Pantone, the company that considers itself the authority on colors in consumer trends, announced that Rose Quartz and Serenity are their colors of the year for 2016.
For the first time, the Pantone Color of the Year for 2016 is not one color, but two blended together. Each color is a soft pastel.
The two colors reflect "connection and wellnedd as well as soothing sense of order and peace," the company said.
“Rose Quartz is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure,” said the team of color experts in a statement. “Serenity is weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times.”
The international color authority chose the two hues to represent society’s increasing acceptance of gender equality and fluidity, according to its announcement Thursday.
Says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute: “In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design.”
“This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity," she continued. "The consumer’s increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.”
In other words, by choosing the two most loaded colors in the swatch book, Pantone hopes to shatter stereotypes and promote gender equality.
Pantone believes that by presenting two colors with such culturally ingrained associations, it’s giving people the chance to challenge the norms.
For 2015, Pantone chose marsala, a “tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness.”
