A bright outlook

WORDS Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly

VISI caught up with colour specialist Leatrice Eiseman. Here’s what she had to say about colour and design trends for 2013.

Thanks to the Diamond Jubilee and the successful London Olympics, the trend for all things British continues to reign.

To celebrate 60 years of the Queen’s colour-matched ensembles, Pantone collaborated with ad agency Leo Burnett London to create a Pantone wheel based on her colour choices over the past six decades. Each colour has a Pantone reference number and cites the occasion on which the Queen wore an outfit in that shade. Some of the most notable colours to look out for are Primrose Yellow, Crystal Blue, Pink Carnation and Ice Green.

The red, white and blue of the British flag will also continue to be strong.

Pastels are the new neutrals. They’re soft and pretty and work in most spaces.

Accents in rich jewel tones such as ruby red and blue-green teal will be big. There is a massive purple and mauve revival, largely due to the popularity of the Downton Abbey TV series, in which shades of purple dominate.

Green is the new black. Besides the colour of the year, emerald, a current favourite that has been with us  with us for some time is the yellowy green shade known as chartreuse.

The look of tomorrow is heavily influenced by a rugged cowboy, outback style of living. Look out for patchwork, denim, reclaimed wood, cork, embossed leather and images of wolves.

A new movie adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, premieres early this year and its 1920s setting seems certain to herald a glamorous Art Deco revival.

A can of paint is the new scatter cushion. It’s as easy to change the colour of your walls or an item of furniture with fresh paint, as it is to update your cushions.

Using clashing prints together continues to be a big decor trend. Think paisley with leopard print, ikat and even vintage prints.

As fluorescent colours take centre stage in fashion, we should look out for neon cars on the road some time soon.

Leatrice Eiseman heads the Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training and is also executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, colorexpert.com, pantone.com