Pantone Trends: Clashing Colors, Considering the Color of the Year, Pantone & Pantyhose, Calvin Klein’s Coffee + Colorstrology

So the annual grand decree of Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2021 was released recently - For the second time since they started doing the Color of the Year Pantone released 2 colors. They have a bright yellow called Illuminating and a very basic stone grey called Ultimate Grey.

Essentially it symbolizes strength and hope - The Pantone website>> describes their selection as:

“Ultimate Gray and Illuminating are two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another which best expresses the mood for Pantone Color of the Year 2021. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of color that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.”

We find that these ‘Color of the Year’s’ have been following the trend - not leading it lately - Yellow has been trending for at least 3 years. In 2018 industry people proclaimed this yellow Gen Z Yellow which was pegged to usurp Millennial Pink which rocked the color world last decade. But this wasn’t always the case.

First and foremost the color of the year is meant to be aspirational as well as draw some pr momentum. Pantone has been doing the color of the year since 1999 - picking the color of the year for the next year - and set the precedent for a bunch of other paint and trend companies that also release their own color of the year. Color of the year started as a marketing tool to liven up the color standards business - put a little hype and serious pr spectacle into the game. Starting in 2000 the first official color chosen was Cerulean, a light blue said to capture the angst about Y2K- This color represents the millennium because of the calming zen state of mind it induces.

Since the founding Pantone has figured out how to capitalize on this more and more - they now enter into licensing agreements with various companies - from nail polish to hotel suites - so that the color is everywhere and these brands are on trend as well. So in essence it is a self fulfilling prophecy. Ultimately the color of the year and the colors they forecast for the season are really about selling merchandise and informing a similar palette brand’s use in unison to come together on a color trend. The more customers see a color the more they lean into it - essentially - so it is a catalyst for a color trend and makes them appear as a reliable resource.

Interestingly however - The colors are designed to create obsolescence - after a few months the color loses interest and is considered pase because it was last year’s color. Previous year’s Pantone-branded coffee mugs for example are often seen marked down. The annual update on iPhone colors for instance, is meant for consumers to covet a new phone every year.

Here is a great article: Why Does Pantone Choose a Color of the Year>>

Pantone Officially defines their choice and methodology as: “A symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude. Trends across all categories and industries reflect the culture we live in. As marketers, our primary goal to be successful is to connect with people and to do that, it is important to be in touch with these trends.”

The Busines Insider came out with a compelling article this year after the 2021 colors were announced called ‘Pantone's Colors of the Year are intended to reflect 'resilience and hope' for 2021. But the annual decision also has a trickle-down effect on everything from high fashion to iPhones.’ by Avery Hartmans>>

Avery examines how Pantone's Color of the Year is meant to make a statement that they obviously serve another purpose: setting the tone for the consumer products industry and kick-starting a trickle-down effect that can last for years.
“Hartmans gives this reference - that Cerulean was the color of the year in 2000- then There's an iconic scene in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada" that helps explain the color phenomenon. In the film, Anne Hathaway's character, Andy, quietly scoffs at two similar-looking turquoise belts someone had just described as being "so different." Andy's reaction leads Meryl Streep's character, Miranda Priestly, to turn on her and unleash a seemingly calm yet undeniably eviscerating explanation of the power of the fashion industry and its trickle-down eff...