diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
index ea3d27bd6..9f7099329 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ pub fn render(context: &mut RenderContext, viewport: Rect, surface: &mut Surface
     for element_id in &config.statusline.left {
         let render = get_render_function(*element_id);
         (render)(context, |context, span| {
+            let base_style = statusline_style(context, &element_id.to_string());
             append(&mut context.parts.left, span, base_style)
         });
     }
@@ -84,6 +85,7 @@ pub fn render(context: &mut RenderContext, viewport: Rect, surface: &mut Surface
     for element_id in &config.statusline.right {
         let render = get_render_function(*element_id);
         (render)(context, |context, span| {
+            let base_style = statusline_style(context, &element_id.to_string());
             append(&mut context.parts.right, span, base_style)
         })
     }
@@ -103,6 +105,7 @@ pub fn render(context: &mut RenderContext, viewport: Rect, surface: &mut Surface
     for element_id in &config.statusline.center {
         let render = get_render_function(*element_id);
         (render)(context, |context, span| {
+            let base_style = statusline_style(context, &element_id.to_string());
             append(&mut context.parts.center, span, base_style)
         })
     }
@@ -161,6 +164,18 @@ where
     }
 }
 
+fn statusline_style(context: &RenderContext, scope: &str) -> Style {
+    let scope = format!("ui.statusline.{scope}");
+    let visible = context.focused;
+    let config = context.editor.config();
+
+    if visible && config.color_modes {
+        context.editor.theme.get(&scope)
+    } else {
+        Style::default()
+    }
+}
+
 fn render_mode<'a, F>(context: &mut RenderContext<'a>, write: F)
 where
     F: Fn(&mut RenderContext<'a>, Span<'a>) + Copy,
@@ -522,10 +537,9 @@ fn render_separator<'a, F>(context: &mut RenderContext<'a>, write: F)
 where
     F: Fn(&mut RenderContext<'a>, Span<'a>) + Copy,
 {
-    let sep = &context.editor.config().statusline.separator;
-    let style = context.editor.theme.get("ui.statusline.separator");
+    let sep = context.editor.config().statusline.separator.clone();
 
-    write(context, Span::styled(sep.to_string(), style));
+    write(context, sep.into());
 }
 
 fn render_spacer<'a, F>(context: &mut RenderContext<'a>, write: F)
@@ -561,11 +575,10 @@ fn render_file_indent_style<'a, F>(context: &mut RenderContext<'a>, write: F)
 where
     F: Fn(&mut RenderContext<'a>, Span<'a>) + Copy,
 {
-    let style = context.doc.indent_style;
-
+    let indent_style = context.doc.indent_style;
     write(
         context,
-        match style {
+        match indent_style {
             IndentStyle::Tabs => " tabs ".into(),
             IndentStyle::Spaces(indent) => {
                 format!(" {} space{} ", indent, if indent == 1 { "" } else { "s" }).into()
diff --git a/helix-view/src/editor.rs b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
index bc811b88b..59358a2e3 100644
--- a/helix-view/src/editor.rs
+++ b/helix-view/src/editor.rs
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ use std::{
     borrow::Cow,
     cell::Cell,
     collections::{BTreeMap, HashMap, HashSet},
+    fmt::Display,
     fs,
     io::{self, stdin},
     num::NonZeroUsize,
@@ -620,6 +621,37 @@ pub enum StatusLineElement {
     Register,
 }
 
+impl Display for StatusLineElement {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        use StatusLineElement::*;
+        let element = match self {
+            Mode => "mode",
+            Spinner => "spinner",
+            FileBaseName => "file-base-name",
+            FileName => "file-name",
+            FileAbsolutePath => "file-absolute-path",
+            FileModificationIndicator => "file-modification-indicator",
+            ReadOnlyIndicator => "read-only-indicator",
+            FileEncoding => "file-encoding",
+            FileLineEnding => "file-line-ending",
+            FileIndentStyle => "file-indent-style",
+            FileType => "file-type",
+            Diagnostics => "diagnostics",
+            WorkspaceDiagnostics => "workspace-diagnostics",
+            Selections => "selections",
+            PrimarySelectionLength => "primary-selection-length",
+            Position => "position",
+            Separator => "separator",
+            PositionPercentage => "position-percentage",
+            TotalLineNumbers => "total-line-numbers",
+            Spacer => "spacer",
+            VersionControl => "version-control",
+            Register => "register",
+        };
+        write!(f, "{element}")
+    }
+}
+
 // Cursor shape is read and used on every rendered frame and so needs
 // to be fast. Therefore we avoid a hashmap and use an enum indexed array.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]