Colors Of The Rainbow: The Origins Of Fashion Trends In Color
As the seasons change and years go by, different colors come in and out of style in fashion design. However, contrary to popular belief, the colors that come and go don’t manifest themselves in front of our eyes by random coincidence. Current colors are chosen because of the way they reflect specific qualities and emotions which in turn reflect the current state of something. Or everything. They are everywhere, and still perhaps the most subtle sign of the times, sliding sneakily under the radar every time. Let’s look back at the colors of the year in recent years, and witness how much has changed, from the classrooms of fashion colleges and beyond.
The year 2009 came, and the United States war on Iraq continued to rage. The housing market was at a dismal low, and the dangers of global warming seemed more unpredictable than ever. That year, Pantone named the color of the year, the brilliantly orange-hued, golden, “mimosa”. Mimosa was to represent hope and optimism in a time of instability and fear.
In 2010, the color authority, Pantone declared turquoise the color of the year. The greenish blue is bright enough to attract all types of light to it. However, it is the cooler, soothing qualities of turquoise in juxtaposition with that brightness that makes it a color complex enough for the year 2010. Color spokespeople have since explained that turquoise has the ability to evoke the thoughts of escape and removal. Of tropical beaches with pristine white sand. Essentially, turquoise could conjure up feelings of well-being and a much-needed escape as America sunk deeper into an economic recession.
As we face the year 2011, we will be facing it with Honeysuckle. If you can’t recall honeysuckle off the top of your head, think of the brilliant red-infused pink on the thin tendrils of the flower that hummingbirds flock to, looking for nectar. It’s as if honeysuckle acts as a morale booster in all of its brightness. And a morale booster is exactly what the country needs right now. It seems there is a repeating trend in the last few “colors of the year”. All of them have been bright, and optimistic, almost as if they are trying to distract us from the perils of our country’s political and economic state.
The ways in which fashion design and politics intertwine are subtle but very real.