Remember when you were a kid in elementary school and you learned about colors? I always loved the “Roy G. Biv” acronym, because it made me think of a gentleman wearing a rainbow suit. Then again, maybe he was someone who just hung out under a rainbow or in the general vicinity of one. Actually, I can’t exactly recall what I thought, but I was clearly preoccupied with rainbows.
In honor of my old friend Mr. Biv, I was really psyched to write December’s color trend preview. This is the second year in a row that I snagged the assignment, and it’s kinda funny—both times, I had the same “Oooohh, riiiiight” reaction to the trend forecaster’s predictions.
Not because I’m such an awesome trend detector or anything. It’s really because this stuff lurks in the subconscious for us fashion-y folk (or us aggressive consumers, however you choose to categorize). For example, over the past year or so, every time I saw someone on the street with a mustard-yellow sweater or clutch bag or something, I reminded myself that I needed to add the shade to my rotation. It looks really cute with purple and/or teal, but that’s beside the point.
I was oblivious to the fact that the number of times I was seeing this color was growing in frequency, until I chatted up Leatrice Eiseman from Pantone (someone who makes a living off paying attention to this stuff). She pointed out mustard as a color that’s been gathering steam, and I had my a-ha moment.
Palm, meet forehead.
She also noted color stories come from the unlikeliest places. Tuning our antennae into what’s happening on the streets and the arts/entertainment world—as well as what’s going on in fashion—is a big help in determining what direction the winds are blowing. Here are a few other gems from Eiseman:
• You haven’t seen the last of neon and metallics, because they’ll always appeal to the human eye. But, in the current economic climate, they’ll most likely be seen on less-expensive items such as accessories.
• Don’t just look at the next(!) hot(!) trend(!). A lot of things go into the decision, such as the target audience, where the item is going to appear and how it’s being sold.
• Young people are breaking color rules and are more open to interesting combinations than ever before.
Hungry for more? Stay tuned for our December issue.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
