Purple reign on catwalks
Colour tribute to mark Prince anniversary
APRIL marks the second anniversary of Prince’s death and this season the Purple One is honoured as his favourite hue is the colour of choice.
The rock icon, who died in 2016 at the age of 57, was awarded a new shade to call his own last year by the Pantone Colour Institute, the standard-bearer for new developments in colour intelligence.
Love Symbol #2 is inspired by the late US star’s custom-made Yamaha purple piano and is the official colour for his brand.
Throughout Prince’s career, he became indelibly associated with the colour, from his album and 1984 film, Purple Rain, to his wardrobe.
Cut to SS18 and Pantone has named Ultra Violet (bright purple) as Colour of the Year. Ultra Violet is the 19th colour of the year chosen by the Pantone, which picks a shade at the end of each year to forecast trends and capture the global zeitgeist.
Pantone described the hue as a “dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade,” that “communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future”.
Millennial pink, aka “rose quartz”, had its moment in 2016, while 2017’s Greenery colour was meant to symbolise new beginnings.
The shade, which was a big hit on the SS18 catwalks as seen at Solace London and Rochas, is synonymous with a few important things: outer space, counterculture music (think Prince and Jimi Hendrix), mindfulness and royalty.
We predict we’ll be seeing royal-to-be Meghan Markle rocking the hue in the coming months.