Pantone has finally announced their highly coveted and anticipated colour of the year. Did you predict the colour correctly?
WATCH: Pantone Colour of the Year 2023
Pantone LLC is known globally for its unique Pantone Matching System, used across many industries. Fashion, beauty, home decor, multi-media design – you name it.
At the end of each year in early December, Pantone names its ‘Colour of the Year’ for the new year ahead. That one colour holds a significant role in influencing the trends, colours and styles we see in shop windows, the media and more.
After much anticipation, Pantone has finally dropped 2023’s colour of the year today. *Drumroll* PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta has been named 2023’s Colour of the Year.
In contrast to last year’s Periwinkle Blue, a purply blue, lavender hue, Viva Magenta is a hot pink with hints of purple that descends from the red family.
After long periods of isolation from COVID-19, this vibrant shade demonstrates a new era of strength, confidence and joy. In Pantone’s words, Viva Magenta is “an unconventional red for an unconventional time.”
The Pantone Color Institute said that this year’s colour choice reflects the “rebellious” spirit of the time and the renewed interest in creative experimentation following the coronavirus pandemic.
Viva magenta sits between red and pink on the colour wheel. But it should not be seen as aggressive, dangerous and fiery as traditional reds (true reds, classic reds or orange-reds) connote, thanks to its pinky tinge.
Vice president of the Pantone Color Institute Laurie Pressman commented that “it’s assertive but it’s not aggressive – we refer to it as a fist in a velvet glove” and furthermore that “it’s a brave and fearless red shade that vibrates with vim and vigour.”
“It’s a great colour for reflecting light, which gives it a sense of fantasy and glamour,” trend forecaster and Pantone Color Institute member Jane Boddy said.
Despite bright pink’s well-established relevancy in today’s society, as often seen in fashion, Boddy wants to remind the public that the colour is still rooted in nature, think tropical flowers and insects.
“One of the biggest inspirations behind this was also the natural world too – you can kind of imagine these sort of colours in the natural world and it has a slightly exotic feel to it,” said Boddy.
Shop the look in Viva Magenta
Crescent towel, $149.95, Hard to Find
Pantone Colour of the Year espresso cup, US$12, Pantone
Vivienne velvet cushion in Berry, $29, Myer
Papercut 1947 by Matisse print, starting at $60, The Iconic
Terracotta Ripon hand-woven cotton rug, from $229, Temple & Webster
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
