At Cherchez La Femme, we just love colour!
Our founder/designer Vivienne Austin loves print and colour and when amalgamated they have the power to refresh our wardrobes and make us feel like every single outfit has something special.
Like every start of the new year, colour experts and trend forecasters come together to predict and declare what colours will be hot in the next 12 months when it comes to the fashion, beauty and home decor industry. How? Trend Forecasters and collaborators come together worldwide and share insights about opinion leaders, social movements, influential events and new brands from the various regions, resulting in a truly global view of the forces that are shaping trends, and culminating with these experts testing if a colour can be ‘the colour of the year’. These trend into new consumer products, that are usually costly and only affordable by the wealthy at first and then thanks to the trickle-down effect (as the product matures its price begins to fall), these are more widely adopted by the general public.
Pantone’s Colour of The Year
Pantone is a company providing a universal language of colour that enables colour-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. Just last month, they declared Viva Magenta the colour of 2023.
It is a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength. Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, and a pulsating colour whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative. We can already find many products in this shade of red and a whole ‘Magentaverse’ digital world.
WGSN Colour Trend Forecast
WGSN, the world’s leading forecaster of global trends, who have recently launched their own colour-coding system, Coloro, have instead declared ‘Digital Lavender’ the as colour of the year for 2023, whilst admitting that colours such as Tranquil Blue, Luscious Red, Sundial and Verdigris will also be very popular throughout the year.
WGSN + Coloro’s top colours speak to time spent in the virtual world. As technology allows for more sophisticated fantasies and continuous uncertainty in the real world, encouraging us to stay in these spaces, our digital confidence will inspire dreamy surreal pastels and saturated sparkles.
Tranquil Blue, for example, has a lightness and clarity that reminds the elements of air and water. Representing stillness and tranquillity, that consumers will seek to counteract overwhelming emotions especially after the last three years.
WGSN + Coloro announced that purple (also called Digital Lavender) will return as a key colour for 2023, representing wellness and digital escapism. Recuperative rituals will become a top priority for consumers who want to protect and improve their mental health, and Digital Lavender will connect to this focus on wellbeing, offering a sense of stability and balance, . Research suggests that colours with a shorter wavelength, such as Digital Lavender, evoke calmness and serenity. Already embedded in digital culture, we expect this imaginative colour to converge across virtual and physical worlds.
Whilst Pantone has declared the Viva Magenta empowering colour as the one trend that matters this year, WGSN + Coloro highlight how their top five colours can be used in a more thoughtful way, through cross-seasonal solutions and inclusive design. This way, products can have a longer shelf life, whilst bringing newness and following a more sustainable approach, avoiding too many products being produced throughout the year because of ever changing colour trends.
Is Coloro’s approach the biggest challenge to Pantone’s dominance of the colour market? We’d love to hear your thoughts on whose colour trend forecast is more accurate, in the comments below.
Love,
Cherchez La Femme team X
[info sourced on wgsn.com and pantone.com
All images sourced on canva.com]