DOPAMINE DRESSING 2.0
- BY KRISTOPHER FRASER
- 14 OCTOBER 2025
- 4 Min
Photo: Courtesy of Miu Miu
Studies have shown that bright, vibrant colors such as red, blue, orange, and yellow can help stimulate dopamine. It’s part of the reason that photo apps like Instagram are considered so addictive: people are constantly being bombarded with colorful images. Dopamine helps trigger the brain’s reward system, inducing pleasure and motivation.
At Paris Fashion Week, there was a color movement that many described as “Dopamine 2.0.” The “2.0” likely stemmed from the reality that we are constantly looking at our phones to stimulate the dopamine effect.
While bright colors are nothing surprising for the spring and summer seasons, this season at Paris Fashion Week, designers took a Crayola box approach to color (the classic 24-count box, nothing too extravagant). Brands including Akris, Loewe, and Miu Miu weren’t afraid of color. While many brands opted for a more neutral and minimalist approach in the wake of a struggling luxury market, some dared to say: more color, not less.
Photo: Courtesy of Loewe
While bright colors are always expected at Miu Miu, one brand that surprised everyone this season was Loewe. Loewe’s Spring 2026 collection marked the debut of its new creative directors, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, best known as the founders of Proenza Schouler. For their first outing, the duo presented color-block striped dresses, green, yellow, and red minidresses, and brightly colored jackets. With Loewe’s former creative director, Jonathan Anderson, moving over to Dior, the brand’s future was uncertain, but it now appears to be in very capable hands.
Photo: Courtesy of Akris
Akris, which showcased a muted and monochrome collection for Fall 2025, shifted dramatically in the opposite direction for Spring 2026. The opening look was a red pantsuit with an asymmetrical detail on the jacket, followed by a sequence of other red looks, then dresses in orange and yellow. The collection also featured a red-and-blue color-block dress and a multicolored green, yellow, orange, and red version with a matching coat.
In the wake of the economic crisis, brands are trying to give customers something to smile about. Despite the state of the world, a great outfit can offer at least a small dose of happiness—and bright color helps.