WGSN color trends 2024 and what Apricot Crush means for fashion
What the WGSN color trends 2024 forecast really means
The WGSN color trends 2024 story is bigger than a single peach-orange shade. The headline color was Apricot Crush, named by WGSN and Coloro as the 2024 Colour of the Year in a public announcement dated September 21, 2022. For fashion teams, the broader signal was a move toward colors that balance optimism with reassurance: warm oranges, grounded browns, tinted darks, practical neutrals and calm bio-inspired pastels.
In practical terms, the 2024 direction was less about novelty for its own sake and more about emotional usefulness, transseasonal wear and palettes that could move across apparel, beauty, interiors and lifestyle products. For readers following seasonal trends, the key question is not only which shade was announced. It is how that forecast can be translated into garments, merchandising and styling without making a collection feel dated or overly trend-led.
This article focuses on publicly available WGSN and Coloro information, especially the 2024 Colour of the Year and the A/W 24/25 key colors. WGSN’s full commercial forecast reports contain deeper proprietary direction, so the application notes below are editorial analysis rather than a reproduction of those paid reports.
The timeline behind the 2024 color story
WGSN and Coloro announced Apricot Crush as the 2024 Colour of the Year on September 21, 2022, well ahead of the 2024 retail year. That timing is important. Color forecasting gives brands, mills, yarn suppliers, designers and buyers time to test color, source materials, build palettes and align campaign visuals before products reach consumers.
Apricot Crush was not introduced in isolation. WGSN described it as first forecast as a key color for A/W 23/24 before it became the named color for 2024. That makes the shade a bridge between seasons rather than a one-season novelty. It also explains why it can work in both soft, sun-washed spring styling and warmer autumn assortments.
On October 11, 2022, WGSN’s newsroom listed the key colors for A/W 24/25 as Intense Rust, Midnight Plum, Sustained Grey, Cool Matcha and Apricot Crush, with the London announcement dated October 12, 2022. These colors were framed around uncertainty, wellbeing, creativity, the environment and technology. That framing matters because WGSN color forecasts are not simply aesthetic moodboards; they connect color to consumer sentiment and wider social signals.
WGSN has also explained in public materials that its color selection is informed by its STEPIC framework, which looks at society, technology, environment, politics, industry and creativity. Coloro provides the technical color system and codes, helping translate a trend name into a more exact color reference. For fashion teams, the distinction is useful: the story gives the color its emotional meaning, while the code supports execution.
The key colors in the public WGSN 2024 palette
The five A/W 24/25 colors below give the clearest public view of how WGSN and Coloro extended the 2024 mood beyond Apricot Crush. The applications are editorial suggestions for apparel and styling, based on the role each color plays in the forecast.
| Color | Coloro code | Forecast role | Fashion application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apricot Crush | 024-65-27 | Warm, restorative and optimistic | Soft tailoring, activewear, resort pieces, occasion dresses, knits and accessories |
| Intense Rust | 015-33-25 | Earthy stability and quiet luxury | Outerwear, leather-look separates, suiting, boots, bags and autumn layering |
| Midnight Plum | 151-22-09 | Tinted dark with mystery and escapism | Eveningwear, velvet, satin, tailoring, winter dresses and alternatives to black |
| Sustained Grey | 035-73-04 | Practical neutral with long-term appeal | Basics, utility pieces, jersey, denim-adjacent styling and minimalist wardrobes |
| Cool Matcha | 055-85-20 | Calm pastel linking nature and technology | Light knits, technical fabrics, loungewear, soft shirting and wellness-led capsules |
Apricot Crush is the emotional center of the group. WGSN connected it with care, connection, community and the nourishing associations of apricots and oranges. In apparel, that makes it more flexible than a loud orange. It can look youthful in activewear, gentle in loungewear, polished in satin or crepe, and commercial in accessories where a full garment may feel too bold.
Intense Rust moves the palette into a more grounded area. It reads warmer and richer than a standard brown, which makes it useful for autumn outerwear, suede-effect textures, knitwear and accessories. The shade also works as a practical partner for cream, grey, denim blue, black and Apricot Crush.
Midnight Plum matters because it offers a dark color that is not simply navy or black. WGSN connected the shade with space, mystery and escapism. In fashion terms, that makes it suitable for evening categories, glossy surfaces, winter tailoring and dramatic monochrome styling.
Sustained Grey is the stabilizer. It reflects the continuing importance of neutrals and supports the idea of longer-lasting wardrobes. It is not the most attention-grabbing shade in the forecast, but it may be one of the easiest to commercialize because it gives trend colors a wearable base.
Cool Matcha adds softness and a nature-tech mood. It is a pale green with a calm, therapeutic feel rather than a sugary pastel. The most controlled use is often the strongest: one knit, one shirt, one technical jacket lining, or a small capsule within wellness, travel or relaxed workwear.
How Apricot Crush changes fashion styling
Apricot Crush sits between peach, orange and soft terracotta, which gives stylists several directions. It can be treated as a warm neutral, a soft bright or a seasonal accent. The safest commercial route is to pair it with low-risk base colors: chalk white, oatmeal, taupe, stone, grey, washed denim, chocolate, olive, navy or black. These combinations allow the color to feel current without overwhelming the wearer.
For womenswear, Apricot Crush works well in slip skirts, soft dresses, ribbed knits, cropped shirts, satin blouses and resortwear. The shade has enough warmth to feel optimistic, but enough softness to avoid the harshness of neon orange. It can also support occasionwear in fluid fabrics, especially when balanced with metallic sandals, pearl details or dark plum accessories.
For menswear, the most realistic use is in accents and casual layers: camp-collar shirts, garment-dyed tees, knit polos, lightweight overshirts, swim shorts or sneakers. A full Apricot Crush suit may be editorial, but a small amount of the shade can refresh beige, navy and olive wardrobes.
For activewear and athleisure, the color has a clear link to energy and wellbeing. It can be used in sports bras, running tops, bike shorts, trims, zipper pulls and logo details. Pairing it with Sustained Grey or Cool Matcha creates a softer wellness palette, while pairing it with black or Midnight Plum gives it a more performance-driven look. See also: Fashion Trends.
For accessories, Apricot Crush can carry the trend with less risk. Bags, scarves, hats, socks, phone straps, sunglasses frames and footwear details allow trend adoption without forcing consumers into a head-to-toe statement. This is often the most practical starting point for retailers testing a forecast color.
Apricot Crush versus Pantone Peach Fuzz
One reason WGSN color trends 2024 attracted wider attention is that Pantone also chose a peach-family shade for 2024. Pantone named PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz as its 2024 Color of the Year, describing it as gentle, warm and nurturing. The similarity does not mean the two systems are identical. WGSN and Coloro’s Apricot Crush is generally discussed as a more energetic apricot-orange, while Pantone’s Peach Fuzz is positioned as a softer peach tone.
The overlap is still meaningful. Two major color authorities pointed toward warmth, care and emotional softness for 2024. For fashion editors and buyers, that convergence suggested that peach-orange shades were not a random microtrend. They sat within a broader post-pandemic and polycrisis mood: consumers wanted color that felt comforting but not dull, optimistic but not naive.
The practical difference is in styling. Peach Fuzz is easier to read as delicate, intimate and skin-adjacent, which suits beauty, lingerie tones, soft knits and home textures. Apricot Crush has more active energy, making it better suited to sporty pieces, summer sets, outerwear accents and bolder accessories. A collection can use both ideas, but it should not flatten them into the same color chip.
Buying and merchandising takeaways
The most useful way to apply a forecast is to decide the role of each color before committing depth. Not every color needs to become a hero shade. A balanced 2024-inspired fashion palette might use Sustained Grey as the base, Intense Rust as the grounding warm neutral, Midnight Plum as the dark alternative, Cool Matcha as the calm pastel and Apricot Crush as the emotional highlight.
For small brands or content-led fashion sites, the main lesson is restraint. Trend colors perform best when they connect to recognizable wardrobe needs. Apricot Crush should not appear only because it was named a color of the year; it should solve a styling problem. Does it warm up neutrals? Does it make a basic knit feel new? Does it refresh activewear? Does it give accessories a seasonal hook? If the answer is yes, the color has a purpose.
For retailers, the safest approach is tiered adoption. Use the forecast color in low-commitment items first, then increase depth if customers respond. Accessories, jersey tops, swimwear, loungewear and small leather goods are easier testing grounds than tailored coats or expensive occasionwear. In larger assortments, carrying the color across more than one category helps it look intentional rather than isolated.
For styling content, the stronger angle is color pairing. Apricot Crush with Sustained Grey feels modern and balanced. Apricot Crush with Intense Rust creates a warm tonal story. Apricot Crush with Midnight Plum feels richer and more dramatic. Apricot Crush with Cool Matcha creates a wellness-led palette that reads softer and more directional. These combinations add more value than simply naming the trend.
The final takeaway is longevity. WGSN’s 2024 color story was built around reassurance, wellbeing and transseasonal use, not throwaway novelty. Even after 2024, Apricot Crush and its companion shades can remain relevant when used as part of warm neutrals, wellness palettes and softer alternatives to high-saturation brights.
Frequently asked questions
What was the WGSN Color of the Year 2024?
WGSN and Coloro named Apricot Crush as the 2024 Colour of the Year. The public Coloro reference is 024-65-27. WGSN described it as restorative, refreshing and energetic, with associations of care, connection, community and wellbeing.
What are the WGSN A/W 24/25 key colors?
The publicly announced WGSN and Coloro key colors for A/W 24/25 are Intense Rust, Midnight Plum, Sustained Grey, Cool Matcha and Apricot Crush. Together, they create a palette that moves from earthy stability to tinted darkness, practical neutrality, calm pastel green and warm optimism.
Is Apricot Crush the same as Pantone Peach Fuzz?
No. They are related peach-orange directions, but they come from different color authorities and different systems. Apricot Crush is the WGSN and Coloro 2024 choice and reads as a warmer, more energetic apricot. Peach Fuzz is Pantone’s 2024 choice and is generally positioned as a softer, gentler peach.
How can fashion brands use WGSN color trends 2024 without overdoing them?
Use the colors by role. Let neutrals such as Sustained Grey support the range, use Intense Rust and Midnight Plum for depth, apply Cool Matcha in soft or technical categories, and reserve Apricot Crush for highlights, hero pieces or accessories. The goal is a wearable palette, not a literal trend board.
