Ultralight Beam
Pantone’s cosmic color of the year glows on
Pantone knows how to set a trend. Last December, Pantone 18-3838: Ultra Violet was called to the coveted platform of 2018 Color of the Year. Looking back on the year and forward to fall and winter, we’re sure that Ultra Violet has made its psychedelic presence known.
Ultra Violet made its first debut the way many trend-worthy colors do: on the luxury runways. Alessandro Michele first showed the cosmic hue in Gucci’s SS2018 show with models strutting through rays of purple light wearing his florescent violets. It quickly trickled down to contemporary retail, but it’s not over yet. Ultra Violet is crossing seasonal boundaries in the fall show season. NYFW was filled with purples from brands like Bottega Veneta to Creatures of Comfort. It has even started popping up in home décor with celebrity interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard’s use of electric purples as accents to black and white.
It’s not just a pretty color either. In 2013, CNN reported that purple holds great power within the retail industry through signaling—notably because purple makes us think of royalty. Their insights suggest that the beauty industry holds an affinity to purple packaging and marketing on anti-aging product lines to incentivize shoppers. With a heightened sense of status, buyers are more likely to make the purchase. With all this buzz, it seems that ultra violet may be sticking around for more than a year.
Sources: Refinery29 (February 12, 2018) | Vogue UK (September 10, 2017) | CNN (March 21, 2013) | Image: Laura Pittaccio