Why we're falling for love hearts, the sweetest print of the summer

Leopard, polka dots, stars and stripes have enjoyed print hegemony in recent seasons.But this summer, another pattern is on the rise: the heart.

Its a little puzzling as to why were seeing so many love hearts outside of Valentine"s Day, yet there they are, sweetening up the runways at Dolce & Gabbana (where they joined cherubs and crosses in a Fashion Devotion-themed collection), Emilia Wickstead (the designer placed delicate heart embroideries on starched white collars and belts) and Vivetta, where hearts joined hands and faces in designer Vivetta Pontis bag of surrealist tricks.Thats not to mention the heart-shaped sunglasses popping up in collections from Christopher Kane to Gucci.

Saint Laurent sunglasses, £265, Matchesfashion.com

Hearts havent been this fashionable since Yves Saint Laurents heyday.In his first couture collection, the designer affixed a huge heart brooch by jeweller Roger Scemama to the model wearing his favourite look.

The tradition continued through to his final collection; today, a pendant version of the design is on show in a room full of couture looks at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris.

And now hearts are back.Guccis do-no-wrong designer, Alessandro Michele, lavishes them over trainers, skirts and accessories; and current coolest-model-ever Adwoa Aboah has a heart tattooed on to her ear.

Hearts are also at the centre of new Escada designer Niall Sloans vision for the house – his first handbag design is called the Heart Bag, and features a chunky gold heart clasp.And at Rixo London, co-founder Henrietta Rix says the heart has zoomed ahead of botanicals and under-sea prints to earn a special status as the brands most popular print.“Its become a wardrobe staple,” she says.

The key to making it look effortless, rather than Eighties, Rix suggests, is to keep an eye on shape – more masculine silhouettes are better than puff-sleeved confections – and to tone it down with dark denim.Rix wears her Jamie heart-print blouse with a polka dot neck scarf for the utmost in print-clashing.

Or you could show the emo side of hearts in Bella Freuds broken-heart jumper.Queen of hearts or heartbreaker, its up to you.

1946:Bleeding hearts

Surrealist artists and designers toyed with the religious overtones of hearts, as seen in this portrait of a model wearing a jumper embellished with a heart pierced by a jewelled dagger.

2001:Heart of fashion

Before every couture show, Yves Saint Laurent would anoint one model or his favourite outfit by finishing it with the Yves Saint Laurent heart, a dramatic pendant necklace by jeweller Roger Scemama.

2018:Hearts on the runway

Luxury designers upgraded hearts from kitsch to chic on the autumn-winter 2018 runways, withEmilia Wickstead (above), Dolce & Gabbana and Vivetta just a few of the brands to use the motif in their collections.