All Things Bright: These Creatives Are Wearing Colour This Spring

If you do one thing this spring, wear more colour. Actors, artists and designers explain why bright feels right, right now …

MARY O’CONNOR, ARTIST

“People always remark that I dress like my paintings. I create bold, geometric and colourfully rich artworks in my distinctive abstract style. I’m currently preparing for my new exhibition, “Linked” at The Ballinglen Gallery, Co Mayo, from March 22. The influence of fashion on my artistic practice is undeniable. I love collecting pieces on my travels, particularly indigenous textiles and embroidery. I’m not a fan of fast fashion and prefer to support local designers and friends who run boutiques. I hold onto my clothes for years.” @maryoconnorart

NICOLA COUGHLAN, ACTOR

“I go through phases of wearing colour,” explains actor Nicola Coughlan of Bridgerton and Derry Girls fame. “I worked in retail for many years and for a lot of the jobs I had to wear black. After I left those jobs I just thought, I really don’t want to wear black, because it reminds me of being at work. Wearing colour felt like a bit of a rebellion, like reclaiming my individuality, in a way. I’ve been so lucky to get to wear some amazing designers. I’m thinking about this Valentino dress I got to wear to the Baftas in 2022. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s amazing collection that year had lots of really vibrant colours, and it was a pink dress covered in bows (pictured), it was just so fun. I think fashion is such a brilliant opportunity to feel like different versions of yourself.” @nicolacoughlan

SEE MORE: Nicola Coughlan Is A Vision In Dior At The 2025 SAG Awards

JULIANNE KELLY, INTERIOR DESIGNER

“The use of colour in design is not just about the aesthetics. Understanding colour psychology is crucial to creating spaces for my clients that evoke the desired emotions and create the desired atmosphere. Warm tones such as brown, mocha and burgundy are popular now, but I believe in working with the room, not against it – for example, by embracing darkness and cosiness in a north-facing room.” @juliannekellyinteriors

SEE MORE: 10 Little Updates To Make A House Feel Like A Home

ORLA MC ANDREW, EVENT CATERER AND AUTHOR OF LARDER (BLASTA BOOKS)

“I’ve always loved to express myself through brightly coloured clothing,” says Orla. “Bold colours really help elevate my mood. I dress to please and empower myself. The minute I throw on a brightly coloured headscarf, I immediately feel like I’m ready for whatever comes my way. Initially, perhaps, I used brightly coloured headscarves almost as armour when heading out to perform in any way, be that cooking on TV or in front of large audiences. Now, they are just part and parcel of my everyday wardrobe. Colour just makes me happy.” @orla_mcandrew_food

SEAN ATMOS, ARTIST

“The use of colour is the most important and enjoyable aspect of my work. I find colour inspiration in architectural styles, home interiors, and how light interacts with different finishes, revealing the colour values. Last summer, my partner and I went on a camping trip to West Cork, and as the sun was setting in Eyeries, the light revealed the full range of colours in the buildings – it was unbelievable. That fleeting experience had such a powerful impact on us and made our day unforgettable. I think I’m always searching for that feeling, as it adds so much more meaning to my life.” @seanatmos

RACHEL SHERRY, MD, SHERRY COMMUNICATIONS

“I’m convinced that wearing bright colours has a positive effect on my outlook – it’s like having a good hair day,” says Rachel. “I wouldn’t say I am especially daring, as I’ve a tendency to stick to block colours, but I love how colour can stand out from the sea of black that is so ubiquitous in fashion. When meeting clients, I make a point of avoiding black; I feel that wearing colour (blues, pinks and greens) gives me a boost.” @sherrycommunications

LI EDELKOORT, TREND FORECASTER

Speaking during Dubai Design Week, Li, who recently launched a collection of bright, colourful rugs featuring “childish” garden and nature drawings with Argentinian rug manufacturer El Espartano, explained: “I am craving fantasy – I don’t know where it comes from, but it’s there. I’m craving almost childish initiatives and design, I’m craving colour, I’m craving painting, motif and ornamental finishes. It’s been building up for a few years,” she said. “I really believe in the return of Arts and Crafts, as it has been described by William Morris. And I think it might also be our future.” @lidewijedelkoort

GILLIAN LAWLEE, INTERIOR STYLIST

“Colour is elemental and emotional for me. It is intrinsic to my quality of life. With its immense ability to evoke visceral feelings, as well as define the architecture of a space, it surprises me how many people don’t really think about it. Whether it’s walls, doors, furniture or a lampshade, I’m quick to use my paint brush to paint the world as I would like to see it. I enjoy it when a home tells you a lot about who lives there, about the inner life of its inhabitants. I am very narrative-driven in my aesthetic and tend to think of a house as a book, and each room as a chapter in a story. Colour is a means to help tell that story.” @my.life.in.colour

Photograph; @warrenalfiebaker

ANDREW SCOTT, ACTOR

“I’ve always had a really big interest in art and particularly colour,” said Andrew Scott in a recent interview with Esquire. Scott planned to study art before getting his first big acting break, but now has fun with fashion, embracing bright colour for red carpet appearances. “I really celebrate the fact that menswear has become so eclectic and playful, in particular with formal wear. We’re not scared of colour anymore, and I like the fact that we’re breaking boundaries in relation to gender and how we’re supposed to wear clothes. It’s exciting and surprising.”

BETH HAUGHTON, JEWELLERY DESIGNER

“Colour has been an important part of my world for as long as I can remember,” says Beth Haughton, pictured with her daughters, Tessa and Phoebe. “Growing up in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, I was surrounded by vivid colours, I soaked it up. I was fascinated by how colour could change the mood or feel of a place, how it can make everything feel richer, brighter, more alive. I have been collecting beautiful stones since my teens, inspired by my mother’s jewellery collection. I’m a complete bead fiend, there is something so exciting about finding beautiful vintage beads and crystals, each one holds a little history, a little mystery. To rework them into my Love Beth designs gives them a new life, a new story to tell.” @lovebeth____

SEE MORE: 20+ Fashion Pop-Ups And Floral Workshops To Inspire

ORLA KIELY, DESIGNER

“Colour is a language of emotion, shaping our moods and bringing joy to our lives,” says Orla Kiely. “It has the power to uplift, calm, or energize, creating an environment where feelings are expressed without words. It can also transform the way we feel about a product or accessory, inspiring and motivating us by its presence.” @orlakiely

SEE MORE: The Irish Fashion Designer’s Wardrobe Is As Print-Heavy And Joyful As You Would Expect

LOLA DONOGHUE, ARTIST

“As a painter, colour plays a central role in my life, it’s at the core of my work. I spend my days immersed in it, it’s literally the starting point for everything I create. In each collection, specific colours run through my work. It happens subconsciously, I might not even be aware of it until a few paintings in. This usually follows through to what I wear and why I usually look like I’m matching my paintings in photos, which is also unintentional. I definitely wear bright colours a lot, it helps to put me in a good mood and people also respond well to colour; it’s friendly and welcoming and often starts conversations. I don’t overthink colour choices, as long as there is balance, I think most colours can work together.” @loladonoghue

CARMEL IMELDA WALSH, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

“My relationship with colour was shaped early on,” says Carmel Imelda Walsh. “My mother would make my dresses for special occasions, and selecting fabrics, patterns and making with her was a formative experience. Even then, I was drawn to subtle interventions – adding bright linings to my school uniform and incorporating hidden details. As I got older, I found a quiet strength in monochrome dressing, viewing colour not just as an aesthetic choice but as an extension of mood, identity and presence. This fascination became part of my research while studying design in Florence. This season, I’m gravitating toward cobalt violet, bright olive green, and burnt sienna – tones that have depth and warmth.” www.carmelimeldawalsh.com

CAROLINE DUFFFY, ARTIST AND FASHION DESIGNER

“I find the more I have created art inspired by nature, the more I have absorbed its positive energy,” explains Caroline. “I am now much more colour confident and always advise others to own their look and embrace the energy colours bring. For me, flowers in full bloom and vibrant colours represent all the joy life can bring. The hydrangea, with its bountiful petals symbolising abundance, is my favourite flower and subject matter.” @carolineduffydesigns

SEE MORE: Caroline Duffy’s Feel Good Floral Designs

TOM CLIMENT, ARTIST

“My father is Spanish, and as a child we spent time there on and off. The intense light really made an impact on me and almost entered into me. My relationship with colour is an expression of this intense light. Colour and light are the same. When I use colour I’m creating or attracting light. For me colours are interchangeable, they are like notes in music, all combine to make a song. I suppose for me colour is a saviour, a nourisher in my life.” @tomcliment

SEE MORE: Have Fun With Fashion Again – The March Issue Colour Shoot

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