walch

TMD 402G The Future of Fashion

Fashion in the 21st Century: Multicolored Patterning and Special Color Effects in New Materials and Blends

Margaret Walch, CAUS

Working in an industry dealing with fashion is very challenging. Manufacturers need to create products that are trendy and fresh. Instead of arbitrarily choosing various colors to use for their products, many manufacturers turn to forecasting services to advise them on what is upcoming and modern. The Color Association of the United States was formed in 1915 to make color predictions for fashion and interior industries. CAUS committees composed of 8-12 professionals meet twice a year to make predictions for the upcoming color trends in men’s, women’s, and children’s wear, in addition to interiors, two to five years ahead of time. Margaret Walch, the director of CAUS, trained as a historian, allowing her to observe the cyclical use of various colors in fashion. Walch oversees this commercial enterprise composed over 1,000 members. She has written a number of books on color, including The Color Compendium.

Walch feels that in the first years of the new millennium we will not be defining color in the traditional dimensions of shade or hue. Instead, clients are urged to observe clothing and interior fashions in terms of multicolored patterning, blends, and color composites. Some of the special effects that have been observed are the use of metallics, laminates and transfer printing, resins, veiling, and patterning incorporating multiple colors. For example, in the CAUS spring/summer 2001 women’s wear card, three metallic fabrics--light, medium, and dark silver--are included. These fabric swatches are designed to be detached and used in conjunction with the major color predictions for that year. Since color changes at a moderate pace, we can assume that gradual changes will occur in fashion during the next few years. Walch feels that the move to chromatic fashions is a response to the past 20 years of the minimalist use of black and monochromatic designs.

Each color storyboard is said to incorporate the past, present, and future. Some of the sources of color information that the association looks to are museum exhibits, retail spaces, runway shows, artists, observation of streetwear, and historical palettes. Walch spoke about specific recent exhibitions, such as the F.I.T. exhibition on Bonnie Cashin. Cashin’s work incorporated the innovative use of mixing fibers and non-textile materials. Cashin combined knits and metallics, fur and leather, and transparencies with garments in the 1960s. Walch noted that today the fashion industry is more concerned with how light shows through fashion transparencies, not the color of the plastics themselves. All of the various sources for color that Walch mentioned exhibited similar warm color trends, like reds and yellows, which CAUS had predicted for the new millennium.
In discussing the interior forecasts, it was stressed that currently a significant link exists between interiors and fashion. Both of these industries look to one another for inspiration and are borrow design concepts from each other. Walch argued that interiors are looking to warm colors because of an increasing desire for personal, calming space in our technological world. Significantly, damask is seen as becoming increasingly important for home furnishings, emitting a multiple colored effect due to its weave structure.

Overall, Walch stressed the flourishing nature of warm tones in fashion, such as browns, oranges, reds, and yellows. Historical palettes, especially from the 1950s, are seen as making a revival in the upcoming years. An awareness and incorporation of ethnicity into fashions, especially Asian inspired designs, have also been predicted. Dramatic and theatrical finishes will be employed to develop interest in fabrics. Walch feels that “color speaks of its time.” In order for colors to be relevant in the 21st century, they need to incorporate highly colored patterns, tonalism, and special effects in their finishes.