New trend colors up to 2014 have already been determined.A two year forecast is not a luxury. Companies need to know what colors they have to take into account when developing new products.
Hilde Francq: the Belgian member of the Color Marketing Group. Her business card? Color forecaster.
For the summer of 2013, the colors are taken straight from nature (left). For example, the picture of the lighthouse means that before the end of 2013, weathered blue tones combined with flag red will be in fashion.
Grass green and building block yellow will be the 2013 summer colors and flag red and sand brown will dominate the winter transition to 2014.How do we know that? Because those colors have already been determined. All the fashion tones worldwide are picked two years in advance by an organization of 40 ‘color predictors’. One of them is the Flemish Hilde Francq (46). “Don’t expect any far-fetched colors in the coming years. Because of the economic crisis and the uncertainty concerning the Euro, people need pure, natural colors in the coming years. And that’s exactly what they’ll get.”
Summer 2013: grass green, building block yellow and aqua blue.
Transition to 2014: blue tones, flag red and sand brown.
The new colors don’t just apply to clothing but to almost everything: from glasses to kitchen appliances.It’s more difficult when it comes to cars.Because of the crisis, in the coming years, people need pure, natural colors that appear to be more long-lasting.
STEFAN VANDERSTRAETEN
Over the last three days a meeting was held in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, that will change the look of the world. And for once that can be taken literally. From all corners of the world, forty men and women flew in with one subject in mind: colors. As the Color Marketing Group, its mission is as remarkable as it is unknown (to the outside world): to decide now what the dominant trend colors will be for the coming years. And not only for clothing and related accessories, but for almost everything the consumer can buy: from glasses to kitchen appliances, bicycles and even cars. “Because everything is dependent on color,” says Hilde Francq. “Color is the first thing people notice in a shop window and often seems to be the most important incentive to purchase. Research shows that at least 85% of all products are ultimately picked by the consumer on the basis of color. In other words: anyone who sees an item of clothing or appliance in a color he doesn’t like will never buy that product, no matter how
solid it may be. So we help international industry by choosing the right colors.”
No gimmicks
As spokeswoman for ‘Box 3’- that gives color advice to Gazelle (bicycles), Fatboy (bean bags), Obumex (interior furbishing) and Arte (wall decorations and interior textiles) among others – Hilde Francq is the only Belgian member of the Color Marketing Group, known as ‘color forecaster’ on her business card. “A forecaster determines the color trends two years in advance. In Lisbon we discussed the colors for the summer of 2014. At the end of the three day meeting we had reached a ‘European’ color palette of 12 colors. At the new meeting in Miami in October that will be merged with color palettes from Asia, North and Latin America and from that the new ‘global color palette’ for the summer of 2014 will be determined”. In October, it is already known which colors will dominate the world two years later. What good is that? “This is not a gimmick. It’s a real necessity.”, says Francq. “Don’t forget that the development of most products takes a considerable amount of time, even if that is because the manufacturers first have to put all their suppliers to work. For certain textiles, at least nine months of preparation is necessary.
And for the production of glasses frames – a sector that is raining colors these days – it takes at least a year. In addition, the prototypes may be rejected several times before the desired result is achieved. So a two year forecast is not an unnecessary luxury.”
Unconscious preference
The fact that the colors for the summer of 2014 are now already being discussed in Lisbon also means that, meanwhile, the colors for 2013 and the winter transition to 2014 are known already. At least, to the insiders. Because industries have to pay for a preview of the color palette. Hilde Francq gave us a special sneak preview. “Because of the economic crisis and the uncertainty concerning the Euro, the colors for the coming years are becoming more natural. We consumers have less money to spend and so we will – sometimes unconsciously – give preference to products where the color appears to be more
durable. So, colors that are not too far-fetched, but purer and more natural: including grass green and real yellow that reminds us of the building blocks of our childhood. As a pleasant note, the playful,water blue aqua tone will pop up.” That last shade will also show up in the fall of 2013 and the transition to 2014. “Blue tones that we find in the sky and sea are widely present. The common denominator is that they all appear slightly dull – almost weathered by the wind. The bright flag red will be broadly
present, in combination with the supporting sand and claylike brown colors.”
Never search
It all seems slightly airy fairy, but the industries will follow this color trend unconditionally. “The fashion industry is always the trend setter,” according to Francq. “Through their clothing and accessories they will be the first to launch these colors. Only after the consumer has become accustomed to these colors – through what they see others wearing on the street – will the other manufacturers of interior textiles, kitchen appliances or even bicycles, for example, start to use these colors. Although there are some sectors where the colors will be extremely slow in making an entrance, the car industry being the leader. There, for as long as we can remember, black has been the most popular color for bodywork.The fact that white is now requested a lot, has taken years.
The car industry is also one of the few sectors where colors can be eliminated in advance. No matter how trendy green is for other products, this color will never take off for cars. Green is an excellent symbol for nature, and there is simply no room for a car there.” But on what grounds do the color forecasters themselves search for the colors? “We never search for colors; they seem to come to us automatically.We put six months work into every new palette. We find influences all over: in leading cities, at all types of trade fairs and exhibitions, in museums … in fact, everywhere. Recently, I saw three cars behind each
other at the traffic lights, coincidentally in three different colors that matched each other perfectly. I immediately took a photo. Even neon lighting or graffiti can be a direct source of inspiration. At the end of each period of six months we put all the sources of inspiration next to each other and stick adjectives on them – pure, real, flashy, fluo, whatever – where immediately the corresponding color is born.
Try to see it as pieces of a puzzle that come together perfectly every six months,” says Francq, who has a surprising answer to the question what is her personal favorite color? “I don’t have one. For a color forecaster a favorite color would be a handicap. Unconsciously we would always go back to it. And that’s not allowed. We have to be open to all colors.”
Black and white are eternally trendy
“It is rare, but some colors are eternally trendy,” according to color forecaster Hilde Francq. “For the interior, it is always a safe bet to pick white in all its facets, soft brown tones and taupe colors(grey-brown, ed.). You can cheer these up any season with a couple of the trend colors, for example,with a cushion or vase in the new color.”“When it comes to fashion, that is more difficult. There, the trend colors change every season.Naturally, black and denim are always in, but only in combination with the proper trend color.”(StV).
