Purple is in. Brown is out. Yellow is hot, and blue is the new green. That is, if color forecasting forces have anything to say about it.
And they do.
The fact that you can go into three different home- furnishing stores this season and find sofas, placemats and bedspreads in matching shades of purple is no accident. Rather, it’s the result of careful collaboration between color forecasters and design gurus.
Every year, the color kahunas of the design world meet in white rooms to try to predict what hues consumers will want in two years.
Leading the forecasts are two organizations: the Color Marketing Group and the Color Association of the United States. Although the groups issue separate forecasts, they largely agree. And their decisions greatly affect which colors you’ll be wearing, driving and decorating with.
Designers and manufacturers pay for the heads-up, then interpret the color direction for their particular products and markets. If all goes well, they make new products in new colors that will hit the market just as consumers start wanting those colors. To cynical consumers, this poses a chicken-and-egg question: Do forecasters really know what we’re going to want and deliver accordingly, or do we want what they deliver because that’s what they’re selling?
Well, both.
“Some people think what we do sounds manipulative,” says Leslie Harrington, executive director of the color association, “but we do this to help the consumer, so there’s connectivity in the marketplace.” Indeed, if you’re decorating, you appreciate being able to find a bathmat to go with your new bedspread. The fact that color forecasters and manufacturers are in cahoots means you can find a skirt at Banana Republic and a matching sweater at Ann Taylor.
“We’re trying to figure out what people will want,” says Harrington. “We’re not telling them what to want,” she says. “Ultimately, the consumer has control. If the consumer doesn’t buy it, the color isn’t in.”
So what colors will consumers likely see more of in 2009? Here’s what the forecasts say.
Purple is king. Last year purple came on the scene, and it stuck, said Jaime Stephens, the Color Marketing Group’s executive director. Some speculate that the election year — red + blue = purple — had an influence. This year, look for a grayed-out violet, a plum purple and pansy purples.
Blue is the new green. The environmental message that has come to us the past few years through shades of green will now come through blue. Look for watery and sky blues that say planet. The color association has a smoky blue in its 2009 palette called Iris, and a blue-green shade called Jar. “We only have one teal on the chart,” says Harrington, who bets that this color is about to trend up.
Green is winding down, but not out. The new green is a more mature leaf green, not a spring green, says Harrington.
Pick color from the garden. CAUS has two major color groups in its 2009 forecast: Vegetable Garden and Rock Crystal. The garden group represents pungent colors that are natural, not synthetic. So you’ll see radish, tomato, eggplant and dark leaf green.
Gray mixes with and replaces brown. Brown is moving over to make room for grey, which will come on strong as a neutral. We’ll also see more grayed-down browns. In the Rock Crystal family, complex neutrals dominate, says Harrington. “Given the difficult economy, we expect people will be more conservative with color, and will move toward more sophisticated neutrals, not boring, but low-risk.” Folks at Color Marketing Group concur: “Black feels too harsh, and brown doesn’t seem strong enough,” says Stephens.
Yellow equals energy. Product manufacturers believe we’re going to need lots of vivid yellows to get us through an economically harsh time. Forecasters see yellow as the main accent of the year, along with spikes of orange and turquoise.
Texture comes on strong. Finish is the buzz of the color world. “We’re seeing more integration of texture and color because new technology is making that possible,” says Harrington. Watch for products coming out in combinations of sheen and matte, shiny metallic and suede-like.
This year’s color story is not about changes in value, says Harrington, referring to the light and dark qualities of color. Almost all are in the midtone. In 2009, expect to see less contrast, less pastel, less saturated color. And if you don’t like that, wait till next year. The theme for the color association’s 2010 forecast is contrast and contradiction, she says.
“We see paradox in the palette.”
Marni Jameson is a syndicated home columnist and author of “The House Always Wins” (Da Capo 2008).
Color-trend tips:
Be true to yourself. The best way for consumers to use the forecast is to be aware of how the game works both on and behind the scenes, then take away only what suits you. If the colors you like aren’t in the palette, forget it and follow your passion. “Don’t let retailers make you feel out of step,” says Harrison. “Start with what you love and what works for you.”
Look at your dirt. Finding your neutral may be as simple as looking outside. For a livable background color, match your local ground, suggests Harrington. In New York that may be sooty gray. In New Mexico it could be rust.
The combo counts. Colors don’t go in and out of style so much as color combinations do. The combo of blue and brown has been so popular for the past few years that it has saturated the market. Some see it as beginning to look dated. Advice: Keep the blue, and trade the brown for gray. Your look will instantly feel more current.
Pick a neutral, add accents. Don’t want to be a fashion victim? Many people recall how avocado green and harvest gold took hold in the ’70s, then looked so dated. “The problem with those colors,” said Harrington, “is that manufacturers put them into durable goods, like washing machines and refrigerators, which never died. Any color that gets overused has the potential to become saturated in the marketplace.” If you want interior colors that will last, pick a neutral, then build on it with accents of trend colors that are easy to swap out.
