Reflections on the Meaning of Red in Art, Fashion and Film

It can almost seem too obvious at first: vivid red, with its powerful cultural connotations of lust, rage, sin and blood. It can be lazy visual shorthand for directors, designers or writers who have swallowed it whole. But then, red does seem to have a life of its own, too: think of Parisian cafés with their crimson awnings and chairs, or of the omnipresent scarlet of London buses and post-boxes. Red is so ubiquitous in daily life that it can be easy to forget everything…