Each year Pantone®, the renown authority on color, forecasts color trends. They are such an authority and have such world-wide influence that it’s hard to tell if they are forecasters or trend makers.
Color Forecasting
Each year, Pantone® names a color and an accompanying pallet. These forecasts help designers and producers stay on trend and provide the right products at the right time. Ever notice that all the products made for the kitchen all come in similar color options? Take a look the next time you are at Target. It’s been going on for years. How is it that all 1970s-era kitchen appliances were avocado green, mustard yellow, burnt orange and brown? How does that happen when the design, manufacturing and wholesale buying processes begin years in advance of the time the products arrive on shelves? Color forecasting.
Buying and Investing In Color
As consumers, that means that we see colors of clothing and other products change from season to season. Here are Pantone’s® Colors for the past 4 years.
I’ve noticed that a color’s cycle lasts about 4 years –
Year 1 – Shades of the color first appear in the market
Year 2 – More items in the color are available
Year 3 – The color matures and is widely availabe in the market
Year 4 – Fewer items available as the color tapers off
For instance, emerald green was named color of the year in January 2013. It’s availability gradually increased from then and only became widely seen on runways in the Winter and Spring 2015 collections. People will be wearing the color at least through the end of 2016.
What does that mean for consumers? If you like the color of the year, you can invest in it and know it won’t “go out of style” in just a season. You can buy it in years 1 and 2 and know that you’ll still be “able to wear” it for at least 2 more years. And if you really like the color, you’ll be able to build your wardrobe with it over the course of 4 years. If you don’t like the color, you can skip it and keep wearing past colors and wait for a future color that is more appealing to you.
How To Wear Pantone®’s Color of 2015 – Marsala
If you aren’t sure about a color, slowly add it to your wardrobe with a few accessories – jewelry, shoes, hair bands or bags – or as an accent color in prints. If you really like it, you can bring in bolder statements – solid dresses, skirts, pants, jackets, blouses etc.
Here are some examples from my closet. I was tentative about green and gradually grew to like it. I LOVE burgundy/claret/marsala. I already had some historical pieces and brought in plenty more because I wear it as a neutral rather than an accent color.
How do you wear Marsala? ALL colors go together, as long as the UNDERTONES are the same. For Marsala, match with any color with an earthy undertone. Here are some examples.
