Springing Into Fall Colors

Pantone has released its “Fashion Color Report, Fall 2008.” The new report features the top 10 colors for women's fashion for fall '08, along with designer sketches, quotes and headshots. It also describes the fall color palette for fashion printing as a season defined by rich, elegant hues that offer a vibrant selection for retailers and catalogers.

Each season, Pantone surveys the designers of New York Fashion Week to collect feedback on prominent collection colors, color inspiration and color philosophy. The report coincides with Fashion Week and is a harbinger of color challenges printers will be called to meet. In the latest version, designers emphasize cooler blues, greens and purples as the top five tones used in their autumn collections, followed by variations of warm reds, oranges and yellows.

“Fall is traditionally a time for subdued, quiet colors, but this season we are seeing a shift toward cool hues with bright, exciting undertones,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

“Conventional tones such as warm autumn hues, chocolate browns and steel grays are also among the fall color choices,” she notes. “Blue and purple tones have become staples, as illustrated by Blue Iris, one of the top 10 colors chosen by designers this season, and Pantone's Color of the Year for 2008.”

The colors featured in the report are culled from the Pantone Fashion and Home Color System, the most widely used and recognized color standard in the world.

The top 10 for colors for women are: Blue Iris, Royal Lilac, Shady Glade, Caribbean Sea, Aurora Red, Shitake, Withered Rose, Twilight Blue, Burnt Orange and Ochre.

A free download of the color report is available online: www.pantone.com/fall2008.