Earlier this month, JCK caught up with Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt, N.J. The impetus for the call was “brat green”—specifically, we wanted to get Pressman’s take on why the slime-green hue went viral earlier this summer (“It’s tied to this moment of self-expression,” she tells us).
But while we came for insight into the color of the summer, we stayed for Pressman’s outlook on the fall. In February, Pantone published its Fashion Color Trend Report for the upcoming seasons—a compendium of 10 colors the institute expected designers to feature in their fall and winter collections. They include Scarlet Smile, a glamorous and decadent red; Aventurine, a mineral-based tone imbued with a hidden richness; and Fern, a leafy green rooted in the natural world; and five new colors that Pantone dubs its “core classics.”
“Fun but also functional, essential but not unexciting, colors for autumn/winter 2024–2025 are straightforward, exuding a self-assured, no-muss, no-fuss demeanor,” Pressman wrote in a statement announcing the report.
During our conversation, Pressman elaborated on the overall mood for fall, the growing emphasis on neutrals, and what the color of the year really means. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
(Note: A few days after our talk, Pantone introduced the Pantone Color Insider, a new color intelligence service with exclusive trend forecasting and color insights for the creative community, jewelers included. Available on the company’s digital platform, the service offers content and data including strategic color trend analysis, color education, and a quantitative look at what’s happening in color around the world. Do with that what you will!)
Which colors can we expect to dominate this fall?
What we were looking at for fall was about richness, earthiness, and our whole desire to be closer to nature. And I still think that is very high up in how we’re thinking. When it comes to fashion, we’re in this place where you’re looking for things that are fun and at the same time functional, things that are essential but not boring. We’re looking at these universal greens. We’re looking at these opulent midtones.
We’re looking at a new way of thinking about neutrals, because we’re living in this increasingly hybrid style of living. And that’s something we’ve been talking about really since COVID. So it’s things that are functional, things that are adaptable, things that you could wear at the office, but then could go out in, things that just take us through many different places in our lives.
We keep seeing this interesting balance between what’s happening in our natural environment and what’s happening in our digital environment. And the further we get into technology, the more we leap right back into the natural and organic world. Again, going back to greens, which have become increasingly important to how we’re thinking about neutrals today. It’s not basic. It is really this whole idea of luxe.
Can you delve more into this idea of neutrals and their place in fall fashion?
The neutrals to me are probably the most interesting because those have taken on such a different meaning. If you think about it, we’re looking for honesty and transparency—these more natural tones, whether it’s beige or cream or lighter grays, they feel very natural and they feel very honest.
They send a message that’s about simplicity, yet they’re elevated and they speak to relaxed elegance. I think neutrals have taken on a whole new feeling. It’s no longer just, here’s my basic neutrals. They really have been elevated.
How would you define a neutral? Is it something that tends to go with most other things, or is it kind of a background color?
I would say today it’s widened. Of course it’s your beiges, your creams, but I think that it could almost shift into the soft browns and the khakis. So I think it’s a widening gamut of color.
Back in February, at the annual Tucson gem shows, we saw this emergence of colors that people historically thought of as off-putting or ugly—like chartreusey yellows—foreshadowing what we’re seeing with “brat green.” Is there such a thing as an ugly color, or is it just that we come to it with cultural baggage? And is there a reason why ugly colors might be resonating?
I think everything’s about context. Yes, one could attribute it to cultural baggage. It’s our perception of it. Think about it for yourself. A color 10 years ago you might have thought was ugly, now you’ve gotten so used to seeing it, all of a sudden you’re like, “I kind of like it. I think I’m going to wear it.” Or “I’m going to bring that into my house.” Sometimes that ugliness is because we’re not used to it. And it’s an affront because we’re not used to it. So it’s the unfamiliar aspect of it.
There’s no really ugly color. It’s just how we think of the color. That influences how a culture, how we personally see color. People are being more defiant and more rebellious, and they’re wanting to wear things that are more off-putting intentionally. Maybe it’s symbolic of who they are, or maybe they’re intentionally trying to send a message: “I’m unique, I stand out, I’m confident.” I think their intention is to make a statement with something new and unfamiliar and unique.
Looking ahead to 2025, when do you introduce the new color of the year?
It’ll be announced the first Thursday in December.
How long have you been working on it?
For color of the year, we do color trend forecasting. And certainly when we’re thinking about our color trend forecasts, we’re always thinking about color of the year because it’s an ongoing conversation between everybody on the trend team and what’s happening and what are we seeing.
But we start thinking about it, really talking about it, I would say, in March. It’s really a reflection of what’s taking place in the culture at that point in time. It’s not about a prediction. It’s about a reflection. How can color answer what we’re looking for? It’s an antidote. How are we feeling?
Top: Rings from Pomellato’s 2024 high jewelry collection
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
