COLOR PALETTE for A/W 2010-2011
Wondering which hues for shoes will be must-haves for consumers next fall? According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and the head of the Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training, buyers may want to look to the past, present and future to get a sense of coming color trends. “The big picture theme is a Mosaic of Color and Style,” she says. “This reflects cultural, universal time frames and seemingly disconnected elements. Though new technologies continue to reinvent the future, we may notice some things have a vaguely nostalgic feeling.”
The interest in making everything old new again stems from, yes, the current economy. “Since people are thinking about the economy, that’s telling us some of the styling of the past isn’t discarded, but instead brought back in a new way. What’s important today is to think in terms of practicality. People are going to ask themselves, gee, I already have six pairs of black shoes, so why do I need another pair? Retailers are going to want to give them something new, and this is where color plays an important role. For example, maybe a consumer is drawn to a purple car, but when they get to the show room they decide to go with the black version. But you need to have that purple car to get their attention.”
“One theme under the larger Mosaic idea is called Molecular. It embraces a lot of darker shades, which are typical for the season, but it includes a purpley wine, a very deep green and, of course, a navy black and a coffee brown. Brown will stay very, very important. But the introduction of yellow, orchid, a purplish blue and jade green will be accents. In footwear, those could show up as gemstones, ribbon trim or any embellishment with unexpected color. 
“There’s an element of glitter attached to the Byzantine theme. A lot of the illustrations to convey this are stained glass church windows, but these colors can be as modern as a Mondrian and very abstract, playing into the Mosaic idea. This theme includes metallics, shimmery gold, rich reds, vibrant blues and purples. There will be a wine color, but it’s a truer wine color. What this palette conveys is modernized nostalgia, in that it’s not duplicating a previous time period, but applying modern technology to it. In terms of shoes, we might be thinking about a platform sole and heel made with a new plastic or reconstructed wood, materials that speak of a new technology being used in a new way. 
“Deconstructing-Reconstructing also follows the theme of revisiting the past, but it focuses more on neutrals, grey, gunmetal and cream. Ochre, brown and black are accented with topiary greens and lipstick red. You could describe this as old school. There has been a movement toward looking to The Gap and Ralph Lauren, but this is still a reinvented look. It’s buffalo plaids and Americana, but not as it was in the 80s. It’s a bolder way of combining plaids and checks. 
“Multiple Identity is inspired by human coloring. The blues, irises and browns we see in eye color and the pink browns and roses we see in skin tone. It’s the mosaic of human coloring, and it makes for an unpredictable but interesting palette. It also has broad appeal. The consumer can find something he or she relates to. Someone with dark skin may look at a pair of brown shoes and say, hmm, if I wear those it will look as if I’m not wearing shoes at all, lengthening the leg. There’s lots of potential in this palette.” 
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