Pantone's LFW colour trends mix intense brights with muted tones

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 21, 2022

Pantone has released a new trend report for SS23 to coincide with London Fashion Week with the global colour specialist saying the season will “chart a new path forward”.

Its palette of predictions features 10 “standout” colours and five classics that “blend our need for high-spirited energy and dynamic vibrancy with colours that comfort and provide a calm space”.

“Recontextualised with a modern edge, this season’s colours integrate tradition and innovation marrying our need for brightness and vibrant positivity with quieting tinted tones,” it said. “A fearless attitude and freedom of expression reframes our perceptions of colour with a no-holds-barred approach coming through in witty mixes and animated pairings”.

What that means in practice is a focus on brights for the trend palette, but also a blend of softer tones.

They include Pantone 17-1563 Cherry Tomato, “a tempting red that calls out for attention”; 16-1544 Persimmon, “a silky honey shaded coral”; 14-1140 Iced Mango, a fruity orange “with a tropical touch”; 12-0643 Blazing Yellow, a “heated radiant beam of sunshine”; 16-0229 Titanite, an “enlivening and lustrous yellow green”; 16-6230 Andean Toucan, an “exotic green suggestive of the highland forest”; 14-4122 Airy Blue, a lightweight blue “illustrative of a cloudless sky”; 18-4245 Electric Blue Lemonade, a “crisp brilliant blue that electrifies the palette”; 17-3020 Spring Crocus, a floral purple that “blithely blooms in early spring”; and 16-2122 Pink Cosmos, a garden pink that “promotes contrast to all other hues”.

Meanwhile, the classic palette features “ultra-calm tints and tones [that] suggest a quiet presence”.

That means 13-4201 Oyster Mushroom, “a non-presumptive grey with a silent power”; 14-6011 Grayed Jade, a mineralised greyed green tone”; 12-0912 Tender Peach, a “delicate peach with a gentle touch”; 17-1230 Mocha Mousse, a “sweet milk chocolate brown”; and 19-3954 Bluing, a “brisk inky blue”.

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, said: “As we anticipate our future, we are embracing the freedom to colourfully express our individuality without constraint. Experiencing a creative liberation that transgresses previous norms, we are adapting and inventing novel pairings and contrasting harmonies.”