for the Khaite and Laura Gerte Fall 2025 collections.

A model wearing a carmine, leather overcoat and loose knit dress during the Khaite Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear show. Courtesy of Khaite, and made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Love can mean doom or the creation of something new and exciting. Take Shakespeare’s Macbeth or A Midsummer Night’s Dream for instance. If there is desire, there is danger. Nothing symbolizes this crossover more than the color of our blood. While red has come to represent love and passion, it internally stands for something deeper, more personal. Recent collections and design trends show us the duality of the color, and why each design decision matters.

Khaite’s Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear collection expressed a bold, no-nonsense attitude. Certainly, this theme isn’t a surprise for Catherine Holstein’s loyal following. Since founding the brand in 2016, her collections have redefined traditional womenswear. This cohesive collection was no exception. Models walked in rounded knits, sharp leather, and draped fabrics. The color palette focused on shades of black, cream, and tan with the occasional leopard print. It seems fall 2025 for Khaite is straight to the point, focusing on the details with no mess allowed.

A model wearing a full-body knit dress during the Khaite Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear show. Courtesy of Khaite, and made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Among the creams and tans, a few pieces caused quite the stir. Want to guess their color? A deep carmine popped out in leather pants, coats, and well-constructed knits. The dark room offered the perfect scenery for these pieces to shine, or in this case, flow. As if they seeped through the models, each red knit and coat caught the audience’s attention. While the shape and structure of these pieces are astounding on their own, the color is the main attractor. Perhaps Holstein chose this deep shade to express desire, or to remind the audience of their own mortality. Ultimately, there is something to say about color theory, and this color served Khaite well.

A model wearing full Laura Gerte during the Laura Gerte Berlin Fall 2025 show. Courtesy of Berlin Fashion Week, and made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Berlin Fashion Week closed with the Laura Gerte Fall 2025 collection. The Berlin designer unveiled her latest pieces with heavy club themes, and what a show it was. The standard linear silhouette was blown away. Models wore streetwear pieces with graffiti graphics and black ropes that hung down to the ground. Electrical cords popped out from skirted waists. The popcorn top was reenvisioned, and so was the hoodie (a number of times, one might add).

Beyond the electricity in the air, color heavily influenced the collection. Shades of black and gray spanned across the looks. A navy blue appeared as knit sleeves and a popcorned halter top. Dark hoodies and loose pants came printed with brightly colored texts. The pieces read like the pages of a manga or magazine. Clearly, these neon shades fit well with the technological shape and structure of the pieces. Yet, none of these vibrant colors screamed bold quite like crimson.

A model wearing a crimson top and jeans during the Laura Gerte Berlin Fall 2025 show. Courtesy of Berlin Fashion Week, and made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

The bright hue lit up streetwear pieces like hoodies and reaffirmed onlookers of the ever-trending hot pant. This crimson shade shot through the dark, club-like atmosphere. It drew attention to specific parts of the body, placing emphasis on the torso and legs. Unlike the Khaite collection, red was used to stun the audience. Laura Gerte surely knew the impact this color would have on her audience. It was a genius move to slowly introduce the shade through the looks. It first popped up as a hot pant and soon engulfed tight, printed jackets. A matching streetwear set with black lining embraced the complexity of the color. So, is red just one concept, or does it encompass more? Well, it truly depends on the collection.