The forecast tones explore a story of positivity and indulgence for the season.

WGSN, the global authority on consumer and design trends, and Coloro, the universal color system, announced the five key colors predicted to gain worldwide popularity in Autumn/Winter 22/23.

For Autumn/Winter 22/23, consumers will welcome tones with a soothing and grounding quality. Each of the five key colors that WGSN and Coloro has chosen has a timeless appeal, drawing from evergreen nature and precious treasures. Consumers will be seeking joy and reassurance in challenging times, and this will impact the colors they buy and how long they are attached to them for. Emotion will remain a key driver, and color will provide an uplifting and reassuring sense of warmth.

Jenny Clark, Head of Color at WGSN, says: “This unique period has given many industries the opportunity to re-evaluate and pivot in new ways to meet customers’ changing needs. Fashion industry experts in particular are debating the rationale behind showing seasonally, and this is accelerating a move to a seasonless approach.”

Every season we collaborate with WGSN to identify the tones that will make the biggest impact in two years’ time – the result of a wealth of research and analysis. As we focus more on design for longevity, we have chosen colours that will be cherished for the long term, and not just a season.
— Joanne Thomas, Head of Content at Coloro

WGSN’s Jenny Clark adds: “This season, we focused on the concept of small luxuries and the way color can create a precious look through connection and association. Coloro’s unique tools played a central role in our color selection process as we mindfully chose versatile, timeless tones that will work for a wide range of industries. Collaborating with the Coloro team allowed us to find the most sustainable hues.”

2020 also sees Coloro welcome new leadership, as Sansan Chen joins as Managing Director, bringing 15 years’ experience in senior color, concept and merchant roles at Kate Spade, Club Monaco and Donna Karan. Sansan comments: “I’m so excited to be joining Coloro at a time when 85% of consumers cite color as THE leading factor in their decision to purchase a product – and with the majority of shopping now happening virtually, this effect is only amplified. Coloro has filled gaps in the market with an online color Workspace, convenient work-from-home tools, predictive digital data and recommended dye formulas for every color – helping brands and their suppliers achieve better first-time-right rates, improve their speed to market, saving costs and reducing waste as a result.”

The key colors for A/W 22/23 are as follows, with relevant Coloro codes:

Honeycomb | Coloro: 034-76-27

Yellow will play a key role in A/W 22/23, adding a sense of uplifting warmth. Honeycomb is a golden yellow that forms part of a collection of ochre tones this season. Honey has been prized for thousands of years, dating back to Ancient Egypt, and today we are reacquainting ourselves with its value, and its association with the protection and preservation of nature and agriculture for generations to come.

Use this color as a directional bright, or pair it with ochre and brown. Honeycomb will be a key accent for fashion accessories, color cosmetics and homewares. Its upbeat quality also makes it suitable for activewear and kidswear. Apply this color to metallic finishes and glossy surfaces to add lustre.

Jade | Coloro: 062-57-10

Nourishing natural greens will remain relevant as consumers focus on balancing their mental and physical health. Jade is a timeless mid-tone with a transseasonal appeal, and its blue undertone gives it a calming and grounding quality. A prized mineral in Asia with a rich history, Jade is connected to the heart chakra and has historical associations with wisdom, courage and equality. The stone has a beautiful milky quality, with streaks of green running through it.

This shade will resonate across multiple industries thanks to its enduring appeal. Jade will be a key green for fashion – particularly womenswear, jewellery and accessories. It will also remain important for the home, applied to walls and surfaces in a variety of materials. The balancing nature of Jade also makes it perfect for beauty and wellness products.

Dark Oak | Coloro: 017-23-07

WGSN predicted the rise of enriched browns for A/W 19/20 and A/W 20/21, and has seen them gather pace recently. A challenging economy and demand for slower fashion cycles will ensure brown remains relevant. Dark Oak is a timeless shade, and an evolution of the tinted blacks we forecast for A/W 21/22.

It has a nostalgic undertone, inspired by dark lacquers and antique finishes. Oak has a rich heritage in the furniture, tanning and fortified wine and spirits industries, and is cherished for its strength and longevity, which designers and producers are still striving to preserve today. This color will be key for nail, lip and eye products in beauty, as part of a broader range of browns. Dark Oak will also remain relevant for apparel, footwear and accessories. A shift towards darker wood finishes will enhance its importance for interiors.

Lazuli Blue | Coloro: 122-25-24

Rich dark blues will be important this season, driven by a desire for small indulgent luxuries. Lazuli Blue has a natural mineral quality inspired by the precious pigment ultramarine, and aligns with renewed interest in historical pigments and the origins of color. This deep saturated hue offers a sense of clarity, and is also prevalent online, closely connected to immersive installations and digital worlds.

Lazuli Blue comes to life when applied to plush textiles, glossy surfaces, metallic finishes and glass. It will be especially relevant for accessories and occasionwear in fashion, and as a directional pigment for color cosmetics. For interiors, it can be used as an accent, or in large volumes for dramatic effect.

Orchid Flower | Coloro: 150-38-31

Orchid Flower is our Color of the Year for 2022, continuing from Spring/Summer into Autumn/Winter. This transseasonal tone plays perfectly into the theme of small luxuries and precious things that come from nature, inspired by the tropical orchid plant, with its long-lasting flowers and distinct scent. It can be invigorated with lustrous materials, metallics and reflective surfaces, and it also has digital relevance, working well as an eyecatching bright on social channels to capture consumers’ attention.

Orchid Flower should be used to create contrast and impact. It will be a key bright for the Christmas/Holiday season, playing into partywear glamour, and it will be important for the beauty market – especially for hedonistic metallic looks. In the home, add rich texture and use this tone as an accent to create a luxurious mood.

WGSN – www.wgsn.com

WGSN is the global authority on consumer and design trends, helping brands across the globe create the right products at the right time for tomorrow’s consumer. Our trusted consumer and design forecasts power outstanding product design, enabling our customers to build a better future in the digital economy. We do this by constantly monitoring the signals of change that we know will impact how consumers think, feel and behave. Our experts then connect the dots to accurately predict the products, experiences and services people will need in years to come. We have been getting it right for over twenty years, helping the leading brands in 23 major consumer industries create resilient businesses.

Coloro – coloro.com

Coloro is a truly universal, intelligent and logical color system that allows fast and accurate communication throughout the color process and supply chain. A sister brand of WGSN, Coloro helps reduce waste and time in color decision-making and manufacturing by bringing creativity and science together. Coloro was created through collaboration with leading global textile and fashion companies. Coloro’s extensive library of 3,500 contemporary colors can be accessed through color books, and by purchasing swatches online. A free digital color tool, the Workspace, is also available on coloro.com

Ascential – www.ascential.com

Ascential is a specialist information, data and analytics company that helps the world’s most ambitious businesses win in the digital economy. Our information, insights, connections, data and digital tools solve customer problems in four principal disciplines:

• Product Design via global trend forecasting service WGSN;
• Marketing via global benchmarks for creative excellence and effectiveness, Lions and WARC, and MediaLink;
• Digital Commerce via data, analytics and managed services brands Flywheel Digital, Yimian and Edge; and
• Retail & Financial Services via the world’s premier payments and FinTech congress Money20/20, global retail industry summit World Retail Congress, and Retail Week.

Ascential also owns three digital information products in the Built Environment and Policy sector.

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