Colour and Fashion Trends

Introduction

In this report, it is divided into 2 main parts, firstly I would like to simply explain what I had learnt after the module. Then, I will describe my individual project including the History of the brand, analysis and prediction of colour and fashion trend.

Learnt knowledge

Most of us would like to use colour in a safe way, it is because we do not really familiar it. During this module, it provides general knowledge of colour, its application in relation to the evolution of fashion trends and its impact on the fashion business.

There are some principles or theory as our guidelines that can help the novice until a level of expertise is reached, for example, the principle of novelty, which harmonious colour schemes quickly becomes boring, so a new or unexpected combination will draw attention to itself and makes the entire composition more pleasing and harmonious. Besides, culture and psychology both influence the application of colours, therefore we should consider these two factors when we do the colour forecasting in fashion business. We also need to know the historical fashion trend evolution at the same time.

About my individual project

Background of selected brand

I have selected the brand “Sonia Rykiel” as my analysis subject. This brand has been launched for 40 years, since Sonia was unable to find any soft sweaters when she was pregnant. In this few years, her daughter, Nathalie, being the more and more important status in the brand, and we can find that start from the collection of Fall/winter 2008, there were appeared much more colours and it made the feeling that the brand is going young. Therefore I predict that the collection of Sonia Rykiel will go to have more colours for the coming few years.

Theme --- “La Reine de dessert”

”Dessert" is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses. The word comes from the Old French "desservir" means "to clear the table."

Before the rise of the middle class in the 19th-century, and the mechanization of the sugar industry, sweets were a privilege of the aristocracy, or a rare holiday treat. As sugar became cheaper and more readily available, the development and popularity of desserts spread accordingly.

Since I think that the most excellent desserts are found in France, and she has a very popular dessert which has various kind of flavors and has different colours, that is "Macaron". Sonia would like to present the culture of France in the past, so I think this dietetic culture should be an interesting topic, and I would like to according to the macaron's colour in my new collection.

Macarons are sandwich-like pastries made with two thin cookies and a cream or ganache between the cookies. In Paris, and particularly at the Versailles Court, members of the Dalloyau family, ancesters of those who founded in 1802 the gastronomy house wearing the same name, served macarons to the Kings, from 1682 until Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.Adding jam, liquors, spices, the macarons shells will be put together two-by-two in the 1830s and, at the end of the 19th century, is created the "Parisian macaron", also called "Gerbet".Thus, the macaron that is known today is the macaron called "Gerbet" that was born in the 1880s in the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris.
Many cookbooks provide macaron recipes, but the authentic Parisian macarons, with the multifarious flavors and colors, have continued to be in short supply, due to the difficulty in making them well. Today, there are but a few cities in which top quality macarons can be found.

Progress and prediction

The colour scheme that I have selected, is based on the principle of familiarity, the concept that familiarity is pleasing and readily accepted. As a result, color schemes based on nature will seem pleasing to most people.

After I finalized the design, I tried to fill in colour individually to each design under the colour scheme. For the colour experiments, I was confused with too much colours, Then I tried to fill them with the Principle of order, i.e. colors should be based on an orderly plan. And I would use the analogous color scheme for my reference. However, I think that this is not a good method to represent the Style of Sonia Rykiel. It is because we found that she like to use monotone to 1 outfit according to the previous research. Black and white should be included in every collection, then I choose another 4 colours from my colour scheme.

Conclusion

To conclude, I think that prediction and application of colour is not a easy thing anymore, there is a lot of factors that should be considered. It is an well experience for me to learn and further use of colour.

La Reine de dessert

Hiver 09/10

Overview the colour experiments of 6 outfits:

Now, I would try to have the colour combination according to the above experiment:

It's too chaotic!!!

Perhaps I try to fill them with the Principle of order, i.e. colors should be based on an orderly plan. And I would use the analogous color scheme for my reference.

~However, I think that this is not a good method to represent the Style of Sonia Rykiel~

According to the previous research, we found that she like to use monotone to 1 outfit. Black and white should be included in every collection, then I choose another 4 colours from my colour scheme. Finally I think my new collection will be like this~

Final Determination of

Sonia Rykiel

Hiver 09/10 collection