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Pantone’s Fall/Winter Color Forecast for NYFW Evokes Joy

The wintery Manhattan cityscape may look bleak after weeks of snowfall and bone-chilling temperatures, but the city’s fashion designers are poised to inject vibrancy and color back into the metropolis.

The New York Fashion Week (NYFW) edition of Pantone’s Fashion Color Trend Report for Fall/Winter 2021-2022 paints an optimistic palette of enduring and exuberant colors that come together to inspire creativity and reinvention. The color authority released the forecast ahead of the first presentations begining on Friday, which are being held again across digital platforms.

The pragmatic hues and vivifying bright pops offer a plethora of possibilities that support our lifestyle of continual reinvention and convey a promise of reemergence, said Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute executive director.

The versatile palette includes four classic colors and 10 standout shades that embrace and accommodate the “various possibilities of our bifurcated lifestyle,” Pantone stated. The colors encourage personal expression—be it sensible or quirky—and exude feelings of calmness and healing as well as “a rainbow of hope and joyfulness.”

Illuminating, the sunny shade of yellow named by Pantone as one of the Colors of the Year for 2021, is among the cheery family of colors forecasted for NYFW. The color is flanked by hues inspired by foreign lands, including Mykonos Blue, a “brisk blue evocative of the Aegean Sea” and Leprechaun, a green hue emblematic of mythical characters in Irish folklore.

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Pinks continue to be a dominant color in women’s wear. The color trend evolves beyond flesh tones and synthetic neon hues with Fuchsia Fedora, a flirty bold pink, and Pale Rosette, an “endearing and gentle romantic pink” that fits in with the growing interest in Regency-era fashion.

Pantone predicts an optimistic palette of enduring and exuberant colors for New York Fashion Week's Fall/Winter 21-22 season.
Ulla Johnson F/W 21-22 WWD

The bold red seen in men’s F/W 21-22 collections is on track to embolden women’s collections as well. Fire Whirl, a “vigorous red with a dynamic presence,” is balanced by a duo of cool blues. Rhodonite is a blue-based purple that represents “achieving one’s highest potential,” Pantone stated. Spring Lake, a restful mid-tone blue, provides a sense of calm and quiet.

Adobe, a warm color reminiscent of sun-dried clay, and Root Beer, an herbal brown tone symbolic of the bark of a sassafras tree helps maintain brown’s place as the new black.

A suite of core colors brings a season-less feeling to the palette. Winter white evolves into Coconut Cream, a “thick and rich velvety white” and Soybean, a blonde beige that complements a broad sweep of colors. Olive Branch, a shade of green that fits into outdoor or utility-inspired collections as well as those that tell a sustainable story, represents growth.

Rounding out the palette is Color of the Year, Ultimate Gray. The “quietly assuring and reliable” gray encourages composure.