Black opaque tights have been a winter staple for women for years, but this party season they are being shunted to the bottom of the sock drawer. Instead, retailers are reporting a spike in sales of “fashion tights”.

This genre spans everything from vibrant coloured pairs to lacy and glitter versions. At Marks & Spencer, where a three-pack of 60 denier tights are habitually a winter rite of passage, this December customers are instead opting for lace styles. Sales are up 50% year on year, with a £12 French-inspired black heavyweight pair topping the sales charts. At John Lewis, sales of red tights are up 55% year on year. Other top sellers include fuchsia and fir-green versions.

On Thursday, the French born, London-based influencer Camille Charrière released a capsule collection with Swedish Stockings featuring a zebra printed pair of tights and a sparkly silver version. Charrière describes the addition of a jazzy tight to a look as akin to “using a colourful bag, or a shoe as an accessory to make a look pop, when done right it really ties a look together”.

While colourful tights were championed by Mary Quant in the 60s and ripped fishnets dominated the indie era, in recent years plain black tights have become the default choice. But there has definitely been a vibe shift. On this season’s catwalks there were leopard print tights at Isabel Marant, sparkly embellished versions at Rabanne and satsuma orange pairs at Miu Miu.

Claire Breslin, the managing director of Heist Studios, a hosiery brand that specialises in shapewear tights and whose fans include Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan and Industry’s Marisa Abela, says that sales of different coloured tights are up 100% compared with the same period last year. Customers started buying them in late summer. “Lace tights both in our floral and peacock styles are also selling very well,” Breslin said, “especially in red and ivory, whereas our colour block thicker deniers such as the 60 and the 80 are performing in all of the jewelled palette”. A pair of burgundy and a dark plum version sold out within six weeks of being released in August.

Fashion tights are an easy and relatively cheap party dressing update. They also add a practical warm touch while waiting for a night bus. Charrière wears them all year round. “Living in London has taught me to just accept that bad weather doesn’t prevent you from enjoying your closet. As the trend cycle gets more frantic, and we as consumers start to unpack our consumption patterns, little tricks like switching up your tights allows you to update your wardrobe to the tones of the season without needing to buy anything extra.”