2021 Colour of the year
Each of us can experience on himself the particular enjoyment that is felt when a colour is
perceived: the sensations change according to the colour that we are in front of. Yellow should
convey creativity or wisdom; green calms. And perceptions also change from subject to subject.
It is curious to see how the Eskimos have, in common language, seventeen terms to indicate the
different shades of white. The Eskimo who looks at the white colour will react in a very different
way than an inhabitant of the Amazons.
Colour exerts a considerable charm especially on artists. It becomes something sacred, material and immaterial at the same time. Picasso chose blue and pink to describe two phases of his painting life, the first, melancholy and marked by suffering, the second more open and lively.
So Kandinsky linked each colour to a spiritual dimension, opening the doors to chromotherapy, an alternative medicine that uses colours as a therapy for the treatment of certain diseases. Yves Klein directly invented a pigment, what is now called International Blue Klein, which was supposed to join heaven and earth in a single stain of it.
Elsa Schiaparelli, notable fashion designer of the 40s with Coco Chanel, invented the mythical
“Shocking Pink Schiaparelli” a particular fuchsia and the most famous colour ever.
And what about the Valentino’s red? An institution.
In the latest years we could have heard to speak about “Millennial pink” or “Gen Z yellow” which
declare hope and a new wave feminism of the youngest generations.
Focusing on glossy world, shades and nuances are essential, as “The Devil Wears Prada” cerulean
sweater monologue teaches. “But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not
turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean”. Well, we do not know if Miranda Priestly knows
about this, but the tone of 2021 has been identified, according to the trend forecasting company
WGSN (Worth Global Style Network), in a special shade of blue: the A. I. Aqua, that is the water
colour of Artificial Intelligence.
It’s safe to assume that, especially this year, we spent half of our days at the laptop or on social
networks, hyper connected. A.I. Aqua colour is the most one used by software and website for its
natural qualities of being reassuring and calming, it is the one linked to digital world.
It invites all to become more and more immersive in the boundless waters of technology.
Here some fashion brands that have gone with the flow for some of their runway looks:
KENZO
ARMANI
MOSCHINO
By Alessandra Busacca