Colours through fashion eras
Have
you ever come across the sayings “Red with rage”, “Green with
envy”, “Tickled pink” or “Got the blues”? Have you ever
wondered how colours came to be associated with emotions? We’ll
soon be celebrating Valentine’s Day and marketing professionals
will be promoting their products by associating them with the colour
red which is associated with love.
The
colours we wear can convey a strong message about who we are, how we
feel, where we live or what we believe in. Throughout fashion history
colour tells a rich story of class, politics, consumerism and
self-expression. Colour in clothing, especially bright, saturated and
vibrant colours were often highly symbolical and reflected the status
of those wearing the clothes.
In
fashion, colours are directed by the seasons. Dark colours that
absorb heat are applied in the winter season where as pastels and
light colours are used in the warmer months. Warm and bright colours
have the ability to lift one’s mood and are used in the monsoons
and festive seasons. Editors of contemporary fashion often cite a
colour for a season as a means of marketing clothing. Forecasters
take advantage of the importance attached to colour by advancing a
colour palette for a given season.
White:
One of the oldest colours in fashion, white has been considered a
symbol of goodness, spirituality, purity, virtue, godliness and
sacredness. Due to its moral connotations, white is the colour
expected of most brides. However, it was not always the colour for
brides as it is not an easy colour to maintain. It was once reserved
for the refined upper and middle classes, because it wasn’t
suitable attire for those working in laborious, and thus dirty,
industries.
Black:
Throughout much of history, black has been a symbol of evil,
mourning, sadness, repentance and darkness. But since the 14th
century it became one of the aristocracy’s favourite colours. Black
went through many shifts in meaning, application and perception from
era to era and culture to culture. Eventually the colour was
revolutionized and given a prominent standing in the world of
fashion, quickly becoming a symbol of elegance and simplicity. Black
is seen as a sharp colour that can promote many ideas ranging from
sophistication, mystery, sensuality, confidence, through to grief and
misery, depending on the application.
Red:
Considered both a colour of vitality and celebration, as well as
evil and destruction, red was a staple hue throughout history. Given
that it stood for fire, and thus power, victory and shelter from
illnesses and evil spirits, it was often worn by kings. Red is
considered to be a colour of intense emotions, ranging from anger,
sacrifice, danger, and heat, through to love, passion and sexuality.
In India, it is regarded as the colour of happiness, wellbeing and
good fortune and is often worn by brides.
Yellow:
Heralded as the colour of sunshine and gold, and is considered
eternal and indestructible. It embodies many ideas depending on the
shade and application. It can symbolize happiness, sunshine, good
energy and joy. However, due to the fact that yellow pigments are
often found in toxic minerals, it can also represent cowardice,
betrayal, terror and illness.
Blue:
A colour that has long been associated with royalty, art,
military and nature, blue has a lot of applications. It is thought to
promote trustworthiness, serenity and productivity amongst other
positive traits. An icon of faithfulness and spirituality, it was
employed in the images of the Virgin Mary.
Purple:
Due to the fact that producing purple pigments was expensive and
difficult, the colour was often worn by those of high status and
royal descent. Purple symbolizes royalty and nobility throughout
history until 1856 when the colour became more accessible to everyone
and simply became a colour of fashion and style instead. It is,
however, still the colour used by the British royal family. It is a
colour that interestingly sits right in between warm red and cool
blue on the colour spectrum, thus making it both cool and warm
depending on the specific shade. Different shades of purple can have
significantly different effects. Lavender, which is on the lighter
end of the spectrum, communicates femininity, nostalgia, romance and
tenderness. More vibrant purples promote royalty, nobility,
extravagance, and luxury. While deeper, darker shades of purple such
as mauve can promote ideas of seriousness, professionalism as well as
gloom and sadness in certain applications.
Green:
Obviously the colour of nature and health, green is associated
with emotions of empathy, kindness and compassion. Paler, softer mint
greens often promote ideas of youth, inexperience, and innocence,
while deeper, darker greens draw out notions of success, wealth, and
money. Vibrant lime green shades promote energy and playfulness, and
deeper olive greens are seen as representing strength and endurance.
Green was popular in women’s clothing thought the 19th
century, but many of the ‘modern’ green dyes were arsenic based
and numerous cases were reported of women dying of the poison being
released once they started sweating in their clothes.
Brown:
Brown has long been a symbol of the lower-class, an association
stemming from Ancient Rome when the colour was donned only by
barbarians and people of low social and economic rankings. A colour
that was once associated with poverty and humility, has had quite a
revival in modern culture and is now a symbol of all things organic,
natural, healthy and good quality.
Pink:
Widely regarded as a feminine colour; cute and delicate, pink can
be fierce and feminist, punk and powerful. It was an extremely
fashionable colour among both men and women of the aristocracy in
18th century France. It was associated with elegance,
novelty and aristocratic splendour until the late 19th
century Industrial Era, when men shifted to primarily donning black
and other dark colours. After the Second World War, pink was
aggressively marketed as female by advocates of returning women to
the domestic spheres. Since then, many shades of pink dominated
women’s fashion, appearing each time with an intention to define or
redefine womanhood. Millennial pink is a colour that is no longer
meant for women only, but can be worn by men too.
Until
next time, stay stylish!
(Ninoshka
Alvares-Delaney is a Fashion Designer. You can follow her on
Instagram @ninoshkaindia or Facebook /ninoshkaindia)
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