Saturday, March 19, 2011

Delicious Copper

It's that time again. For many, snow is still a possibility. Spring has not yet sprung! It's tough to think about the "next" colder season when this one is not quite over. But for those of us that design seasons ahead, we're always thinking about color. We're thinking about which shade might be the next big fashion hit.
I always find it fun to look at the Pantone trend reports. For me, they don't always seem spot on. However, they do provide some fun food for thought and possible direction. Funny, their forecast included "Honeysuckle" as a big color for Spring 2011. They're including this deep pinky-coral shade for Fall as well. (Note: This was my weakest selling shade for Spring 2011! Dunitz did show a combination of "Honeysuckle" with Coral orange.)

The New York, Paris & Milan runway shows are incredibly fun to check out... if even only online. The styles can be riveting. The big shoes are crazy. The makeup's outrageous. But through all that, I see color, color and more color. Brown is not just brown. It can be 'chocolate', 'espresso' or 'burnt sienna'. Grey is not just grey. It can be 'smoke', 'charcoal' or 'steel'. White is not just white. It can be 'pearl', 'swiss coffee' or 'birch'. The finesse comes with the precise shade and the combinations of shades. Shade and saturation of color is so important.

Sometimes you just have to go with your hunches. After looking at the runway shows, studying Pantone's forecast, shopping the stores to see what is "hottest" in home fashion & observing what people are wearing on the street, I begin to piece together my colors for the Dunitz & Company Collection. What I can tell at this point is my Fall 2011 will strongly focus on delicious coppers and a variety of saddle brown. I'll be throwing in a bit of jet black, plum, crimson, gunmetal and verdegris too.
It's going to be a yummy collection! You stay tuned now. From time to time I reveal crumbs on our facebook page. Do follow us there too. I can't wait to show you the big reveal at the summer trade shows. Thanks for reading. -ND