Fashion statement: Think pink

The hue that's gone from safe to statement

If there's ever a shade that has gone through an exhausting rehabilitative process, it's pink. Is it out? Is it in? Do we like it? Is it regressive? Or is it just plain naff?

Well actually, no. Pink has become one of the most chic accents de nos jours. During a season that saw designers exploring what it means to be female and feminine, pink was used in myriad ways. Spring 2013 encompasses the whole spectrum of hues, from minimal fuschia gowns and coral tailoring at Gucci, finished with sweeping but not saccharine ruffles, to candy floss and bubblegum Christopher Kane dresses, structured with origami folds.

Miuccia Prada rarely opts for “pretty” but her soft pink pastels were girlishness personified, which was undermined by the severity of the kimono cuts she used. And Versace's Versus line (Kane's final collection for the diffusion range) was disco-tastic in eye-popping fluorescents with sheer panelling. At Donna Karan, things were duskier and more silken, draped in this designer's neo-classical hallmark, while at Chanel baby pink was paired with denim, and Antonio Berardi had its neon cousin poking out from under intricately worked beading.

Pink is no longer for wimps – check out the Cambridge Satchel Company's wonderful nerdy update in neon. It hasn't been since City boys and Rugby types appropriated it as their shirt colour of choice, but also not since it became a signature among designers who dared to be different.

Elsa Schiaparelli's “shocking pink” hues were about as far from the lady-like paradigm as you could get in the early 20th century.

It might be less of a statement these days but it's no less shocking to the eye, so let your neons stand out in the dull Februaryscape and – Valentine's Day aside – think pink.