It is a happy collision when the worlds of art and fashion sing from the same song sheet. This winter is one such season, as bold colour combinations on the catwalk and the Mark Rothko exhibition at the Tate share a mutual interest in strong emeralds, wild blues and deep, moody burgundies. Go and visit Rothko's Seagram collection in a Marni-inspired red-on-pink ensemble and you will understand how camouflage need not involve khaki drill.

Looking like a work of art, rather than a passing fad is a style aspiration most trends fail to achieve. But the very essence of this colour trend rests in its artistic creativity. The method is easy, pick a base colour, say a wild turquoise and throw in a contrasting hue, perhaps a hot tomato red or some juicy orange, then finish the whole look off with a soothing shade like a soft pearl grey. It sounds daring, but really, this is just a question of confidence. You'd probably already wear the turquoise and red next to each other on a necklace say or handbag, so just expand this theory into your basics. If you reference Rothko's brighter works, he often mixes unexpected combinations - pink with orange and mustard, for example - to brilliant, not scary, effect.

Consuela Castiglioni plays a similar game at Marni. A bold colourist and designer, she has fun with wild combinations from periwinkle and ketchup to lemon and seaweed. Either she mixes the colours into a print or she'll place them in bold sandwiched layers. This colour blocking is a jolly antidote to the flood of grey around right now. But the best bit is that most of what you need for this trend probably already languishes at the back of your cupboard.

A good way to get in the colour groove is to pick one bold shade and work around it. Take this tomato shift dress. If someone wore it with a white shirt and black blazer, she'd probably be asking you if you wanted chicken or beef and have a pair of wings pinned to her shoulder. Alongside this dirty grey and cerise however, the dress takes on an artier personality. The same goes for this lilac blouse. The damson cardigan worn on top helps remove grandmother associations and thoughts of Eighties Laura Ashley wallpaper. But if the idea of being so conspicuously colourful on your morning commute makes you feel queasy, wear a bold lipstick to add the final touch.

Stylist: Eve Thomas, make-up and hair: Hester at Era Management using Bobbi Brown and L'Oreal Tecni.Art, model: April Rose at Storm

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