"Oh, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater for instance..." Is there anyone who doesn't remember the famous Miranda Priestly monologue that skewers her new assistant Andrea Sachs in "The Devil Wears Prada"?
While her movie explanation of how Cerulean Blue became a "thing," it is really is a significant process that begins long before the designers pow wow. There are a handful of companies in the world whose specialty is analyzing what specific colors and patterns will be "in vogue" so to speak, and they do it via comprehensive research. It is based on consumers, societal influences, physiological circumstances, world news even. And its done years in advance. For instance I can tell you right now what colors you'll be seeing for spring, 2022, and even autumn/winter 22/23. I put a link below for spring, that's far enough for now don't you think?!
What these wizards determine affects everything from fashion, to textiles, to interiors, to graphic design, paint colors and brand identities.
One such company is WGSN whose plethora of forecasting analytics "help designers create the right products at the right time for tomorrow's consumer." They are the world's leading fashion forecaster - among many other things - who can drill down what colors appeal to what consumer groups in what markets, in what categories, in what time periods. Working with companies such as Pantone® and Coloro they come up with color pallets determined by research from people with titles such as Director of Mindset, and Director of Fashion Intelligence, even Director of Catwalks. And I'm pleased to say this powerhouse global company is primarily run by women.
In an interesting twist, Pantone® actually selected Cerulean Blue as "the" color of the new millennium in 1999. They stated: "Physiologically, the viewing of blue reduces blood pressure, heartbeat and respiration rate and creates a calming effect. We selected Cerulean Blue because of its mass appeal. It is a universal, unisex color, applicable to just about every consumer product including women's, men's and children's fashions, interior design and home furnishings, cosmetics and even automobiles."
So while designer collections color trends seem to magically appear each season, it isn't because they were decided upon over cocktails at the NoMad bar. They were decided for you long before you even thought about buying that blue gown.
Want to know the SS colors 20222? Click here!
And just in case you need a refresher on that legendary monologue, here you go!
