Sunday, October 14, 2012

Which will be next Colour of the Year 2013?


The time has come when we begin to wonder about this question. And I have come back to think about that after reading Azkonobel’s Color Future’s 2013 and after finding an interesting post by Laura Bielecki reporting the predictions made by the prestigious trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort in a meeting in Design Days Dubai 2012.



While we don’t know about Pantone’s choice yet, AzkoNobel and its division Dulux have chosen Indigo as their colour of the Year 2013.



What qualities explain this election?

As they say, Indigo is associated with wisdom and honesty, and gives a sense of tranquility which is very restful. It’s a benevolent colour that has the trustworthy nature and elegance of blue at the same time.


 Font

Indigo is a rich and deep colour that, being scarcely accessible in our natural world, instills a sense of wonder and magic in us.





Within a colour palette, indigo is versatile and pairs well with brights of a similar saturation level, citrus, warmer neutrals and other blues, purples and greens.






Curiously, in her seminar in Dubai, Lidewij Edelkoort presented yellow as being the new pink in Interior Design, and that makes sense with its being the complement to the purple family. According to her predictions, yellow will make for vibrant and stimulating colour palettes, fabrics and fittings. And it will come with more staying power than Tangerine Tango, it seems.



I can say that I have seen that trend for myself in Ikea Barcelona Autumn/Winter Textiles display yet. And yellow adds a vivid and hot accent that makes fabrics look wonderful!



And what about Pantone’s Color of the Year 2013?

Last year they published it in early December, so we won’t know for a while. But there are two colours that I have seen in their Fashion Reports and that have caught my attention. They are Emerald Green and Seafoam, or Grayed Jade, as they call it. If they are not the colour of the Year, I bet something they will be a hit. And they both combine well with blues, purples and yellow families.






While every Corporation publishes its Colour and Trends Forecasting, time will say which of them meet the costumer’s favor. But let me say that, from what I see when comparing Trends Forecasts, all of them are related and interconnected, with special accents to their market.

For me, an exciting Season of the Year has begun, that of Colour Future’s guessing!

Isabel de Yzaguirre,
La Colorista.