Trend Concepts S/S 21

Global Colour
Get your first glimpse of what S/S 21 will look like with our seasonal palette,
plus our pick of the five tones set to have the biggest impact

WGSN Original Image / Doan Ly - a.p. bio

 Action Points
WGSN’s Global Colour report provides your first glimpse of what S/S 21
will look like, and continues from our A/W 20/21 Global Colour report
with a palette divided into natural and artificial hues. While hues can be
mixed freely between the two, this split reflects the duality of a world
that will be powered by 5G and immersed in tech, and also increasingly
drawn to nature, as we seek to disconnect, and rise to the challenges of
sustainability.
1 . Use neutrals to connote luxury: recent WGSN Instock data shows
brown has been gaining pace in womenswear. It will trickle down to
bring a sophisticated edge to other markets and categories in S/S 21,
along with tinted neutrals.
2 . Look to natural dyes for inspiration: while they may not be
scaleable at a mass level, the raw and imperfect look of natural dyes
is still set to influence colour. Embrace washed, nuanced hues to
offer an alternative to a digitally slick era.
3 . Be transseasonal: build versatility and sustainability into your
offer with tones that will work beyond one season – and if a colour is
successful, don't be afraid to extend its run.
4 . Embrace off-kilter brights: it's time to replace flat, obvious brights
with more interesting and acidic tones as consumers become more
confident with colour.
5 . Tap into colour psychology: take a scientific approach in an era
when consumers are more attuned to colour, and expecting
emotional connections with products and brands. Studies show
chroma and hue can be used to alter the impact of your tones.

Sam Schonzeit
 Palette S/S 21

Global Colour
Artificial
These colours have an unnatural
intensity designed for a digital age,
where tones need to pop on screen

Tranquillity Blue
Satsuma Spritz

Lemon Sherbet
as much as they do in real life. The

Green Dream
Deepest Red

Intense Rust

Gravity Grey

Purple Nitro

Marmalade
Digital Mist

Quiet Wave
Grey Grape

Apple Buzz

Vital Green
Afterglow

Blue Beat
Lilac Tint

A.I. Aqua
Oxy Fire

Pink Lift
presence of darks, as well as two
colours continuing from our A/W
20/21 palette (Gravity Grey and
Marmalade) highlight the
importance of transseasonal tones.

Enhanced Naturals
Our broad edit of natural colours has
a muted and nuanced quality
inspired by the unpredictable look of
Sophora Japonica

Himalayan Rubrub

Pagoda Flower
Catechu Wood

Silvered Green
natural pigmented dyes. As
Danish Brown

Kapok Green
Velvet Pine

Myrobolan

Good Grey
Kata Tjuta

Full Indigo
Soap Nut

Elm Bark

Spirulina
Gallnut

Nettle
Pecan

Clove
sustainability becomes a more
Sago

immediate and mainstream issue,

colours like these, which appear to
have come straight from the source,
will have stronger appeal.

* All colour names are specific to WGSN. For colour codes, please refer to the following colour system reference pages:
Coloro / Pantone TCX / Pantone Coated / Archroma / CSI
 Palette S/S 21

Global Core Colours

Our core colours are the bedrock
tones to build your collections
around, but will also have growing
relevance for trend-driven product as
neutrals come back into favour. For

Optic White

French Navy
Unbleached

Silver Grey
S/S 21, we have expanded the

Black
palette to 11 tones, and included a
richer selection of browns.

Uniform Green
Cafe Grande

Composite
Toffee
Camel
Slate

* All colour names are specific to WGSN. For colour codes, please refer to the following colour system reference pages:
Coloro / Pantone TCX / Pantone Coated / Archroma / CSI
 Palette S/S 21

Global Colour Hues

Orange Yellow Red Pink Purple Blue

Green Brown Grey

Our S/S 21 palette evolves from A/W
20/21 with fewer blues and a broader
selection of browns, signalling the
growing popularity of neutrals, as
well as the rising importance of
transseasonal tones with versatile
year-round appeal.

* For colour codes, please refer to the following colour system reference pages:
Coloro / Pantone TCX / Pantone Coated / Archroma / CSI
 Coloro 098-59-30 / Pantone 16-4725 TCX

Key Colour S/S 21

A.I. Aqua
Why is it key? A.I. Aqua is our tech-inspired tone for a
digital world. It will hit mass relevance in 2021, as we
design more and more for a digital context, with the
rise of 5G-powered artificial intelligence and super-
fast connectivity. This hue also has a futuristic
appeal thanks to its unnatural brightness – perfect
for capturing the mood of a pioneering new decade.
How to use it: A.I. Aqua is both sporty and trend-
forward, making it ideal for women's and men's
designs in the cross-over space between active and
fashion. Also use it to refresh tech products,
accessories, and as an interiors accent.

To find out more about Coloro, click here

• •
A/W 20/21 S/S 21

Digital Teal A.I. Aqua

 Coloro 122-66-02 / Pantone 15-4008 TCX

Key Colour S/S 21

Good Grey
Why is it key? Grey has been playing a supporting role
a while now – a good hue to pair with more exciting
brights – but as fatigue for maximalism sets in, this
soft tone will have breakout appeal, feeding into a
growing appetite for minimalism. It also has a
sustainable edge, inspired by the amalgamated grey
tone that emerges in recycling when different-
coloured plastics are combined.
How to use it: Good Grey is a truly versatile hue with
particular relevance for formal and semi-smart
apparel. Also use it for active and casual-wear,
accessories, swimwear, tech products, and across
interiors.

To find out more about Coloro, click here

• •
A/W 20/21 S/S 21

Composite Good Grey

 Coloro 046-85-28 / Pantone 12-0646 TCX

Key Colour S/S 21

Lemon Sherbet
Why is it key? Yellow is typically perceived as a
difficult colour, but has been gaining buzz and
acceptance thanks to the rise of Gen Z yellow. This
will continue into S/S 21 with Lemon Sherbet, which
offers a softer evolution of the trend, and speaks of a
broader shift towards less obvious brights for this
season.
How to use it: Lemon Sherbet is subdued enough to
work across genders. It will have a clear appeal for
youth, particularly in apparel, footwear and swim, but
will also work for soft accessories, and as a feature
tone for interiors.

To find out more about Coloro, click here

• • • • •
S/S 19 A/W 19/20 S/S 20 A/W 20/21 S/S 21

Sunny Yellow Waxed Yellow Mellow Yellow Lemon Cream Lemon Sherbet
 Coloro 072 -69-24 / Pantone 15-6123 TCX

Key Colour S/S 21

Quiet Wave
Why is it key? Greens have been gaining ground for a
number of seasons, and gravitating towards cooler
levels that feel more tech-inspired and less natural –
most notably in Neo Mint from our S/S 20 and A/W
20/21 forecasts. Quiet Wave offers a more confident
update on this futuristic colour story as it picks up
pace among consumers.
How to use it: Quiet Wave will work well for youth-
focused menswear, and have broader appeal for
womenswear, accessories, and sneakers. Also use it
for tech products and interiors accessories and
accents.

To find out more about Coloro, click here

• •
S/S 20 — A/W 20/21 S/S 21

Neo Mint Quiet Wave


Methodology
For S/S 21 we explored several areas of research to
select and validate colours
Digital influences
This season's artificial tones are influenced by the
increasingly blurred line between digital and real life,
where colour needs to be as carefully considered for
the online space as it is for the physical world. This
view was backed up when we spoke to Kerry
Murphy, a co-founder of The Fabricant, which
creates virtual editorials and clothing that live
exclusively online (its tag line is 'Always digital,
never physical'). He told us: "What we wear and how
we wear it has long been the way humanity has
projected itself on to the world. By taking that
instinct into the digital space, we open up an arena
of endless creative possibility, where the inner self
and its outward expression can meet beyond the
limits of the physical realm."
Sustainability
Chemicals used for textiles dyeing are one of
fashion's biggest polluters. We researched
alternative and natural dyes for S/S 21, and while
these are currently hard to scale at a
mass-market level, the resulting colours – which chroma will resonate on an emotional level, for
have an authentic and at times unpredictable
quality – will become more influential and desirable,
and are a key influence behind our selection of
example, and this will be intensified when the hues
are warmer – while for cooler hues with weaker
chroma levels, the opposite will be true.
natural hues. WGSN Instock Data
In interiors, recycled plastics are already making an WGSN's Instock platform collects data from global
impact, and this informed one of our key colours for retailers to highlight what's up-trending, what's
the season – Good Grey. We spoke to British down-trending, and what's remaining stable. We
product designer Jamie Shaw, who highlighted this
analysed this data for our S/S 21 palette, examining
hue's appeal, telling us: "While there isn't really one
year-on-year shifts between 2018 and 2019 to see
tone that is good for the future [in terms of
where colour is heading, as well as figures from
sustainability], the mid-grey that you see in recycling
earlier seasons to identify more established
when everything is mixed together is a good starting
patterns. We also looked closely at the numbers
point."
from the luxury sector, which provide a barometer
Colour Psychology for colour trends that will trickle down to mass-
market level.
In a world crammed with information and
distraction, colour – and the psychology of how we
react to it – is becoming an increasingly important
tool for brands and products to cut through the
noise.
We explored how this field is evolving, looking at
recent studies by experts such as Li-Chen Ou, whose
research is covered in the Handbook of Colour
Psychology (published by Cambridge University
Press). Chen examines how the impact of a colour
is influenced not only by its hue, but also levels of
chroma (the purity or intensity of a tone) and
lightness, as well as warmth or coolness. Colours
with a deeper
 Core Colours

036-89-06

037-93-00

153-19-00

115-23-11

039-75-01

038-50-05

033-64-15

024-45-22

021-33-12

010-52-00

041-28-11

084-24-14 049-33-14
107-38-27 048-82-17
081-39-28 040-59-13
089-87-15 060-66-06
Colour Reference S/S 21

098-59-30 029-44-05
Coloro

072-69-24 015-39-07
056-57-27 016-66-05
043-75-34 124-31-04
046-85-28 122-66-02
007-57-23 030-67-08
020-60-35 030-87-05
031-72-40 043-78-28

* This is a reference guide only. Colours on computer screens vary.

047-82-01 016-50-19
133-84-01 024-57-21
141-43-17 020-50-32
001-39-05 033-62-21
042-45-01 030-41-18

Enhanced Naturals
015-50-36 025-34-20
015-33-25 040-58-28

Artificial
006-26-16 082-43-10
 Core Colours

11-0701 TCX

11-4800 TCX

19-4004 TCX

19-4019 TCX

14-6305 TCX

18-0312 TCX

16-0928 TCX

17-1340 TCX

19-1228 TCX

17-0000 TCX

19-0516 TCX

19-5220 TCX 18-0426 TCX

18-4434 TCX 13-0522 TCX
18-5338 TCX 16-0726 TCX
Pantone TCX

13-4910 TCX 16-0110 TCX

Colour Reference S/S 21

16-4725 TCX 18-1112 TCX

15-6123 TCX 18-1409 TCX
17-0336 TCX 16-1506 TCX
13-0746 TCX 19-4014 TCX
12-0646 TCX 15-4008 TCX
16-1620 TCX 15-1304 TCX
16-1361 TCX 12-0601 TCX
14-1064 TCX 12-0737 TCX

* This is a reference guide only. Colours on computer screens vary.

13-4303 TCX 18-1537 TCX
13-4105 TCX 16-1332 TCX
18-3418 TCX 17-1452 TCX
18-1404 TCX 15-0927 TCX
17-0613 TCX 18-0933 TCX

Enhanced Naturals
17-1564 TCX 19-1241 TCX
18-1442 TCX 17-0839 TCX

Artificial
19-1526 TCX 18-5308 TCX
 Core Colours

7541 C

7562 C

7574 C

7582 C

2332 C

7771 C
663 C

426 C

547 C

428 C

417 C

567 C 7763 C
2153 C 615 C
Pantone Coated

3298 C 451 C
324 C 7537 C
Colour Reference S/S 21

7710 C Warm Gray 10 U

2248 C 2478 C
7490 C 436 C
129 C 2379 C
379 C 2162 C
2030 C 7529 C
1645 C 7604 C
137 C 127 C

* This is a reference guide only. Colours on computer screens vary.

420 C 7522 C
5315 C 7515 C
5205 C 7583 C
2477 C 465 C
416 C 7575 C

Enhanced Naturals
179 C 7602 C
492 C 118 C

Artificial
1817 C 5545 C
 Core Colours

215-140

660-120

660-940

653-980

659-280

548-530

213-630

110-840

542-780

658-510

547-970

324-920 217-910
329-760 218-150
324-730 216-710
325-150 550-340
Archroma
Colour Reference S/S 21

327-580 546-610
322-260 542-620
219-780 543-220
216-480 654-730
217-250 653-220
103-380 546-220
108-560 212-120
212-450 216-430

* This is a reference guide only. Colours on computer screens vary.

659-140 106-510
654-120 110-720
437-520 109-670
657-520 214-720
659-630 212-820

Enhanced Naturals
106-580 110-940
107-980 215-880

Artificial
103-920 324-820
 Core Colours

1000180 MC

0900393 MC

0701453 MC

1101102 MC
1200317 CO

0503595 CO

1100987 CO

0101324 CO

0701953 CO

0903137 CO
0800580 CK

0900195 MC 0900351 MC
0505147 CO 0903334 MC
0903367 CO 0903961 MC
0601374 MC 0901277 MC
Colour Reference S/S 21

0600308 MC 0903189 CO
0903002 MC 0701905 MC
CSI

0904102 CO 0302941 MC
0101109 MC 1101063 CO
0100385 MC 0500552 CK
0200330 MC 0800232 CK
0201530 MC 0101105 CO
0101516 CO 0100275 MC

* This is a reference guide only. Colours on computer screens vary.

1100987 CO 0700071 MC
0401919 CO 0201613 CO
0402627 CO 0201882 CO
0402626 CO 0101328 CO
1100119 MC 0701315 CO

Enhanced Naturals
0201413 CO 0700474 MC
0200494 MC 0101252 MC

Artificial
0301035 MC 0902950 CO

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