October 8, 2014: Spring Colors
What colors will be hot this spring?
I love reporting on color trends. What starts out as a trendy color for clothes could become as classically ubiquitous as black and white. That happened to the color orange, which a few years ago was shunned by the fashionable, but today is seen on everything from fashion to kitchen blenders.
So what’s hot for spring? Pantone has released its Fashion Color Report for next spring, and it’s full of “cooler and softer” hues.
Why? Leatrice Eiseman, the director of the Pantone Color Institute, says so many of us “feel compelled to be connected around the clock…there is a growing movement to create ‘quiet zones’ to disconnect from technology and unwind, giving ourselves time to stop and be still.”
For women’s clothing, the top 10 colors include three blues: Aquamarine, Scuba Blue and Classic Blue. These are joined by Lucite Green, Toasted Almond, Strawberry Ice, Tangerine, Custard, Marsala and Glacier Gray.
Some of these colors will be hot in men’s clothing as well (Glacier Gray, Classic Blue, Toasted Almond and Marsala), but also look for Dusk Blue, Treetop, Woodbine, Sandstone, Titanium and Lavender Herb to be in demand for men’s fashion this spring. If you’re surprised by that last color, Pantone says, “Purple hues are gaining popularity in men’s fashion.”
Apparently in this 24/7 always-on world, fashion is trying to calm us down. It likely won’t work literally, but it’s a nice illusion.