In the video posted in the link above, Pantone Color Institute's Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman discusses the choice of Radiant Orchid as the Pantone 2014 Color of the Year. In the video, Eiseman discusses the connotations of the color. In the press release from December 5, 2013, when Pantone released its 2014 Color of the Year, Eiseman writes, "While the 2013 Color of the Year, PANTONE 12-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination. An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today's society. An enchanting harmony of fuschia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws yo in with its beguiling charm" (Pantone.com Color of the Year Press Release). In the video posted above, Eiseman expands on this explanation of the color, putting emphasis on the symbolism of Radiant Orchid. In the video she states, "We are all looking for that touch of uniqueness and I think that this is a color that can imbue you with that sense of uniqueness."
Eiseman seems to be unaware of the paradoxical nature of this statement. The 'uniqueness' she associates time and time again with Radiant Orchid in the video interview is hilariously contradictory. Pantone's monopoly on color allows the company to extend its influence into the fashion world with its production of dyes, the art world with its manufacturing of printer inks, and the classroom with its prominence in scanners, projectors, and computer screens which alter the way in which we experience colors. Even in the week following this press release, Pantone's sphere of influence has become tangible in the fashion world. On December 10th, just 5 days after the release of the Color of the Year, fashion and beauty blog WhoWhatWear posted on Byrdie, their site dedicated to skincare, haircare, hair products, and makeup, an article that featured celebrities like Rachel Bilson, Suki Waterhouse, and Hilary Rhoda wearing orchid-colored eyeshadow at various recent red carpet events. The website details products and provides links to online beauty supply stores where readers can purchase eyeshadows in variations of Pantone's Radiant Orchid.
Despite being billed on its uniqueness, Radiant Orchid has already found its way into fashion trends that will disseminate amongst the public, from those aware of the trend to those who simply believe they like the way the color looks. On Pantone's website, they address the inevitable absorption of this color into both fashion and beauty trends. With regards to beauty, Pantone released the following statement:
A modern and surprisingly versatile shade, Radiant Orchid enlivens the skin, making all who wear it feel more healthy and energetic. Blending both cool and warm undertones, purple is an appealing hue for distinctive combinations and flattering to many hair, eye and skin tones.
This multifaceted hue is seductive when combined with red and pairs well with its sister shades of lavender, purple and pink, which provides an assortment of lipstick and blush options. Radiant Orchid’s exuberance also acts as a brilliant finishing touch to nails.
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However, because the website specifically names interior design, fashion, and beauty as the three topics to discuss Radiant Orchid's relationship to, there is an interesting emphasis on the color and the way it relates specifically to women. That being said, the color pertains to men as well -- while it will first appear in high fashion, it will trickle down to more common stores to those men and women who don't care (or rather, don't know they care) about fashion, as is emphasized in Pantone's statement on Radiant Orchid in fashion: "Fashion designers featured in the PANTONE Fashion Color Report Spring 2014, including Merson by Jackie Faser-Swan, Juicy Couture and Yoana Baraschi, are incorporating Radiant Orchid into their spring collections and variations of this hue will carry into men's and women's clothing and accessories throughout the next year." While the brands mentioned may not appeal to all, Pantone is correct in predicting the sphere of influence of their Color of the Year. While men are included in the statement, the fact remains that the press release seems to be focused on the applications of the color in areas that typically women would have more of an interest in than men. Interestingly, in Control Revolution, Beninger also places an emphasis on women with regards to the dissemination of advertising, specifically when he discusses the emergence and pervasiveness of half-tone illustrations in magazines (Beninger 358). As examples of magazines that use this type of illustration, Beninger brought up Cosmopolitan and Ladies' Home Journal. The emphasis on women as consumers is not a new phenomenon, as is illustrated by Beninger's tables detailing the introduction and spread of various advertising techniques, though it is one that has become problematized in recent years. With advertisements that portray an unrealistic body image to women, those that are sexually explicit, and those that attempt to appeal to a feeling of inadequacy in women that could be aided by the purchase of a product or number of products, women are emphasized as consumers, characterized as having some sort of lack to be filled by something they can buy (clothes, makeup, perfume, jewelry). For example, a few years ago De Beers had an ad campaign that showed beautiful women wearing blinding diamond rings on their right hands. The campaign was crafted around the idea of a 'right hand ring', a ring a woman could buy for herself to show that she doesn't need a man. This ad campaign was extremely successful and prayed on the insecurity of single women, showing them a way to overcome this inadequacy without finding a man to buy her a ring.
With regards to Pantone, the implications are much less obvious. The Color of the Year is announced in December preceding the year of the given color. For the next year, fashion trends, beauty trends, and trends in interior design will revolve around the color, variations of the color, and complements to the color. Pantone doesn't need an advertising campaign like De Beers in order to sell the product (the color), companies do the advertising for them. For each fashion house that releases a line featuring Radiant Orchid, Pantone is advertised. For each beauty line, high end or drugstore brand, that releases makeup in shades of Radiant Orchid, Pantone is advertised. In each design magazine that features an interior painted and decorated in Radiant Orchid, Pantone is advertised. For each jewelry line that features amethyst stones in jewelry in the next year (from which the inspiration for Radiant Orchid partially stems), Pantone is advertised.
Pantone has succeeded in cultivating the most pervasive subliminal advertising campaign in the country simply be deeming a color "The Color of the Year." Because Pantone has its foot in the door of countless different modes of production, Pantone's presence is undeniable. And the most significant fact is that, whether or not the companies producing things in variations of Radiant Orchid give any mention to Pantone, the company will continue to shape the way both consumers and the elusive producers interact with both one another and the consumer society.
What startled me the most in the video you posted was something said 9 seconds in. The man conducting the interview noted that the picking the color of the year was 'such a big responsibility'.
ReplyDeleteHere is what immediately ran through my head:
Who is this man? What does he do?
Wait, who is the woman he is interviewing? What does she do?
What the hell is Pantone?
There's a color of the year?
What the hell is Radiant Orchid?
Upon looking up Radiant Orchid, I let out a groan. Personally, I wouldn't wear Radiant Orchid if you paid me. But then I was suddenly reminded of a scene from The Devil Wears Prada. In it, Miranda Priestly (expertly played by Meryl Streep) puts her new intern Andrea (Ann Hathaway) in her place. Miranda calmly informs Andrea that, despite her attempt to prove that she is a serious journalist and not a player in the fashion world by wearing a lumpy blue sweater and a plaid skirt, the defiant outfit is the manifestation of the decisions made by the people in front of her. Miranda notes that,
“in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent wasn't it who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff”.
Pantone is the decider. This corporation has a monopoly on color. We, the consumer, give them power. Give it 3 years or so and you will probably find me in a Radiant Orchid sweater.