Marsala: Pantone's 2015 Color of the Year

I always take Pantone's color predictions with a grain of salt. I don't know if it's because they outright claim that their color pick is definitive, or because, well, it's their business to try to convince you to buy things in that color, but the whole "color of the year" brouhaha always leaves me underwhelmed. My designer friends and architect friends and engineer friends all use Pantone color guides, so I know Pantone's good at what they do. But their color of the year feels like a campaign, nothing more.

I like colors though, so I look anyway.

Pantone is sick of springtime-bouquet colors. Here's a quick recap of their color forecasts from previous years:

This year, Pantone predicts that "Marsala" will be big:

(photo via solopress)

Ever since I started paying attention to fashion designers and their work, I noticed that the colors they chose always trickled down months afterwards. That cerulean sweater scene from The Devil Wears Prada is real talk.

Here's where we've seen Marsala so far:

From Chanel's fall 2014 campaign:

(photo via fashionheavenrants)

Charlotte Tillbury's 2014 Matte Revolution series:

(photo via fleurdeforce)

Most designers seem to pair Marsala up with warmer colors, but I actually think it looks gorgeous with grays and whites:

(photo via designbinge)