"Many of us," the colour company said in a recent presentation, feel anxious,"completely overloaded and perpetually stressed."For the 21st consecutive year, Pantone has named a colour of the year, a trend-forecasting stunt as closely watched by the news media as it is by the industries - marketing, fashion, design - that actually traffic in visual trends.
"We're living in this time now where things seem to be, around the world, a little bit, I don't want to use the word unstable, but let's just say a little shaky," said Ms Laurie Pressman, the vice-president of the Pantone Colour Institute."Nothing is absolutely certain from one moment to the next." Classic Blue"provides a refuge", according to Pantone, fulfilling a"desire for a dependable, stable foundation". Classic Blue is"non-aggressive","easily relatable" and"honest". One thing Classic Blue is not: sad.
It is an escalation in Pantone's annual publicity push, an already formidable effort. Every December, the announcement is widely covered by American outlets and trade publications . Pantone wants to stir up excitement about its own brand, and deadline-pressured journalists happily comply, Dr Blaszczyk said."You need something that you can write about that's somewhat exciting. And a celebrity is very exciting."The luxury e-commerce platform Moda Operandi analyses and periodically publishes data on customer behaviour. This data is based on purchases made during its trunk shows or designer collections sold straight from the runway.