Is it possible to glimpse or foresee colors of the future? Will they be rosy, or golden, or perhaps drab? Predicting tomorrow’s color trends is vitally important for the likes of fashion designers, cosmeticians, advertisers, furniture makers, dye manufacturers, and automobile companies. The problem, as the philosophical literature of India points out, is that the organ of sight “apprehends only the present color, neither past nor future colors” (Jadunath Sinha, Indian Psychology, 1986). Though we can’t physically see future colors, through the corners of our eyes we might become aware of colors on the way out of vogue and spot the inklings of emerging fads. “Color forecasting,” explains fashion expert Sue Jenkyn Jones, is a science for anticipating demands for color up to two years in advance of a retail sale season (Fashion Design, 2002). Color forecasters “collate information from all over the world on sales figures and changes in market interest in colors.

They come together twice a year for conferences in Europe and the United States to summarize and define the broad industry trends.” Jones notes that “the principal color advisory bodies are the British Textile Colour Group, the International Color Authority (ICA), the Color Association of the United States (CAUS) and the Color Marketing Group (CMG). In the process of analyzing data, the forecasters also observe and interpret the underlying social and cultural context and make projections for the future.” Jones offers an example from the 1990s, when environmentally-conscious consumers showed concern about chemical dyes. “Color forecasters warned the dye companies to concentrate on more natural shades and formulations. This provoked a return to the use of softer-colored ‘natural’ dyes and to the prevalence of undyed and unbleached materials in fashion.” Meanwhile, notes textile expert Helen Goworek, “coolhunters” actively seek out “global influences on future trends by identifying individuals and groups within subcultures who have developed innovative styles of clothing” (Careers in Fashion and Textiles, 2006). Their data and predictions filter down to fashion designers, which helps to explain the similar colours and styles in competing stores.

Spring Color Forecast from the Color Association of the United States

Women’s

Men’s

Interiors/Environmental

Play the Color Association of the United States color trivia game.

Following is a sampling of tomorrow’s color palettes from the COLOURlovers library. Do you see the future?

Title photo by Joseph Robertson.

About the Guest Author, Craig Conley
Website: http://www.OneLetterWords.com
Craig is an independent scholar and author of dozens of strange and unusual books, including a unicorn field guide and a dictionary of magic words. He also loves color: Prof. Oddfellow