Colour trends are constantly on the move, just as fashion trends are too. There are some colours that stay around for longer or are almost always available, such as a version of red, or grey and of course black and white, others come and go at a faster speed.
Neutrals (along with red) do tend to be more available, though some neutrals such as browns, olive and even navy can appear and disappear from fashion for longer periods, so it’s always worth stocking up on them in styles you love when they are easily available as then your choice in garment style will be much greater. We often assume that a neutral will always be around, and apart from black and white, this is not true. Every other neutral will have peaks and troughs in its availability depending on its current place in the fashion cycle.
These are the colours that Pantone is predicting will be popular based on the colour trends seen on the Autumn/Winter 2024 runway shows.
For our warm palettes, there are more light neutrals than dark ones (sorry for those with darker palettes, stock up now on dark warm neutrals as you may see fewer of them over this next season).
For our cool palettes again there is a little more brown (which we’ve seen a lot of this past Autumn/Winter here in the southern hemisphere) along with light and dark shades of grey as well as a really dark navy, great for those deep cool palettes, but too dark for the lighter palettes.
Accent colours change a lot over the seasons. One season you’ll find lilac everywhere, the next you won’t find it anywhere apart from the thrift store. Pink came and went with the Barbie movie. This is why you’ll never buy your entire colour palette in any one season, instead, it will take years to get colours from your entire palette. Focus on what is available, rather than your focus when shopping that you’re looking to find something in a particular colour, it just may not be available Instead, focus on what colours from your palette are available and find the best items, in styles you love in those colours. You’ll have more success this way.
Warm colours that are coming through are softer lighter greens, as well as more punchy yellow greens and tomato red. Then a softer muted brown-toned red which will work really well for many softer warm palettes.
Cool colours also include a bright raspberry red great for the medium to darker and brighter palettes, then a beautiful deep cool emerald green. A really dark muted purple will be perfect for those with the Sophisticated palette, and a soft light blue which will be great for the more Tranquil and Serene and possibly Sublime palettes as well, but should be avoided by those with a warm undertone as it’ll really make you look washed out and tired!
Pantone Scarlet Smile with Pantone Moonstruck and Pantone Dull Grey
The thing to remember is that there are always a variety of these kinds of colours and there will be brighter versions and more muted ones, lighter and darker, so the images here and recommendations are generalised, always take your colour palette swatch shopping with you so that you can see if the specific version of the colour you’re looking at really blends well with it and will add more options to your wardrobe. If it doesn’t blend you’ll find that it limits your possibilities of what other colours that you already own work well with it.
Pantone Winter Sky with Pantone Moonstruck
Shop your wardrobe first, you may find that some of the seasonal colours are ones you already own, or close enough (like I’ve found that exist in my wardrobe), that they fit well within these colour trends.
Check out my blog post here on how to use your palette to find your colours when shopping.
Not sure of your best colour palette and which of these to choose? Then invest in a colour analysis and stop making mistakes. It will expand your wardrobe options, make the choices when shopping easier, and save you money, time and energy.
