Social Study
The fall-winter color forecast is geared for Instagrammers and shoppers ready to try out new shades or accent what they already own.
Pantone’s trending colors give a nod to the Insta generation.
In this ever-Instagrammable age where every waking moment is a potential photo-op, the Pantone Color Institute's fall-winter color palette is primed for individuality.
Confidence-building shades like fiery Chili Pepper and the deeper Biking
Red ranked one and two, respectively, followed by complexion-flattering Crème de Peche and Peach Pink. Taking the fifth spot is Rocky Road, a grounded solid brown, followed by the more look-at-me, effervescent pink Fruit Dove.
Pantone's newest New York Fashion Week-geared list embraces identity and lends itself to experimentation. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, loves that consumers are exercising their creativity and are no longer glued to a matchy-matchy look, she said, adding, “It's more about doing what really expresses how you feel about yourself and your clothing, and the statement that you want to make as an individual. Our mothers and grandmothers would probably cringe at some of the color combinations.”
As an increasing number of restaurants, hotels, museums, bars and other public places are splurging to create more vibrant, photo-friendly interiors, many of their patrons are also taking greater care in choosing what they wear. Modern life, however one defines it, is “absolutely like being an artist. When people say to me, ‘I'm not an artist. I don't know that much about color,' I say to them, ‘But you choose makeup colors all the time. You choose a nail polish color. You choose the flowers and the place mats that go on your tables when you have guests come over. That is all a form of creativity and so is putting your wardrobe together,'” Eiseman said.
Energizing shades can be somehow rejuvenating. “That is an overall reflection of our lives today. We are super-overworked. We have had this conversation before and it hasn't gotten any easier. Wanting that stability of those deeper colors to balance and yet the power is so obvious,” Eiseman said. “We are certainly seeing that in our government today in terms of how many women are elected into positions of power. That affects the designers as well. Why are they drawn to using these particular kinds of colors for garments? It is an overriding mind-set. There are so many colors.”
Sugar Almond, Dark Cheddar, Galaxy Blue, Bluestone, Orange Tiger and Eden round out the second half of the fallwinter list. This season's classics are Vanilla Custard, Evening Blue, Paloma and Guacamole. As the culinary-inspired names suggest, some color trends start in the food and beverage industry, which is always one of the starting points for color forecasting. “It is so interesting how people are getting back into cooking and baking from scratch in particular. What is so appealing is the warmer, sweeter taste. That is certainly reflected in the colors we're seeing in fashion. Even though women are thinking about more power, at the same time there is that need for nurturing and baking is a creative outlet. It's not as though we have a lot of time to do it,” Eiseman said.