A history of red: from couture to streetwear How the most opulent color of luxury became the symbol of hype

There is a term dear to psychology and ethology called red-dress effect. The term refers to the set of neuro-biological phenomena that result, among animals, from the sight of the red color: there are animals that have evolved to make their skin or their plumage red in the mating season, some flowers are red to attract the largest number of bees and birds - and even among humans red is the color of passion and danger , as well as the first color that our brain and eyes are programmed to spot. Clearly the psychological strength of this color became evident at all stages of human history: both roman patricians and nobles of the ancient Chinese Empire dressed in red or used it in the décor of their home; further on red became the color of devils, passion and even revolutions. And already the name of red-dress effect creates natural parallels with fashion: from the cardinal red of Balenciaga to that of Valentino up to the first Nike Air Ship of Michael Jordan and Supreme, but also passing through the notions of classic marketing - for which red represents youth and dynamism, and has become the symbol of Coca Cola, Marlboro but also Nintendo, Canon and LEGO, as well as Netflix.

Red in high fashion

At the beginning of fashion as we know it (and for many years to come) red was a symbol of luxury and opulence, in a very traditional conception that saw in color the connotations of royalty but also of passion. A history of the red of the modern fashion world should therefore start, ideally, from the legendary Cristobàl Balenciaga who was inspired by the cardinals painted by Velazquez and Goya for some of his most famous designs - design that in 2019 became the protagonists of an exhibition in Madrid that alongside the paintings that inspired them. Even today, among other things, many of the red items produced by the brand are in Cardinal Red: already from the name evoke an aristocratic sense of opulence and importance. However, it was not only the ancient paintings: Balenciaga was also inspired by flamenco dancers and their bata de cola skirt and the bullfighters' bolero - all designs created after 1949, that is, in full Francoism, which evoked the nostalgia of the ancient Spanish tradition.

The last incarnation of red, symbolic bridge between music, fashion, lifestyle and jet-set, is the Circoloco, the series of events that animates the day and nights of Ibiza and founded the myth of nightlife on the island starting in 1999 and used red in its logo. These events, which then became itinerant all over the world, launched a huge number of DJs and musical artists such as Ricardo Villalobos, Peggy Gou Seth Troxler Luciano Rampa &Me, Loco Dice and Ellen Allien involving creatives such as Maurizio Cattelan, the Toilet Paper studio and designers such as Riccardo Tisci and Virgil Abloh (who also opened the Milan event when the event arrived in the city). Circoloco, its founder Antonio Carbonaro and Andrea Pelino created today's clubbing concept at that time and launched a brand that was the first to be able to mix lifestyle, creativity and fashion in a completely pioneering way thanks to No Soul For Sale, a clothing and accessories line that made the color of circoloco's red the first and most important element of recognition.