2020 Color of the Year
Pantone announced the color of 2020 is blue- classic blue. There are several interesting reasons behind this, including the association with a simpler time in history (the 90’s).
When I think of the number 2020, I think of perfect vision. Perfect vision reminds me of the song “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. This song reminds me of clear skies, which are blue. Thus, I get it. 2020 had to be blue.
Personally, I love that this is our new color of the year. Over the past several years, my closest has slowly transformed into a collection of extremely versatile pieces that follow a very strict color scheme: black, white, pink, red, blue, and neutrals. Occasionally, there will be an extra color thrown in here or there-but this is rare. Pantone really took one for the team by limiting the amount of spending anyone needs to do to stay fashionable this year—just grab a favorite pair of blue jeans (bonus points for vintage, creative, or fun denim styles) and build off of that.
In addition, blue is simply a beautiful color found in nature. Laurie Pressman, the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, stated that "It's a color that anticipates what's going to happen next." As Kirsi Goldynia (a CNN design writer) wrote, Classic Blue can be regal, restrained and boundless. But it can also be edgy -- even anomalous -- utilizing a variety of tonalities, materials and prints.
Each of Pantone’s blue palettes conveys a different mood, illustrating the versatility of Classic Blue, and is supported by three suggested color combinations. “Ponder” is a thoughtful and meditative palette that integrates warm and soothing neutral/peach shades . “Snorkel” integrates Classic Blue into a tropical, blissful, and enchanting paradise with coral, greens, black, and white. I’ll likely be putting together a few outfits with this palette in mind this summer. Pantone’s description of “Desert Twilight” was eloquently written, so I’m just going to copy and paste that here: Suggestive of the early evening sky, the boundless PANTONE Classic Blue 19-4052 creates an elegant backdrop for a glittery grouping of sophisticated shades painted across the sky, adding illuminating sparkle to a Desert Twilight. The last two palettes, “Exotic Tastes” and “Traditional” stretch beyond my personal fashion comfort zone, but each are colorful and integrate sparkles (I love the sparkles).
Overall, these palettes make me hopeful about 2020’s fashion- it will be a “cool” year where people can finally “shine” their true colors by expressing themselves with these Classic Blue integrations.
If you are interested in seeing the palettes yourself, here is the link to Pantone’s official post of them.
