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brief history of pantone coty, color palette, color trends, fashion blogging, fashion brand, Fashion Business, fashion consultant, fashion startup, freelance fashion designer, inspiration, Living coral pantone color of the year 2019, pantone color of the year, pantone colors, Pantone COTY 2019 living coral, pantone living coral, Pantone Living Coral 16-1546
When in doubt, always be childlike.
That statement sums up our collective need to get away from the complicated and embrace life’s little joys. And what better color to sum that feeling up than Living Coral? Pantone’s color of the year for 2019 is remarkable as it is mellow, and it makes a statement because of its simplicity.
Indeed, there’s never been a better time than now to think about all the coral reefs that we’re collectively bleaching, because we simply cannot seem to stop polluting our seas.
The connotations and interpretations aside, Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute’s vice president has this to say, “It is a color we see in nature, lying at the center of our naturally vivid and chromatic ecosystem.” You’ve heard it from the color experts!
The minute we saw the color on our screens, the first thought that came to us was Fjallraven. After all, who can make the world’s most desirable schoolbags except for a Swedish company with a psychedelic color streak? And luckily for us, they don’t disappoint- the Kanken bags are now available in Living Coral for anyone looking to add to their bag collection.
Bringing Home The Living Coral
When you compare it with last year’s ultraviolet, Living Coral is a quiet, well-behaved sibling. We live in an era of being bombarded with information, and we want nothing more than a #throwback to the earlier times when gadgets were non-existent, as was the concept of a voice assistant or AR powered dressing rooms.
Maybe that’s precisely why so many different industries are taking to the color like never before! Surely, one would think twice about painting their walls a vivid purple, but a mild orange? That could definitely go on a concept wall.
From a fashion design perspective, Living Coral has the distinct advantage of being adaptable across several different textiles and forms. It adapts as beautifully to upholstery as it does to light chiffon, making it our favorite color for the year.
In clothing and accessories, the color has definite advantages- it makes for excellent shoes as well as outerwear. A Living Coral jacket is just what one needs to keep the coming winter’s blues away (Winter Is Coming, again and again). We’re also looking at Living Coral jackets that are sure to appeal even to people who traditionally prefer the blacks and the blues. It is just one of those shades that everyone loves to look at!
Not just clothing, even makeup has found a place for living coral. Nail enamel is the obvious choice, but creative makeup artists have also figured out uses for it as eye makeup and even lipstick.
Here at Fuel4Fashion, we’re all about adaptations. The color lends itself exceptionally well to some of this year’s most significant trends- streetwear, urban prairie, and even the not-so-obvious plaid trend. Plaids in Living Coral? A big ‘yes’ from us.
A New Color Trend Is Born
If we told you that every fashion trend is born about four years before it becomes mainstream, would you believe us? Yet, that’s precisely how it works! The Color Council in Paris is where every new color trend begins. What’s more, each color trend is a compilation of colors across the spectrum and never just one shade.
Yarn manufacturers then take over and create samples that fashion houses pick up and showcase on the runway. That’s when these colours and patterns come to the notice of fashion editors, who popularize them further. From the runway, the colors are picked up by other fashion labels and marketed under the specific trend label.
By the time Pantone picks the Color Of The Year, the trends around it have been spinning around for a while. However, Pantone’s declaration is almost like validation, because it brings the color into mainstream use.
Thanks to a connected world, today, everyone has enough information about the products they are interested in. (Well, how else did we pick up on the Fjallraven bag?) This, coupled with trends reports, often sets the stage for wider adaptation. This is a bit like seeing trends on Pinterest and soon finding them in every outlet you visit. The people regulate the popularity of a trend.
And thus, a trend is born.
In what ways are you adapting Living Coral into your collections? Have you spotted some unusual and exciting adaptations on the internet? Share with us in the comments.
Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion. She is a Freelance Fashion Designer and Brand Consultant helping fashion brands to create great products from idea to launch. Fuel4Fashion social links: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram
