By Ashley Zimmermann, Creative Content Director for @designREMODEL
Pantone’s 2022 Color of the Year is a fresh periwinkle bluish-purple tone called Very Peri. I am a sucker for purple (always have and always will be), so I find this color pick quite delightful. It reminds me of a jelly bean during a springtime Easter egg hunt; it is bold, young, forward-thinking.
It is a rich, pigmented purple. It is pleasing to look at because Pantone did not skip on pigment; it has the kind of rich color acquired when one colors very hard with a crayon (that was me, I always broke crayons). We are here for pigment. It is an especially lovely periwinkle because of the blue balance; many periwinkle shades have too much blue, so you hardly see the purple. This shade is just right.
Very Peri is not merely a pretty color. Many sources have said purple is the next Millenial Pink, and Very Peri is part of this movement. The existence of generational colors offers insightful commentary on society; we can learn a lot if we pay attention.
Image by whoalice-moore via Pixabay
Millennial Pink
Let’s refresh everyone’s memory of the emergence of Millennial Pink. MP is the first color in my recent cognition that I really noticed- it was everywhere, becoming popular due to the subliminal advertising of Instagram and the like. In my defense, I am not the only one who began paying attention with the dawn of MP: Business Insider says MP was a pivotal color by kicking off the existence of generational colors. New York Magazine’s The Cut explains this cross-sectionof the pink spectrum is representative of the #GirlBoss era: this pink is not Barbie’s pink, but is instead is intelligent, savvy, and confident. To clarify, this pink is also not purely a color for her, but rather a color for everyone. Gendered colors are blasé; the 2010s and 2020s are here to break gendered norms and embrace equality in art and design.
Gen Z Yellow
Image by StockSnap via Pixabay
Advertising and tastes continue to evolve, and as Generation Zs came of age, they brought their very opinionated tastes with them. In 2018 Cosmopolitan said, “If millennial pink is the cool, trendy Instagram girl who carefully curates her feed by snapping pics in front of artsy graffiti walls and documenting all her lattes, Gen-Z yellow is her carefree, bold, outgoing younger sister who lives for spontaneity.” Gen Zs are bold and experimental. Androgyny is a theme, and yellow showcases a color even less gendered than before.
Introducing: The Purples
Vogue showed us back in 2019 that lilac was becoming a celebrity fashion staple and starting to usher out Millennial Pink. Apartment therapy took a liking tomauve last November and suggested painting an accent wall or freshening up a room with pillows and decor. (The ModShop Velvet Barrel Chair they featured speaks to me.)
Enter Very Peri for 2022. This hue is not so much reflective of one particular generation but rather is an extension of both MP and Gen Z Yellow. It is part of the evolution. Pantone describes Very Peri as follows: “Encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time possessing a violet-red undertone, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression.”
I agree. As I mentioned above, I think of spring and jelly beans when I see Very Peri. Freshness and hope. I also see a continuation of the gendered-color-breaking movement, and I see hope for the future as we move forward out of two years under a grey cloud. Pantone says: “Displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit, inquisitive and intriguing PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri helps us to embrace this altered landscape of possibilities, opening us up to a new vision as we rewrite our lives … We are living in transformative times. PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through. As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our notions and standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged in new ways.”
References:
https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022
https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022-shop-pantone-very-peri
https://www.thecut.com/2016/07/non-pink-pink-color-trend-fashion-design.html - Why Is Millennial Pink Suddenly So Popular?
https://www.vogue.in/fashion/content/is-purple-the-new-millennial-pink-for-the-worlds-best-dressed-celebrities-alia-bhatt-anushka-sharma - Is purple the new millennial pink for these celebrities?
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/mauve-color-trend-36997472 - Is Mauve the Next Millennial Pink?
https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/modshop-martinique-29-wide-velvet-barrel-chair-ndnw1157.html?piid=40530053&domain=apartmenttherapy.com&cjevent=894e0cd6811c11ec82aceb0a0a82b821&refID=CJ314743-CJ5370367&PID=CJ100016855&clickid=894e0cd6811c11ec82aceb0a0a82b821&cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww - Martinique 29'' Wide Velvet Barrel Chair
https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-pink-gen-z-yellow-very-peri-orchid-flower-generational-colors-2022-1 - Millennial Pink and Gen Z yellow captured their generation's economic struggles. Now it's purple's turn.
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a19701564/gen-z-yellow/ - Definitive Proof That Gen-Z Yellow Is the New Millennial Pink