New Delhi, March 31 -- Look around you. How many people do you see dressed in bright colours? Chances are, not many. I'm writing this at my office desk, surrounded by colleagues in muted shades of white, grey, blue and black.

I began paying closer attention to the colours people wear about three weeks ago after a visit to a south Delhi mall. That Sunday afternoon, every store window had displayed spring-summer collections in the same restrained spectrum-white, grey, blue, black. Even outside the stores, shoppers blended into a sea of neutrals.

The same palette was visible the following weekend, this time on a Metro ride. At a fashion party midweek, the dress code was "comfort casual". Most people were in either black or white. The recen...