Purple haze: The colour trend taking over Hollywood and beyond

There’s a new colour trend taking hold – and shrinking violets need not apply.

Purple, in particular bold shades like violet and royal purple, has been popping up everywhere throughout 2026, from red carpets and runways to street style.

Just this week, The Odyssey co-stars Lupita Nyong’o and Anne Hathaway have respectively jumped aboard, embracing their shared winter colour season with rich purple hues.

Nyong’o shared a carousel of Instagram photos from the Christopher Nolan blockbuster’s press tour, one of which shows her in a purple and red colour-blocked outfit.

Meanwhile, Hathaway attended the 2026 Disney Legends Awards over the weekend, emerging on stage in a caped purple gown by Aflalo.

Read more

Two breakout trends dominate the 2026 Logies red carpet

Clearly, a purple haze is descending.

Plenty of other stars – women and men alike – have worn the shade on the red carpet this year at movie premieres, awards shows, Cannes Film Festival, you name it.

Some have paired their purple with equally bold colours for an eye-catching combination – like The White Lotus star Sarah Catherine Hook with her mint opera gloves at the 2026 Actor Awards, and Nyong’o with her purple-and-red dress.

The colour has also had a starring role on the runway at 2026 Fashion Week events around the world.

Design houses including Chloe, Mugler, Prabal Gurung, Issey Miyake, Chochengco, Pierre Cardin and Julie Kegel have sent models down the catwalk in Paris, New York, Berlin and Milan dressed in decadent shades of purple.

The purple rain (reign?) also hit Australian Fashion Week, via Gary Bigeni and L’Idée Woman.

While there’s no denying purple is high-impact, it’s a “notoriously tricky colour to style”, as Who What Wear puts it.

If you don’t mind turning heads, you could embrace a monochromatic approach, teaming purple with purple.

Read more

The celebrity-approved medieval style trend you’re about to see everywhere

Otherwise, take the lead of various celebrities and meet its vibrancy head-on with primary or complementary colours.

(Hint: Look up the colour wheel online and see what shades sit on the opposite side to purple.)

If you’re committed to your neutrals and the thought of wearing anything bright and saturated makes you sweat, you can always dip your toe in the trend with accessories – a pair of shoes, a bag, a headscarf.

Keep scrolling to see some of the best purple looks we’ve spotted on stars this year.