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Is “The Pitch” an accurate reflection of our industry?
I’m a colour nerd. There, I said it.
So . . . it was with childlike glee that I received Pantone’s Fashion Colour Report for Spring 2010. Pantone is already well known in the graphic design and printing industries for its standardized colour palettes. Recently, it’s been extending its reach to the worlds of interior, industrial and fashion design, with support from the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Alice Temperley.
Got me thinking about how these predictions get made in the first place. Here’s what I found:
Dating back some 100 years, we start seeing “colour cartels” such as the Color Association of the United States. They were created as pacts between the people who made clothes and the people who sold clothes. The pact was designed to make sure that the dyes they used to colour their textiles would leverage economies of scale. In other words, if we all use yellow, yellow will be cheaper. And since everyone was using the same colour fabrics, shop owners would never be stuck with colours they couldn’t sell. By limiting the colours that were available, they effectively steered consumers toward trended colours.
Surprisingly little has changed in the world of colour since then. The colour cartels, though more numerous, still dole out colour prescriptions masquerading as colour predictions. It’s true that there are associations between colour and current events. Economic downturns, for example, inspire appetites for neutrals and that ever-versatile ‘designer black’. But these trends are as much a part of the colour cartel system as they are separate from it.
All this to say “colour prediction” is a misnomer. I love Pantone’s quarterly bibles of colour style. But personally I prefer to let my intuition guide the colours I choose. So for spring 2010, my colour choices – like my general outlook – will be on the bright side. Here’s hoping that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
David Young
October 20, 2009 @ 2:40 pm
Hi Patrick,
Since I’m one of those people who like to think they’ve transcended fashion anything, I find your phrase ‘colour prescriptions masquerading as colour predictions’ very apt. My only quibble with your otherwise well-crafted piece is the use of the word ‘leverage’. But that’s probably more of a reflection of my fears of ‘business language’ making its way into everyday language. Don’t get me going on ‘impact’ !