Royal Purple Is Everywhere This Fall—Here’s What to Wear With It

The 2026 color trends welcomed a few surprising newcomers, with royal purple being the most talked about. The striking hue was repeatedly seen at the fall-winter shows, including at Victoria Beckham, Celine, Valentino, Loewe, and Tory Burch.

We’ve seen other attention-grabbing colors, most notably red, take over the fashion sphere with great fervor in the past year, but this royal purple trend feels different in the way it’s styled. Where red has been gradually accepted and treated as a new neutral, purple is being embraced for exactly what it is: a vibrant, whimsical color meant to be worn with other maximalist hues.

It really is the new It color. Perhaps we’ve grown a bit tired of so many neutrals and browns—minimalist ensembles can only express so much. And a quick look through street style photos revealed exactly what I suspected: Wearing royal purple is all about making a statement. The whole point is to style it with other equally bold colors, from lime green to butter yellow to even pink.

It sounds experimental at first, but just take a look at how style pros wore royal purple, below, and you’ll be inspired to try the noble color yourself this fall. Stay ahead of the color trends with our favorite royal purple pieces and with their complimentary colors, below.

With green

Green is another trend-in-the-making color frequently spotted on the runway for this season. At Ashlyn, recipient of the 2025 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, it was one of the two main colors that defined the designer’s fall-winter 2026 collection. A season prior, Valentino made a strong case for lime green, frequently stying it with shades of purple ranging from royal to pale lilac. Alaïa also featured royal purple and lime green in its show, solidifying the combo’s place in the 2026 fashion color cycle.

With pink

Of course royal purple goes well with its sister hue, pink. As neighbors on the color wheel, they quite logically pair nicely with each other. What really makes the combination stand out, however, adding a third color into the mix: red. Despite the somewhat youthful feelings these colors represent, they look delightfully mature and elegant when styled together.

With cream

If you want to play it safe, you can always match purple with a neutral color like cream. It pairs better than blue jeans would, and the combo has a casual flair that works for the office, a meet-up with friends, or running errands around the neighborhood. Adding a bit of texture like ruffles and feathers will give it a more editorial touch.

With brown

Brown is another one of those fall favorites, and it happens to go perfectly with purple. It’s also a color you likely already own in your capsule wardrobe, making it a very practical combination. If you want to keep the look a little subdued, opt for black or cream accessories. It’s a polished look perfect for the season.

With butter yellow

All that talk about butter yellow the last few years was not for nothing. The friendly color pairs extremely well with royal purple, as they are complementary colors on the color wheel. Despite being two very expressive hues, they can almost pass as neutrals when placed next to each other. If you’re going to get more creative with your outfits this fall, we recommend starting with this color combination—something about it scratches the brain just right.