In our projects, colors are almost as important as materials. Knowing the trends in this area is therefore crucial, because it means knowing what the market wants at that moment and what it is heading toward.
Those of colors are called micro-trends, because they are phenomena of limited duration and mostly involve related sectors, such as interior design, design and fashion. Different are the macro-trends, which have the power to steer society in a certain direction and impact different sectors across the board. For example, a macro-trend is sustainability.
One area where it is easy to recognize color-related micro-trends is fashion. Just think of Bottega Veneta's particular shade of bright green: introduced in 2021 by the then creative director Daniel Lee, it has become the maison's signature color to the point of being called Verde Bottega, before being taken up by many other brands. An example further back in time is Giorgio Armani's iconic greige; a more recent one is Ancora Red, a burgundy shade that dominated Gucci's runway shows and communication in 2023, becoming the most desired color of the season. Not all color trends, of course, come from fashion: the phenomenon of Millennial Pink, which characterized the 2010s, originated with the movies of Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson, and from there moved into fashion and design.
Winter House by Andrés Reisinger and Alba de la Fuente
Predicting trends are trend forecasting companies, where teams of anthropologists, sociologists, analysts and designers study how things will move in a given sector. Designer Luca De Bona e Dario De Meo , with whom we created the Ossimori and Alchimie projects in 2023, are consultants for several companies, and they explain their work this way: "It consists of continuous research, based on the observation of society and people. Creating and researching trends means having a 360-degree view of what is happening in the world, being able to perceive the common thread between things even far apart. It's a complex job, it's not a science, it's a work of sensitivity that requires understanding what the current macro trends are - for example, technology or sustainability - and turning them into briefs to develop or choose colors, materials, finishes that can trigger emotions in people."
Luca De Bona and Dario De Meo | Photographs BY Lavazza
Trend forecasting companies, of which the best known are WGSN, Peclers Paris and The Future Laboratory, periodically publish reports devoted to micro-trends. As far as color is concerned, however, the best-known report is that of Pantone, an American company considered an authority in the field, which every year in December announces what the color of the coming year will be.
For 2024, Pantone's color of the year is Peach Fuzz, a shade between pink and orange, which not coincidentally is the one in our projecto Ossimori, presented back in April 2023. And because trends are never unrelated to current events, here it is that according to Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute, Peach Fuzz "is full of warmth and modern elegance" and expresses "an innate desire for closeness and relationships." A color that can "enrich the body, mind and soul," perfect for the times we are living in.
Ossimori, Incalmi Collection | Photographs by Serena Eller
