For the first time, Pantone announced a two colour – Rose Quartz (PANTONE 15-3919) and Serenity (PANTONE 13-1520) – as its annual “Color of the Year”, a practice they began in 2000. The symbolic colour selection is highly influential and each year Pantone drives an even bigger marketing campaign by partnering with leading retailers such as Sephora, Room Copenhagen and Lowes. Unlike past choices, including Marsala, Radiant Orchid and Emerald, Pantone breaks from tradition by blending two shades to “transcend cultural and gender norms.”
Described as “a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude”, Pantone has taken the role of colour, cultural and communications forecaster; whereby the prognosis is determined from a variety of industries, including fashion, film, interiors and architecture.
This year’s spring 2016 palette was driven by the “escapism” of art and the apparent “desire to disconnect from technology”, as showcased in the calming hues of designers SS16 collections. Joined together, “Rose Quartz and Serenity demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace.”
Pastels have been prevalent throughout fashion and all other areas of design, so the choice of a of a nurturing palette that embraces nature is not an unprecedented; however, the decision made by the global colour authority comes at a time where gender is a hot topic and society’s increasing acceptance of its fluidity.
Taking a unilateral approach to colour, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, comments that the prevalence of Rose Quartz and Serenity throughout fashion is “coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity”. It marks a “generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.”
The combination of Serenity and Rose Quartz is a stance against the practice of associating colours with gender – which has dictated colours that designers employ and ultimately stifles creativity. In popular culture, most apparent in advertising, pink has stereotypically become associated with girls and blue with boys.
The combination of the two colours has come to symbolize wellness and tranquillity, as Pantone encourages future generations to find solace in the decision to embrace unconventional colours. At a time where “consumers seek mindfulness and well-being as an antidote to modern day stresses,” Pantone welcomes “colors that psychologically fulfil our yearning for reassurance and security.”
As first highlighted in Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2016, the combination of the two colours will inevitably permeate other areas of design, from product design and interiors to homewares. Colours of products will instead be connected more with emotions and lifestyles rather than the gender associations that underlie our perception of certain colours.
Article provided by Prop Studios, a multi-award-winning company specialising in the design, project management, manufacture and installation of bespoke luxury retail window display schemes and in-store visual merchandising; as well as events, set-builds and public art.