The Last 100 Years of Color Trends in Fashion
Over the last 100 years, color trends within the fashion industry have changed time and again. Yet, there is a certain routine in the circulatory system that is trends. But how exactly would we define a color trend?
What is a color trend?
A trend is the general direction in which something is developing or changing over time (Academic Phrasebank). A color trend is a developing awareness or an emerging preference for a specific color and/or several colors (Color Matters). A color trend has the power to change the way we think about a color and more specifically, how we shop and communicate via the medium of color.
Color trends ripple through the market every year, which is why it seems that industries as different as fashion, automotive and tech are virtually in lockstep when it comes to which color trend to follow. Today’s color trends are largely based on art movements such as modernism and postmodernism which prize simplicity as well as expressionism, favouring brighter, more vivid shades as opposed to earlier forms of art such as realism.
The history of color trends
Royalty and rulers, celebrities and artists were the trendsetters for colors in the 19th century. Today technology innovation and corporate giant are also amongst the loudest roars. Fashion during this last century renewed itself every decade, bringing a rapid progression of trends unlike the slow change seen in the previous century.
The foundation for the unfolding of color trends was the ability to access information as well as colored images. Without immediate access to film, television and smartphones, people were not exposed to trends on that scale as they are now. Up until the 20th century, the only media that included vast amounts of color and that was readily available to the public was printed material – such as books and magazines – and artwork in museums (Popova). On the timeline of film innovation, color didn’t permeate Hollywood until the 1950s. Mainstream film technology was confined to black-and-white during the early to mid 1900s.
By the 1940s, France had long been established as the centre of women’s fashion design, influencing both the UK and the US. During the war, while Paris was occupied by German forces and cut off from both the UK and US, styles and colors were largely deemed Utility style, created and worn for practicality as women took on the roles of their male counterparts. The war ended in 1945, but life did not immediately go back to normal and that included fashion. Utility clothing stayed in place in Britain until 1949 and there were still shortages of material in both the UK and the US. With the launch of Dior’s defining post-war style in February 1947 (Metmuseum), colors slowly started to come back.
Fashion in the 1950s saw a clear gender divide. While men and boy’s fashion moved towards a more casual day-to-day style, women and girl’s fashion prioritised elegance, formality, and perfectly matched accessories. This gender divide was also evident in the colors that were present (Reddy). Pink arrived in the summer of 1952 and was prominent in the fashion industry throughout the decade. Now with color permeating the screens, the 1957 Audrey Heburn film, Funny Face, featured the song Think Pink, further influencing the color of the decade and solidifying the theory that color trends are industry wide.
Quite possibly the most famous fashion decade to date – the 1960’s with two influencing trend, a sophisticated designs inspired from the 50’s and rather bold and revolting designs of the new generation. This was the first time that fashion was driven around the youth market and featured a wide number of diversified trends. The ideology of designing for only mature and elite members and the need to cater to the teenage and young adult market became increasingly important.
The fashion trends in the decade broke many fashion traditions by mirroring social movements and gaining inspiration from nature. More radically innovative fashion styles and bold colors became the trademark, a trend that is still prominent today (Kala and Bawa).
Through the next 3 decades, trends moved rapidly. Colors changed from muted pastels to bright neons, all heavily influenced from outside industries. As we reached the end of the 20th century, not only did film and the introduction of color TV create a massive shift in fashion – we also saw the introduction of the internet and so began the digital age.
Color in the digital age
Color forecasting has always been an important factor when it comes to design, but in the accelerated digital era color forecasting had to take a new route. Sister companies and long-time collaborators WGSN and Coloro are latching onto the digital world, which is evident in the release of their new color trend report, ‘A Window to the Future of Color’. Launched through an interactive, digital experience, the five key colors for the SS24 report consist of hues that draw on current consumer shifts and the colliding of the natural and online world.
‘A Window to the Future of Color’ marks the duo’s first digitally-centred report, with each color reflecting the current shifts in both society and technology that has resulted in the selection of shades that traverse between digital and physical realms. In a conversation with FashionUnited, Clare Coulson, a WGSN color strategist said, “The colors really reflect this period of realignment. We have got so much going on with economic, political and environmental issues, it’s really important to address these. By 2024, we think consumers will be seeking ways to balance this uneasiness with this sense of optimism, and this is reflected in the shades we have selected. They have all got different drivers but they are all linked to digital realities and, in contrast, we are also pulling from the natural environment and change in lifestyles” (Douglass).
Fondant Pink, WGSN x Coloro
The introduction of the digital age has increased the speed of everything. Information is at our fingertips and delivered within a nano-second, trends are snapped, posted and circulating the globe in an instant. Post lockdown (2022), the digitisation of fashion has grown rapidly, with many brands adopting virtual marketing strategies and experimenting with the potential of metaverse products, gaming collaborations and online e-commerce developments. Not only has fashion adapted to these rapid shifts, but color analysis experts have also had to consider the new dynamics of digitisation and what it means for the future of color (Douglass).
As color trends seem only to develop at a faster rate every decade, it’s interesting to glean the routine within them. There is a certain beauty in the uniformity of color trends, particularly over the last 100 decades. As Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada quite famously said, “what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean… it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry.” Because whether we like it or not, every choice we make is dictated to us through industries and through color.
References
“Academic Phrasebank | Describing trends – Academic Phrasebank.” Academic Phrasebank, https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/describing-trends/. Accessed 19 November 2022.
Color Matters. “The Psychology of Color Trends.” Color Matters, https://www.colormatters.com/color-and-marketing/color-trends. Accessed 19 November 2022.
Douglass, Rachel. “How the digitisation of fashion is impacting colour forecasting at WSGN and Coloro.” Fashion United, 3 June 2022, https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/how-the-digitisation-of-fashion-is-impacting-colour-forecasting-at-wsgn-and-coloro/2022060363440. Accessed 29 November 2022.
Kala, Kalyani, and Belinda Bawa. “Fashion History- The Look of the 1960’s | by Kalyani Kala.” Medium, 19 November 2018, https://medium.com/@kalyanii8927/fashion-history-the-look-of-the-1960s-292958b78951. Accessed 29 November 2022.
Popova, Maria. “Color Harmony: An Animated Explanation of How Color Vision Works circa 1938.” The Marginalian, 30 May 2012, https://www.themarginalian.org/index.php/2012/05/30/color-harmony-handy-jam-organization-1938/. Accessed 22 November 2022.
Popova, Maria. “100 Ideas That Changed Film – The Marginalian.” The Marginalian, 18 May 2012, https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/05/18/100-ideas-that-changed-film/. Accessed 22 November 2022.
Popova, Maria. “PANTONE: A Color History of the 20th Century.” The Marginalian, 23 November 2011, https://www.themarginalian.org/index.php/2011/11/23/pantone-book/. Accessed 22 November 2022.
Reddy, Karina. “1950-1959 | Fashion History Timeline.” Fashion History Timeline, https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1950-1959/. Accessed 29 November 2022.
Reddy, Karina. “1940-1949 | Fashion History Timeline.” Fashion History Timeline, https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1940-1949/. Accessed 29 November 2022.