It's (sort of) that time of year again! Sorry I'm a little late this year! The color company (yes, that's a thing) Pantone releases its annual Color of the Year, and each year I try to translate this color to something a dark fashion wearer would enjoy, since mainstream fashion stores, makeup companies, and others will be releasing items in this color. Last year, the color of the year, Ultra Violet, was a common color for most traditional and romantic goths (especially in room decor). This year, it is Living Coral, a color that is "animating and life-affirming" and "optimistic" and "sociable." Here's the press release:
So these are the opposite of a lot of concepts of dark fashion. Dark fashion is more antisocial than social, more death and macabre-focused than life-affirming, and though I wouldn't call it pessimistic, I wouldn't say it was optimistic. It is not an easy color to style with dark fashion.
Coming to terms with this, you can find ways of playing with life/death contrasts by incorporating coral, if you choose to. Pastel goth looks do this--that's kind of the entire aesthetic of the look. I've noticed that most pastel goth looks use cool-toned pastels. This is a great warm-toned pastel that may be more flattering on some groups of people.
I also think that Feminine styles also work well with this color, especially lace, which I am seeing everywhere at the moment. Whether it's just coral lace or black lace over coral, I think this is a more mature and modern alternative to the color pink. If pink doesn't look right on you and you want to go for a feminine look, coral might work.
