Your go-to look this summer? Glow-in-the-dark neon

According to Off-White, Balenciaga and Y/Project’s SS19 collections, plus celebrity takers, Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Bella Hadid, neon isn’t so much an It shade as a warm-weather state of mind. Turning your wardrobe’s saturation levels up to ‘eye-popping’ as soon as the sun’s out is now such a regular occurrence that we’re beginning to wonder what our feed looked like without a steady stream of acidic brights. We’ve witnessed Bieber become the unofficial spokesperson for the faded fluorescent baggy T-shirt that offsets a post-vacation tan; while Arianne Grande offered a tongue-in-cheek crash course in how to twin neon with your now-former other half.

Away from the limelight, the catwalk offers up some relatively straightforward advice for making highlighter hues work in real life. From incandescent sneakers to bright green suiting and UV swimwear, paired with neutral beige by day and ramped up to glow-in-the-dark feathers by night—here’s five runway ideas on how to wear neon now.

1. Don’t hold back: Do neon suiting

An unlikely neon icon, Blake Lively has already won the fluoro suiting category when she stepped out in New York last year wearing Versace’s seriously zesty lime green tailoring. It’s a look that will make your pupils shrink even with the screen brightness turned all the way down. Post-Blake neon, the rest of us can all but try: pair Sies Marjan’s slouchy tailoring with glow-on-the-go Nike Vapormax in place of vertiginous stilettos.

2. Take it easy: Pair with beige

The catwalk’s recent obsession with head-to-toe neutrals has conveniently paved the way for a neon invasion. If you’re looking for new ways to style your cream tailoring or linen cargo pants, a neon body (as seen at Y/Project) will energetically overhaul your look with minimal effort.

3. Don’t hold back: Do the vivid feather dress

Why wear just a feather trim when you can wear a fluorescent feather trim? If the neon mini dresses (and neon sunglasses, and neon pumps) on YSL’s ravey AW19 catwalk are a notch too far, try No.21. The Italian label styled vivid cocktail plumage with barely-there sandals, acres of bare skin and barely-there makeup: for a look we could barely take our eyes off.

4. Keep it elevated: Pair with tuxedo trousers

There are many lessons we took from Balenciaga’s SS19 show (not to be distracted by artist Jon Rafman’s arresting cyber visuals), one being the underrated elegance of tuxedo trousers paired with a Whatsapp green bustier. So, if you’re looking to pull off neon after dark, start with a pair of luxuriously roomy black trousers and work your way up.

5. Don’t hold back: Give metallics a fluoro boost

Consider sun-faded neon green to be a new neutral. Trust us on this: If you would ordinarily dial down look-at-me metallics (like Halpern’s glistening sequinned pants) with a plain white vest or cashmere knit, up your game with a punchier shade. Extra points awarded for matching your neon bustier with sharp neon kitten heels.

Also read:

How to wear neon, according to Alia Bhatt, Bella Hadid and more

Kendall Jenner rings in the new year in neon green eyeliner

Priyanka Chopra’s outfit proves she’s not done with neon or fanny packs