What factors influence colour and how important is it

Different people respond to colour in various manners. The reason for an individuals choice of colour may depend on ideals such as their instinct, personality, bodily reasons and the country the muse is situated in. The creation and application of the correct colour palette is crucial for a designers collection although there are other factors that make collections successful.

Culture, Religion and Tradition

Decades ago, brides adorned themselves in red for their weddings. Today, brides in India wear red as the colour marks the start of a new beginning.

Queen Victoria influenced the white wedding dress trend, as she got married in 1840. Countries such as Sr Lanka also extracted the trend through the influence inflicted by the period of British rule on the island. Even now, white wedding dresses are worn by brides in certain European countries.

It is an emblem of the purity and innocence of girlhood, and the unsullied heart she now yields to the chosen one. (Limited, 2019)

Due to its symbolism white is worn for mourning, however certain countries wear drastically contrasting colours such as black due to its indication of grief and gravity.

A trend for black clothing during a period of mourning was created by Queen Victoria, when she clothed herself in black to bemoan her husbands death.

Interestingly, until Coco Chanel designed the iconic black dress in 1926, a woman wearing black clothing for anything other than funerals and mourning was considered to be in bad taste.

Thereafter, black became quite a popular colour in the fashion industry and is currently seen as a neutral tone around the world.

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Black also indicates worldliness and status which signifies why a judges robe or a businessmans suit is mostly black.

Different tribes or ethnicities in the same regions may also wear various colours. The Masai tribe of Kenya in commonly witnessed in red traditional wear. However, the clothing colours would differ for various other tribes in Kenya.

Different traditional occasions may involve appropriate colours. In Sri Lanka, according to the customs of the traditional Sinhala and Tamil new year, people tend to focus on a specific colour for the seasonal festivities. Therefore, the majority may prefer traditional clothing of that colour.

Subconsciousness

The human brain may tend to recover and choose certain colours from the long-term memory and apply it in their choice of clothing without being aware of it. In the past, if an individual has a sweet memory of a loved one dressed in a certain colour, then its quite likely that he/she may subconsciously replicate this colour in his/her clothing that may be worn in the future.

Expression of Personality, Feelings or Emotions. The idea of individuals perceptions could be displayed through their choice of colour. red communicates excitement, passion or anger, yellow is cheerful representing prosperity and a bright sunny disposition and purple can be used to showcase loyalty, power or even mysteriousness. (ResearchGate, 2019)

This provides evidence as to why, red is a common colour for elegant evening wear, purple is seen at magicians shows and yellow is worn for many festivals. The colour blue has an ataractic effect, hence most hospital robes are light blue in colour.

Gender and Age

Gender is not an impediment in most contemporary countries, although it may tend to hinder the clothing colours in many other countries. From the day we were born, blue has been used for baby boys and pink for baby girls. As we grow older, this barrier does not seem to diminish, specially for men. When a man wears pink clothing, he is suspected to be homosexual. This fact seems to be avoided in cultures that accept a wide range of unisex clothing colours.

Colour may differ according to the age of the muse. Youngsters may choose flashy, bright colours whereas the older generation would wish for plain, nude tones.

Colour of Features on the human body

Peoples choice of clothing colour may be linked to their complexion, features and other characteristics. The colour of their eyes or hair may harmonize with the colour of their clothing. Individuals with fairer complexions may prefer dark colours and people with darker complexions may opt for lighter colours.

Due to the multifarious factors that affect colour, it is crucial for a designer to choose colours quite wisely and effectively. In order to accomplish this, a designer must know about their muse accurately, stay ahead of them and cleverly execute a fresh colour palette for their collection. Colours that are too forward should not be chosen, it is necessary to maintain a link between the previous collection’s colour palette and the new collections tones.

Colour plays a significant role in the fashion industry as it is the predominant attention grabber, it is key to brand identity and also key to customer loyalty. Colour gives a designers brand a designation by showing an overall consistency. For example, a brand such as All Saints has adopted neutral and cosmetic tones as a general brand recognition tactic.

Seasons And Colour

The chosen colours for a designers collection should be associated with the seasonal colour palettes in the fashion industry. A colour change will differentiate seasons such as spring/summer which contains warm to dark tones and autumn/winter which contains light and bright colours.

Ideal Customer Audience

Designers should predict or descry the interests of their customer base. While several designers create collections with radiant colour palettes, others tend to stick to more neutral and nonchalant tones. However, the choice would rely on their clienteles colour preferences which would be chosen according to their lifestyle.

Colour is explicitly an essential element to a designers collection as it helps to build an acknowledged trademark. The legitimate prognosis of colour, will aid in catering to the muse efficaciously. However, colour may not be the sole focus of a designers collection. Numerous factors such as prints, the style of the garment, the price that a customer is willing to pay for a garment or the fabric and textile quality of a garment may also be decisive elements to consider, prior to creating a collection.