The Relationship between Color and Trends

Last night, WGSN and Parsons The New School for Design presented "The Relationship between Color and Trends." Moderated by WGSN.com Retail Editor Allyson Rees, the panel included Lisa Herbert, Vice President of Pantone Fashion, Home and Consumer, Steven Faerm, Director of BFA Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design, Chris Benz, award-winning womenswear designer and Vilislava Petrova, Trend Editor and US color specialist for WGSN.com.

The event hosted over one hundred industry professionals and students and discussed the cultural and societal temperatures that lead to different color trends. The panelists also talked about their own personal and professional relationships with color and the effect that globalization and digital culture have on color in fashion.

Balenciaga: Spanish Master

Now on show at the Queen Sofia Spanish institute in New York City, Balenciaga: Spanish Master shows the designer's deep connection with his native Spain. Conceived by Oscar de la Renta and curated by Hamish Bowles, the exhibition shows how inspiration including the Spanish royal court and religious life translated to Balenciaga's structured evening gowns and formal ottoman coats.

The exhibition also shows the influence of Spanish flamenco dance and bull-fighting on Balenciaga's signature bolero jackets, polka dots and carnation flower prints. Other key looks include exaggerated volume, intricate surface details and high-to-low hems.

Queen Sofía Spanish Institute
684 Park Avenue
New York NY 10065
Open: Monday-Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday 10am-5pm
Subway: 4, 6 to 68th Street
Tel: +1 (212) 628 0420

We love Honeysuckle!

Yesterday, Pantone announced Honeysuckle as its 2011 Color of the Year. The optimistic, bright pink tone was seen on the spring/summer 2011 catwalks at Cacharel, Twenty8Twelve and Alexandre Herchcovich and was also a key catwalk beauty color at Diane von Furstenberg, Christian Dior and Martin Grant.





Alexandre Herchcovich, s/s11

The announcement comes just in time for WGSN's Panel Discussion at Parsons The New School for Design on Tuesday, December 14th. Moderated by WGSN Retail Editor Allyson Rees, the panel includes Vice President of Pantone Lisa Herbet, Parsons Director of Fashion Design Steven Faerm, womenswear designer Chris Benz and WGSN Trends Editor Vilislava Petrova.

Discussion topics will cover how color trends are forecasted, the importance of color in driving commercial fashion and the inspiration behind directional color palettes. The panel will also examine the societal and cultural circumstances that influence color, and explain how Honeysuckle became Color of the Year.

Click here to register for the panel.

Art Basel Miami Beach, 2010

Miami lit up as it does every year for the epic four day event which brings together the design savvy from all over the world. The main Art Basel exhibition area is at the Convention Center in Miami Beach but most of the satellite shows are spread out in the Design District and in the Wynwood area.

ltr: Ciliary by Ann Hamilton, Gemini, Art Basel; Offensive/Defensive by Liza Lou, L&M Arts

ltr: Untitled by David Altmejd, Rosen; Psycho7 by Erwin Wurm, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

This year it was reported that the main show didn’t bring as much attention and/or sales as previous years, as investors opted to look for more up-and-coming artists at the other venues. The smaller venues such as Pulse, Scope and the kooky Fountain definitely had stronger personalities, being smaller yet more inspirational.

Key takeaways from the art includes absurd collages in aggressive colors, contemporary photographic still lives, royal and historical references, and fabric usage; patchwork, embroidery and weaving. I was also really inspired by all the fantastical motifs with references to fairy-tales.

Liz Craft, Painter; WGSN street shot

My personal favorite off-schedule event is a tie between the Kehinde Wiley’s Fish Fry, an intimate yearly event with a locally-caught-fish dinner and the Island, a site-specific exhibition and experience organized on Flagler Memorial Island.

Design Miami/2010

This year, Design Miami relocated and set up the tents on the parking lot opposite the Convention Center which houses the main Art Basel show. The show, which used to be in the Design District, was smaller than usual with only 15 exhibitors.


ltr: Design Miami/2010, Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta lamp at Carpenters workshop gallery

Although the number of exhibitors decreased, I was happily surprised by the focus on conceptual designs and forward thinking material usage. A personal favorite was the cement “blow-up” molded furniture at Industry Gallery. Another one, and also a confirmed best seller at the show, was the Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta lamp made out of phosphorous bronze and dandelion puffs. I also saw a lot of matte black surfaces and charcoal effects, confirming our Faux Real direction for Fall/Winter 2011/12.

ltr: Jousse Entreprise, Industry Gallery

Key cosmopolite design galleries on site included Barry Friedman and Demisch Danant from New York, Perimeter Art & Design and Jousse Entreprise from Paris, Gallery Seomi from Seoul and Carpenters Workshop Gallery from London among others.