biG feature
Twinkle-Twinkle with some
Periwinkle Pantone
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wonder if anyone at the Pantone Colour Institute back in the day ever realised that as part of its consumer-licensing brand’s marketing efforts it would end up setting what many now view as an official trendsetting tradition. Beginning in 1999 and looking to the year ahead, the person behind the Pantone Colour of the Year, Executive Director Leatrice Eisman, looks across the broad spectrum of society to identify
a hue representative of global society over the next 365 days. A colourful honour to be sure. It began with a cerulean blue to mark inner peace and
spiritual fulfillment with the coming of the New Millennium. Last year (2021) for the second time there were two hues – illuminating yellow and ultimate grey – representing themes of unity and mutual support, an enduring and uplifting idea of colour being about more than just one person, a respectful nod to the Black Lives Matter movement. For the very first time however, the year 2022 has seen the institute’s colour experts creating a blend of shades of blue and violet that is lilacy to the extreme. Hello everybody, meet Very Peri Periwinkle. With the pandemic entering its 3rd year and new normals forcing societies worldwide to rapidly adapt to new circumstances, the “dynamic periwinkle blue hue with a vivifying violet-red undertone” merges the
“faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red”, creating an “empowering mix of newness”. Reflecting the global innovation and transformation that is taking place worldwide – the happiest and warmest of the blue hues speaks to the future of fashion as well as the Metaverse. Changes in our physical and digital lives led to Eisman’s decision that Veri Peri has a “spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression.” Whether it was a random roll of the dice that landed on a 6 or the result of machinations of fate, Periwinkle, admittedly, feels strangely well timed and expected. There is a particular techy-ness to it that would not seem out of place in a social media campaign for a worthy cause, a competitive game of Fortnite or on several items of clothing that you plan to rock for the coming year. Veri Peri indeed. •• IG: @Pantone FB: Pantone www.pantone.com
