Pantone's Fashion Color Report for Fall 2013

Since I am slowly moving toward Fall fashion reviews and other, I thought it would be a good time to share Pantone's Fall 2013 Fashion Color Report.  And I have to say that I am pretty excited.  To start, you may know that Pantone's color of the year was Emerald and if you didn't already know that, I'm sure you've seen it on all the runways and woven into every imaginable trend. For Fall 2013, you will see Emerald picked up as well.  All the colors remind me of rich jewel tones which are classic and beautiful.

If you haven't visited Pantone's site before it is pretty cool.  They have a Fashion Color Report that comes out for each season so you can see both Designer's Outlook and Influencers which they showcase on the site.  I should note that Pantone highlights these colors as a unisex color palette as well.

Fashion Designers noted on this report provide an outlook on the site.  If you click on each if the featured colors on the page you will see how what they think about their prominent colors, signature color, must-have items and their color advice.  

Rachel Roy

For example. one of the Fall 2013 Colors is called Samba, which is Pantone 19-1662.  Each Pantone color has its own set of numbers.  Rachel Roy is featured as one of the Designers and she highlights the Fall color of Samba (right).  She is inspired by the Masters of Chiaroscuro and how "they manipulate and create dimension between light and dark…"  Her prominent colors are listed as Fiery and Deep Port Reds, Chambord, Noble Blue, Marsh and Hunter Greens, Fiery Ochre Yellow and Glowing Amber, Jeweled Malachite Green as the "new winter-bright statement" and she says that Winter Whites and Violet are "essential" accents.  Her signature color is "fiery red" and goes on to talk about how the other jewel tones are layered "juxtaposing  pearl, winter whites and violet for a modern feel."  Her must-have item is an "ornate hand-stitched sweater" in Gold.  Her color advice is not to shy away from color as she notes that women often do.  She says it enables confidence and it can change your mood. I have to agree there.  The days I either accessorize brightly or where an actual piece with a bright color, I do feel more confident.

There are many other designer's who provide an outlook as Rachel did including names such as Kelly Wearstler, Nanette Lepore, Carmen Marc Valvo and Charlotte Ronson to name a few.

Ken Downing

There is also a section featuring some of Fashion's biggest influencers and Pantone asks them each which decade has influenced them most.  They also ask for them to provide the color advice that they would share with their own customers.  For example, Ken Downing as we know from Nieman Marcus declares "hot pink" as a color that has inspired him and the 1930's as the decade.  He suggests that we should "wear what we love" because as Rachel notes, "confidence will follow."

You also have to check out Pantone's Blog which is awesome.  It features Design, Fashion, Culture, Technology, Travel + Dining and Events and it is jammed packed with information about trends, conferences, contests and more.  And if that were not enough, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.  They also have two other lifestyle sites, one called colorstrology and then there is Pantone Universe which is what most creatives are familiar with.

I am really excited about this Fall color palette.  It is the perfect blend of jewel-tones, both rich and muted.  What are your favorites and which colors do you wish were represented in this palette?

Check out my Pinterest boards called "Jewel Tones" for further inspiration.

Cheers!