Thursday, January 7, 2016

Pantone Color of the Year 2016: Rose Quartz/Serenity



I'm back with another color report from Pantone, the color gods who do...whatever they do.  The color of the year for 2016 is . . . or "colors" with an . . . are Rose Quartz and Serenity. From the press release:
For the first time Pantone introduces two shades, Rose Quartz and Serenity[,] as the PANTONE Color of the Year 2016. Rose Quartz is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure. Serenity is weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times.
Uh, yeah. Sure, Pantone. Whatever you say. You couldn't have done that with one shade? They are basically exhibiting the same properties. But there's more:
The prevalent combination of Rose Quartz and Serenity also challenges traditional perceptions of color association. 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 is a joke, right? How is blue (for "boy") and pink (for "girl") challenging traditional perceptions of gender and color? I guess their hearts are in the right place. I'm glad they're engaging in the dialogue, at the very least. Ok, Pantone, I accept your challenge. Here is a completely gender-neutral set, containing unisex items that either a man or woman could wear:

pantone color of the year 2016
JK guys. JK.


Or neither could wear. Outside of a Florida retirement community. But don't worry. We can still goth these baby-shower colors and keep it androgynous. The obvious choice is with accessories. In the set below, I've chosen looks that would work for either men or women. Most of the clothing below is Rick Owens, who all the goth brands have copied for the past few years.


pantone color of the year 2016 2


I didn't have to think too hard on this. It's in the name of one of the colors. The rose quartz stone and various blue stones, as light-colored stones, seem to glow against black.

Pastel folks won't have a problem. Serenity is a standard color for denim, so that's a safe bet. Rose quartz is a girly color, and is close to the pastel pink that everyone's dying their hair these days. In addition to hair, I think it's a nice color for fur and leather accessories. Wildfox couture has been combining these two colors since forever.

pantone color of the year 2016 3




Thoughts on the "color" of the year? How would you wear them? Let me know in the comments!

14 comments:

  1. Meh...disappointing. I agree, rose quarts and crystal accessories could work, but I'm not a fan of pastels in clothing.

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    1. Yeah if you haven't been wearing them already, I feel like they are hard to work in your wardrobe. I know I have one or two that match with nothing

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  2. All that I could forgive. But, Debbie, pastels?

    Not a fan of pastels although pastel Goth can be cute!

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  3. I second the mehhhhh and will add, a unimpressed. ;)

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  4. äh... rather boring? I loved what you did with the goth outfit, crystals in both colors are pretty and go pretty much with everything. Eyeshadow color would be a nice nude option too, and I really love light blue denim.

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  5. I called it! I could feel rose-pink creeping through pinterest from a few months ago. I do actually like both colours (though bizarrely, I think I'd rather use rose quartz personally), but I agree that the two of them are a boring choice; too similar, though they look cute with the pastel trend.

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  6. I don't think I will wear either. I want to get a job as a colour-picker at Pantone. It would be fun to randomly pull colours out of your ass and write weirdo expressive paragraphs about them.

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  7. Haha! Your writing is awesome! :D I love those combinations you made and instantly want to wear my witchy stone necklaces more. And that "gender" stuff they were saying, good grief! Hello, the idea of pink as a "girls' color" is less than a hundred years old and before the Second World War pink was associated more with boys! -_- Here is a good Smithsonian article about it: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/?no-ist

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  8. I'm not very big on pastels but I do love what you've done with the Rick Owens items + stones.

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  9. This is not going to happen in my wardrobe. nope. nope. nope. not even in the tiniest piece of jewelry. some people though might be able to mix these colors in their stylings (like you did)...

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