Spring 2013: PANTONE Color Report

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PANTONE LLC, an X-Rite company is the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries. This past September, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, a lively, radiant, lush green, was announced as the Color of the Year for 2013.

The Color of the Year selection is a very thoughtful process. To arrive at the selection, PANTONE quite literally combs the world looking for color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling, art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention.

For more than a decade, PANTONE’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.

Twice a year, during the spring and fall Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks, PANTONE surveys couturiers about the color choices and inspirations for their collections; that intelligence is used to create the PANTONE Fashion Color Report. The report features the top 10 colors for women’s and men’s fashion for the upcoming season, along with designer sketches, quotes, headshots, and recommended CMYK equivalents.

Not surprisingly, trending spring colors include florals and fruits to evoke freshness, and growth. According to a PANTONE statement, the colors represent “consumers’ desire for self-expression, balance, and the need to re-energize.” The spring hues offer balance, and, “allow for unique combinations that offer practicality and versatility, but at the same time, demand attention and earn an appreciative glance,” states the group in a release.

Tailor Time: Boyfriend Blazer

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Time for Spring Cleaning. Instead of giving away staple pieces in your closet, alter them. With a small tweak, these items can be born again.

Almost everyone has a black blazer in their closet. Give this blazer new life by simply adding material to the collar. Check out your local fabric store and look at different textures and fabrics; leather, pleather, suede, jersey, corduroy, sateen, velvet. Experiment with patterns and colors, maybe opt for houndstooth or brown distressed leather. The possibilities are endless.

When altering a piece of clothing, I suggest first asking your local tailor for two quotes – with and without materials. When happy with the price and materials used – you just created a brand new blazer.