Cobalt blue takes center stage as butter yellow falls out of fashion

Cobalt blue is officially the new 'it' color, pushing butter yellow and other past trends to the back of the fashion closet. The vibrant shade made its first major statement over a year ago, when top designers like Balenciaga, Chloé, Valentino, and Schiaparelli featured it prominently on their spring 2025 runways. Since then, cobalt has continued to dominate the fashion landscape, popping up in looks from Victoria Beckham, Gucci, Luar, and Valentino during the spring 2026 season.

Celebrities embrace the bold hue

Awards season proved to be fertile ground for cobalt, with Jessie Buckley and Wunmi Mosaku both taking home BAFTAs in the eye-catching color. Buckley wore a stunning blue velvet Chanel dress, while Mosaku opted for a fringed Ahluwalia look inspired by the spring 2026 show. Dua Lipa also got in on the action, sporting a custom Gucci dress in cobalt at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Academy Awards viewing party.

But cobalt's popularity extends far beyond the red carpet. In January, Bella Hadid celebrated the premiere of Ryan Murphy's The Beauty in a full Saint Laurent resort 2026 look, featuring a color-blocked windbreaker in cobalt and gray paired with a coated cotton black paper bag skirt. Amelia Gray, Hadid's co-star in the series, also joined the cobalt bandwagon, donning a sumptuous Gucci faux fur in the shade.

As the trend continues to gain momentum, street style stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Kendall Jenner have also given cobalt a spin. Lawrence traded in her signature pop of red for a cobalt sweater from The Row, while Jenner used the vibrant color as an accent piece, pairing it with straight-legged jeans, a black jacket, cloche, and flats.

With cobalt blue proving to be a lasting trend, we can expect to see plenty more of it in the fashion world moving forward.