The function of color in fashion

CEBU, Philippines — To many people, it may seem like colors come in and out of fashion at random. But actually there is a huge amount of research, thought, and insight dedicated into which colors dominate in the various fashion seasons. The function of colors in the ever-changing fashion trends has become a scientific undertaking and an industry.

The Pantone Color Institute, in particular, annually assigns a ‘color of the year’ that it predicts to be widely used in a variety of industries – notably printing, and some manufacturing of colored paint, fabric, and plastics. Its prediction takes into account the color of the past year and the color that is currently popular as bases for figuring out the color probabilities of the coming year. This entails keeping an eye on color trends across the world.

The appropriate use of colors is being seriously adopted by the design industry – from architecture to manufacturing, to fashion. The practice is most commonly visible in fashion, though. The color of one’s outfit, for example, is the first thing that others notice; and so people are quite particular in wearing the kind of colors that depict the image that they want to display.

Colors add drama to the human experience. In fact, aside from their sheer visual appeal, colors have become symbols of people’s emotional states. It’s a ‘colorful’ life that evokes different emotions through the journey.

Much as colors symbolize human emotions, these can also bring happiness or sadness, liveliness or boredom to a person’s life. The type of color combinations that people pick in their choice of things reflects their inner self. According to experts on human behavior, bright colors reflect happiness and add positive vibes, while dull colors reflect the sadness and gloom, and still some colors add peace to one’s life.

The website http://iifd.in explains the importance of colors in fashion design, by illustrating how certain colors influence the way that their wearers come across to others:

Black. Black is considered as the most wearable and popular color. Black color adds beauty to the personality. It’s common to see people wearing black outfits along with black jeans and so on. Black is a favorite among celebrities and ordinary people alike.

Red and Pink. Red color has a great hold in today’s fashion trends; it leads among all the colors. A lady who is going on a dinner date is likely to choose red and pink for her outfit. These colors depict romance.

Dark Green. Like brown, navy, and charcoal, the dark green color reflects power especially at work or when one is taking on a leadership role. In general, the darkening of any color adds some kind of authority.

Peach. Colors like peach or rose attract friendship. It is said that the softer the color the person wears conveys that he or she is more approachable. Peach or rose adds an air of calmness to the person’s look.

Blue. Along with black, blue is a most popular color. Blue depicts the grandiose of the sky and the sea, and it adds a sense of stability and confidence to the person wearing the color. The color is also said to both attract and project loyalty.

It turns out that there’s more to colors than meets the eye.