Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2006 - Pantone Color Institute's Leatrice Eiseman Says After Seasons of Color! Color! Color! - Spring Will Be Toned Down, Muted & Nuanced - FASHIONTRIBES FASHION EXPERT FASHION BLOG - Fashion Blog

September 20, 2005

Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2006 - Pantone Color Institute's Leatrice Eiseman Says After Seasons of Color! Color! Color! - Spring Will Be Toned Down, Muted & Nuanced - FASHIONTRIBES FASHION EXPERT FASHION BLOG

How crazy is the fashion calender? It's only September, people have barely started thinking about what to fill their fall wardrobes with, and the fashion world is already onto next spring.

Nonetheless, it's always interesting to see what the powers-that-be have in store for us 6-8 months from now - and the future's looking mighty soft & pretty.

The PANTONE Fashion Color Report for spring 2006 is awash in Victorian sounding hues of Cameo Pink, Viola (violet), Melon, Skyway, Lily Green & Clove (a rich, tobacco brown). And the most popular hue of all? Surprisingly it's Sand Dollar, a soft creamy neutral.

We interviewed Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute (Pantone.com)- the extremely influential research arm of Pantone - backstage at the recent Spring 2006 Fashionweek in New York. As the powerhouse behind the Pantone color forecasts & trend reports, she's a chick in the know. "Designers have taken a deep breath for Spring 2006," says Eiseman. "After several seasons of 'color! color! color!', it's time to relax a little. Color this season is toned down, more muted - they're not pastels, not brights, but a nuance in-between. We see this relaxation in the prevalence of Blues, neutrals, and the classicism of Black and White. Designers are still having fun, but don't need the stridency." She also noted that she was surprised at the continued combination of blues & browns - such as Clove with Blue Tint - especially for spring.