THE SURPRISING POWER OF PINK
Alexandra Friend explores the hidden strengths of the spring shade
hink pink (as the adage goes) and where do you end up… somewhere girlish and obliging? Sugary and frivolous? Yet history tells us there’s nothing less shrinking than pink, says Kassia St Clair, cultural historian and author of The Secret Lives Of Colour (John Murray).‘the view that pink is archetypically feminine is only a century old. Going back to the beginning of the 20th century, if girls were assigned any colour, it was pale blue, which in Western thought was associated with the Virgin Mary and seen as dainty and modest. Pink was considered more masculine, which makes more sense once you know that red was the colour of British military uniforms at the time and seen as a forceful colour, traditionally associated with men. Pink, which is essentially a watered-down version of red, was therefore a colour for boys, even up to the 1940s.’ Think of pink as red’s little brother then, and you’ll have a swagger in your step the next time you wear it.
Even muted pinks have hidden strengths. Millennial pink (the instantly recognisable salmon shade used as house branding by Glossier) has a very modern softness to it. ‘Where “little girl” pink has blue undertones, millennial pink has grey and yellow, which makes it seem more gender-neutral – you see a lot more guys wearing it,’ says St Clair. Millennial pink hit the UK in 2017, the same year Glossier launched here and Harry Styles broke the internet in a pink suit by Edward Sexton (‘Pink is the only true rock ’n’ roll colour,’ said Styles at the time).
This year, pink is finding an even bolder voice. There are bubblegum pieces on the runway at Chanel, Valentino, Molly Goddard and Miu Miu, shocking pink lips at Versace and Tom Ford, rose-tinted eyes at Harlem’s Fashion Row and Blumarine, and pink everything at Lula Laora. In politics, pink is a palette cleanser. US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, famously wears fuchsia to better stand out in a sea of navy blue, while a bright pink trouser suit became a hot statement in the run up to last year’s presidential election, worn by celebrities from Ashley Graham to Kerry Washington in a social media campaign encouraging women to vote (and probably not for Trump).
‘There’s something about pink that feels much fresher at the moment,’ says Terry Barber, director of make-up artistry for MAC. ‘Putting a little extra on the cheeks or even around the eyes has an outdoorsy look that I’m really enjoying. Because it enhances tones that are already in the skin, it looks cool and effortless, not cutesy or twee in the way you might expect.’ Flattering and disruptive; who’d have thought it?
‘THIS YEAR, PINK IS FINDING AN EVEN BOLDER VOICE’