The Economy and 2010 Color Trends

[Paula Tocker]

When the economy is tight, do your customers gravitate to neutrals?

Pantone's color forcast for 2010 include Olive Gray, Taupe Gray, Silver Gray, Charcoal Gray, Tea, Bog, Champagne Beige and Angora. I have added fabrics to our gallery programs with color name reflecting natural elements like Stone, Mineral, Onyx, and Mica.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

[Cathy Smith]

Hi, Paula,

From the fabric supplier/design side, I agree with you! Neutrals are safe and comforting, and the taupe/gray importance can't be emphasized enough. But a word of caution... I do feel that the warm tones are most important (although cool gray and cool whites have their places, too) and the one problem with the mineral color names is that they tend toward the cooler ones.

Equally important, though not in the same quantities, are the strong color accents that keep neutrals from being boring. I love a strong, not lemon-y yellow (think Stella D'Oro daylillies... should we call it D'Oro?) with taupes and grays. Also good: your citron! And I heard strong positive reactions last week to saturated purples, in the eggplant family; midnight, a non-navy dark blue; and of course the watery blue-green family which continues its importance.

Finally, I am seeing a strong movement toward light colors, with a stong base in white. Ranging from pure optical white through the cream/alabaster/cloud shades, the cleanness of white is an important trend. I'm even seeing a white-washed version of many colors on the horizon.

Great to see you at Showtime!