In December 2017, Pantone Color Institute announced that 18-3838 Ultra Violet was going to be the colour of 2018. Since the year 2000, Pantone have announced a different 'color of the year'. The chosen colour reflects the 'cultural mood' and 'symbolises design trends'.
I had forgotten that this was the Pantone Colour of the year, admittedly I heard a Podcast where they were talking about it , which made me reflect on what 'color of the year' actually means and the influence of it in design. When I think of purple it has to been out of favour in terms of trend for years. To me, purple can look a bit naff, however it is a colour that works well with other colours. I would always choose navy ahead of purple, despite loving purple as a child. Now I see purple as a colour that is stronger in a pattern that nicely harmonises and works well with other colours, but not a colour that sings well on it's own.
Has 18-3838 Ultra Violet taken off in terms of trend? There have been what I would describe as small attempts at embracing this colour by designers , but I wouldn't say it has been enthuisastically embraced. However, on the whole it does takes longer than a year for a colour to go 'mainstream'.
One point that I keep circling back to is this; fashion and interiors collections get signed off way before they land in the shops, usually on average 12-18 months ahead. Consequently, this 'color of the year' would have been announced whilst the items are in production or being shipped out to shops. So does this mean that it is a reflection of the mood, or what has been popular in the last year...Is it a trend influencer or has it been influenced? Popular E-tailer ASOS, a quick search in their ladies section confirms that purple is far down in terms of colour popularity wise. For example there are over 15x more black dresses than purple dresses, and there are nearly 5x the amount of pink and green dresses.
The colour of the year in 2017 was Greenery PANTONE 15-0343. This is perhaps a less brave choice, green is signifies new life, freshness and optimism. I wouldn't envy whoever has to come up with the 'color of the year'. It can't be an easy task. In each monthly issue, Elle Decoration UK chooses a Pantone and discusses it.
Choosing monthly makes far more sense to me, a year is a long time frame for trend and as I have previously stated before, season influences colour and application considerably.
Potentially, if Ultra Violet did take off how quickly can E-tailers and retailers respond to the trend and produce it for their customers? Yes it is 2018, undoubtedly this would involve air shipping and a rapidly quick design period, this happens more and more frequently. But would it influence consumers to buy something if they knew it was 'color of the year'?
Finally what is going to be 'color of the year' 2019? I am predicting orange... watch this space.