Susannah Frankel: 'The only viable alternative to spring’s tricky pastel look is orange'

The spring season's fashions are arriving at a store near you and the story, we all know by now, is one of sugar, spice and all things nice and of colour, of course – ice-cream/pastel/fondant. Call the new palette what you will, it's not an easy one to pull off given the English climate. 'Vibrancy Art Deco'-style is more suited to the soft Miami sunlight, after all, than to Mount Street, London W1, and doubtless in the rain. And so, I give you the only viable alternative to this and that is – drum roll, please – the colour orange.

Despite the fact that I'm attached to a monochrome palette – or, if I'm feeling frisky, perhaps navy – I've always had a certain affection for orange, particularly the type of grand, burnt hues made famous by Hermès. The shades of orange in question are not only ultra-chic, they are also flattering, casting a warm glow on any complexion. On the catwalk, total-look orange at Balenciaga (right), in particular, made me very happy. The loveliest colour and texture collided here and was nothing short of majestic. Also lovely are Haider Ackermann's oranges, played off against unlikely shades of raspberry and giving even vintage Yves Saint Laurent, home to all the great surprising colour juxtapositions, a run for its money.

But safe in the knowledge that it is still, in fact, winter, I'm wearing a huge, orange scarf courtesy of Ede (edeengland.co.uk), specialists in hand-crafted knitwear since 2009. My aptly-named 'big scarf' costs £75 and is made from 100 per cent lambswool. It was knitted by Billie, apparently: all the company's knitters are based in England and all of its products are made here which is a clever, not to mention, honourable move.

Susannah Frankel is Fashion Editor of 'The Independent'

s.frankel@independent.co.uk