2020 Color Classic Blue
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This Pure Glow poinsettia has been spray painted to be classic blue. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Pantone 2020 Color Classic Blue
Are you blue?
You should be if you want to be in style for 2020. Ever since the rash of country blue and mauve pink home decor colors of the 1980s, not personal favorites, I have tracked Pantone’s yearly colors to see how they get incorporated into our homes, quilt fabrics and now even fashion.
For 2020, the color is “classic blue” or a color I refer to as true blue.
"It's a color that anticipates what's going to happen next," said Laurie Pressman, the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, which selects the Color of the Year. "What's the future going to bring as we move into the evening hours?"
The first color of the year was selected in 1999, Cerulean, a basic blue color. As a quilt designer, I have incorporated classic blue in a variety of our custom quilts including our All Blue Double Wedding Ring Quilt. From my experience with fabrics I know colors can impact moods and set the tone of a room. So why blue for this next year?
Classic blue incorporated into one of our custom double wedding ring quilts. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
The Pantone Color Institute said it recognized feelings of instability gripping the world today. It settled on a shade that offers the reassurance, confidence and connection that people may be searching for in an uncertain global milieu.
Pantone has named a color of the year for more than two decades. In 1963, the company created the Pantone Matching System, a proprietary system used in a variety of industries such as printing, graphic design and fashion design to manage, and match, colors. It also ensures that the same colors are compatible across the many multiple uses.
The 2020 Color of the Year isn't just for the seeing.
In collaboration with partners across industries, Pantone created a multi-sensory Classic Blue presentation, which it showcased in Manhattan at its 2020 color reveal. The color experience apparently is now expanding.
The fragrance of Classic Blue wafted through the air while Classic Blue sounds resounded. Classic Blue-textured cushions littered the floor and Classic Blue drinks were served.
This is one of my favorite embroidered pillows featuring bluebells. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
“It was, beyond dispute, a Classic Blue sight to behold,” reported Pantone. But interpreting the color through the other four senses is a far less objective task.
The official Classic Blue scent is described in part as a "contemplation of where sky and sea meet;" the taste as "flowering vines;" the touch as a "soft velvety texture;" the sound as "vivid nostalgia."
Another interpretation: Classic Blue has an earthy, floral musk; a sugary flavor evocative of blue raspberry syrup; the feel of a brand new, plush couch; and an underwater, ethereal sound.
Vintage barn swallow post card in a classic “classic blue” color. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Each year's color is decided through a long and thoughtful process that takes into consideration lifestyle and industry trends, said Pressman.
"Typically, trends that we see in color are reflecting big macro trends that are taking place in culture," she explained.
Color influences can come from art, upcoming media, movies, lifestyles, socioeconomic and political conditions, travel destinations, new technology -- really anything.
The name of the color is an important factor.
"If you have a color called Brown Dirt, versus Chocolate Fudge, it takes on two completely different meanings," said Pressman. "The name really has to resonate with the message that we want to get across."
True to its name, Classic Blue can be regal, restrained and boundless. But it can also be edgy -- even anomalous -- utilizing a variety of tonalities, materials and prints.
I’ve had this classic blue vase giving my basement a shot of color for a couple of years. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
For those who want to sport the 2020 color, Pressman recommends Classic Blue accent pieces such as a scarf or watch strap, or a vase or candle for your home or workplace.
But incorporating the color into your life could be as simple as adding blue foods to your diet. Yes, apparently this trend is moving into having a color-coordinated diet. Aligning with the growing emphasis on health, foods and beverages that are similar in color to Classic Blue are rich in anthocyanins that are thought to bolster the body’s defenses against ailments from cardiovascular disease to cancer cell proliferation.
Adding the classic blue color foods will be healthy step but not sure that qualifies as a fashion statement.
Wearing a classic American fashion, though, most definitely will.
Traditional work jeans represent the classic blue Pantone is heralding for 2020. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
I didn’t grow up with classic jeans. We lived overseas and spent time in homemade clothes. It’s been in the last 10 years as I wade into hours in my garden that I have developed a nice collection of work jeans strong enough to endure my falls down my hillside.
Hey, now I’ll be fashionable. Well, except for the rolling down the hillside part.
Charlotte
