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The September 2015 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, designed in shades of blue and pink.
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Colors of the year: Serenity and Rose Quartz

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Colors of the year: Serenity and Rose Quartz

One of the most memorable moments in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada is the blue sweater scene.

Fashion-deprived Andrea Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, is shamed by the staunch fashion queen Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep.

Priestly coolly informs Sachs that the lumpy blue sweater on her back is actually cerulean, and although she “fished it out of some clearance bin,” it was selected by the powers at the fictitious Runway magazine, which we all know is code for Vogue, before spiraling down to the retail mass market.

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A magazine may have influenced the sweater choice, but it was the color experts at Pantone, which in 1999 forecast its Cerulean Blue as the Color of the Millennium, making it the inaugural Color of the Year.

Now, another blue is on the horizon. For the 2016 Color of the Year, Pantone has coupled Serenity, a calming blue reflected in the sky, with the ethereal pink Rose Quartz. A first, the match is reminiscent of the tones used to announce a baby’s sex, a nod to the blurring gender lines in society and catwalks.

With its World Headquarters based in Carlstadt, N.J., Pantone provides color forecasts and trends to numerous manufacturers across a variety of industries. Its color matching system and books filled with thousands of color chips or swatches establish an accurate and uniform color communication used across multiple fields.

“The Color of the Year 2016, Serenity and Rose Quartz, are a harmonious pairing Pantone is already seeing across high fashion for women and men, home interiors, accessories, active wear, industrial design, beauty, multi-media and packaging design,” Laurie Pressman, Vice President, Pantone Color Institute, wrote in an email to The Blade.

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“In the fashion world, the color combination was featured on the runways for both men and women and highlighted in the Spring 2016 collections from Rachel Pally, Kung Katherine, Leanne Marshall, David Hart and BCBG, among others.

“With playful escapism as a theme for designers in 2016, the pairing of shades can be expressed through patterning, plaids, floral prints, striping and color blocking. Variations of this hue will be seen in a variety of textures that make it wearable throughout the year, from warming and comforting plush wools and faux furs to more ethereal feeling, lightweight linens and cottons.”

Single or coupled, the colors bring a “feeling of calm and relaxation into the home environment.”

Pantone also released a list of color pairings for the new duo tinyurl.com/​oo5odxb.

In terms of fashion, Ms. Pressman said the colors work with mid-tones, including cooler greens and purples. Pair with Lime Popsicle and Silver for some splash and sparkle, Old Rose for some tender nostalgia, or the velvety Fondue Fudge, which makes for a rich background.

Pantone and Sephora have released a limited edition cosmetic palette for eyes and lips featuring the Color of the Year, proclaiming “No Rules are the New Rules.”

Retail giants like Kohl’s have shelves already stacked with merchandise colored in soft hues of pink and blue, including KitchenAid Mixer, wallets, place settings, pillows, furniture, scarves, and more.

Flip through the January issue of Vogue and you find a Clinique advertisement with an ombré background. Perhaps a wink to Pantone’s introductory media that takes the viewer through a color world of warm pink and cool blue.

Matt Stoney, manager of Braden Sutphin Ink’s Livonia, Mich., plant, said it keeps an eye on Pantone’s color forecasts and ordered the Pantone Matching System (PMS), a color chart primarily used in printing. The company provides ink products and coatings to printers including Cenveo, a national printing and packaging company with a facility in Toledo.

“We may blend all 2,000 of the PMS colors for sure. And Rose Quartz and Serenity are already active in our system,” he said.

The Real Milk Paint Company, whose organic paints are sold in stores in Ohio and Michigan, also had similar colors in stock before the Color of the Year was made public on Dec. 3: Stone Blue and Sweetheart.

Some were pleasantly surprised by this year’s choice, as it is a stark contrast to the red-brown rooted Marsala, the 2015 Color of the Year.

“I think they work well together, but it’s not something I would have imagined. They did good in pulling something together that someone would not have necessarily thought of. Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat,” said Dwayne Siever, Chief Executive Officer of Real Milk.

Kendra Lapolla, assistant professor of fashion design at Kent State University, wrote in an email to the Blade that the new colors mirror today’s society and culture.

“After a few past years of deep, vibrant tones (Marsala 2015, Radiant Orchid 2014 and Emerald 2013) I think the light pastels Rose Quartz and Serenity are a welcomed change. It is also a timely choice as a commentary on current cultural views relating to gender equality. Even Pantone’s presentation of the two colors seems to reflect this.

“Instead of presenting them as two separate color swatches, Pantone is often showing Rose Quartz and Serenity blending together in one swatch. I think this also speaks to a balance many of us are searching for in our lives right now,” she wrote.

She said the best way to incorporate them into your life is through accessories: purses, bracelets, necklaces earrings; or accents in the home: vases, candles, pictures and the like.

Former Toledoan, Aly Brown worked for Macy’s and other global fashion brands before creating the Bohemian clothing label Alyson Renee sold online at alysonrenee.com and made in New York City.

She said Pantone sets the “groundwork for what the palette is going to be for the upcoming seasons that designers use, not only in fashion, but in interior design world, and even food presentation.”

Fashion houses look to Pantone to inform them on future trends and color influences, which enables buyers to be on point when they are scouting future looks to fill department floors, she explained. That may explain why Kohl’s and other retailers already have products in Serenity and Rose Quartz.

Coincidentally some pieces from Mrs. Brown’s Spring/​Summer 2015 collection incorporated colors similar to Pantone’s. While the Spring/​Summer 2016 collection is still in the design phase, the Pantone pastels may still be weaved into the line since her hand-dyed clothing is “inspired by nature and earth tones.”

She observed that the fashion industry in general will be using a lot of punchy pastels, based on Pantone’s 2016 color chips.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-724-6133, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.

First Published December 27, 2015, 5:00 a.m.

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The September 2015 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, designed in shades of blue and pink.  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Rose Quartz.  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Serenity.  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The DelPozo Fall 2015 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York.  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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