The Cultural Significance of Color

COLOUR!!! Who doesn't love colour? We love colour because they are attractive and we use colour to express ourselves. However, symbolism of culture vary from culture to culture.Let's take black for example. We naturally associate that colour with mourning. But in the U.S., black suggests sophistication and formality.


RED
China - symbol of celebration and luck, used in many cultural ceremonies that range from funerals to weddings.

India - color of purity (used in wedding outfits).

United States - Christmas color when combined with green; Valentines Day when combined with pink; indicates stop (danger) at traffic lights.

Eastern cultures - signifies joy when combined with white.

YELLOW
Asia - sacred, imperial.
Western cultures - joy, happiness.

ORANGE
Ireland - religious significance (Protestant).
United States - inexpensive goods, Halloween (with black).

GREEN
China - studies indicate this is not a good color choice for packaging, green hats mean a man's wife is cheating on him.

France - studies indicate this is not a good color choice for packaging.

India - the color of Islam.

Ireland - religious significance (Catholic).

Some tropical countries - associated with danger

Middle East - protective color.

Note: Blue is often considered to be the safest global color.

PURPLE
Western cultures - royalty.

Gray
Western cultures - loneliness, lifeless and loveless times or settings.

BROWN
Colombia - discourages sales.
India - the color of mourning.

WHITE
Eastern cultures - mourning, death.
Japan - white carnations signify death.
United States - purity (used in weddings).

BLACK
Western cultures - mourning, death.

SAFFRON
Hindu - sacred color (orangish peach color).

PASTELS
Korea - trust.
United States - spring, Easter; pale blue (baby blue) stands for an infant boy; pale pink stands for an infant girl.

RAINBOW
United States - Gay pride;
Christianity; cultural unity.

2007 fall haute conture

collection theme:
princely attire, from Ruritanian ceremonial wear to military and sporting gear, with a special section devoted to the splendor of the maharajas of India.

the colour culture of Indian
Always present in Indian's main religious, personal and public life, red is a symbol of celebration, joy, good fortune and passion. In fact, the colour red is a staple in wedding cerimonies. In them, red reigns: the bride's hands and feet are decorated with colourful henna tatoos, the silk used in the garments is red, usually embroidered with gold strings, the fire - the centre of the wedding ritual - is spiked with products that turn it reder and finally, the sindoor, a red powder that symbolizes the blessing and prosperity in a marriage is applied to the bride's hair parting.

There is also a religious connotation: red is the colour of the worshipping of godess Durga, who is considered the embodiment of feminine and creative energy. The colour appears in the offerings made to her, as well as in the offerings given to us by nature: in the summer, colours become red around the indian mountains


Colour analysis:


Low chroma colors (look dull and grayish)

Fall 2007 Ready-to-Wear

Jean Paul Gaultier opened his Scottish Highlands-cum-cowboy-Western-theme collection with the model Coco Rocha pounding down the runway doing a Celtic dance. She wore a double-breasted red coat, but that was beside the point. Mr. Gaultier was working a theme.

Collection theme: Scottish Highlands culture
design feature : layering design , oversize scarf,
Colour analysis:
use high saturation of colour and tartan

Code: gaultierw0806 gaultierw0815

model: Gemma Ward

Autumn Winter '07 '08 Code:

gaultierw0801 gaultierw0805

model: Coco Rocha

Code: gaultierw0802

model: Agyness Deyn

spring 2007---It's Jean Paul Gaultier's 30th anniversary

Thirty Year Retrospective1983 L'Homme Objet

It's Jean Paul Gaultier's 30th anniversary, and just to prove that he's been there, done that, the playful genius sends out a retrospective of his greatest hits.

From a distressed black leather biker jacket tamed with a big black tulle skirt and black and white Converse sneakers from his first collection in '76; t

o his conical bra corset gown from '82;

to iconic pieces from his cool tattoo and piercing collection of '93;

to his Mexican corseted fantasy from the Homage to Frida Kahlo in '97;

to his 2000 couture offering of a spectacular tulle camouflage gown to his "Gitanes" Gypsy woman celebration in 2004, Gaultier has left no fashion stone unturned.

Whether it was a fascination with bondage or Hassidic Jews, Gaultier dove headlong into every sort of sartorial expression possible, and always managed to dream up new and exciting ways of dressing us up.

But the retrospective collection is followed by a new offering - an assortment of work-out inspired clothes, like little satin embroidered track jackets and shorts, all very colourful, upbeat, and disco/gym ready, complete with high heel sneakers. The runway smacks of '80s nostalgia, and celebrates the high/low mix that's become such an integral part of the way we dress today.

He even includes an extremely plump, scantily clad model named Velvet, whose turn in front of a cross-armed, seemingly unamused Anna Wintour, is a sight to behold.

"I just wanted to have fun, to really explore the kind of energy I feel around me," Gaultier enthuses post-show. "Even beyond the physical, it's always that energy we depend on for creativity."

And that's precisely what should keep this boyish genius forging ahead into the future. "It's about heart, and spirit," he laughs. "And as long as I have my brain, I'll just keep going," he promises.

Finding Color Inspiration in Men’s Spring Fashion

Jean Paul Gaultier
One can always count on Gaultier to push the limits, not just in the structure of his designs, but in their color as well. I used this outfit to inspire a fun, young, faded look

Le defile

Le defile- a danced fashion show based on costums Jean Paul designed especially for the performance. It created sufficient interest in France for it to be also perforned in New York.

Le defile, it hardly needs saying, was not in the traditional of classical ballet. Chopinet used videos, back projections and even non-dancers brought up on stage fom the audience- all set to created music.

Feathers

Is there any reason why a man shouldn't wear feathers? dose maribou compromise musculinity? is strong olour unsuitable for male dress? Not in JPG. His philosophy of fashion is truly egalitarian: What is fashion sauce for the gander is certainly sauce for the geese in his opinion, as he proudly shows in this example from' Latin Lovers of the Forties' his Spring-Summer 1995 menswear show' for men who will nick their girlfriends' dresses'

wafting , whispering in drifts of semi-diaphanous layers over delicate fabrics, modern fashion is both more subtle and more complex than much of the high style of the past. Today , there is a lightness and fragility, a multifacted movement as different fabrics and materials are used to work with and against the body, both revealing and concealing in the change of a second.

The line between masculinity and femininity can be a very troubled frontier--by Gautier

There is a world of difference between the runway high jinks which many designers, including Gautier, give us and the total mastery of fabric which is the province of the master. with the possible exception of Yves saint Laurent, no-one in Pairs can beat Gautier at tailoring. with his sophisticated ye, he is able to work within masculine tailoring traditions to produce a high fashion stylishness with the minimum of adaptation. From his Winter 1998-9 couture collection

Global influence on fashion in 2010

Open any newspaper and you'll quickly read of the doom and gloom of the global credit crunch. Much like the economic downturn of the 80s and 90s, will this current 'crisis' have an effect on future fashion collections? How about fashionisers' fashion tastes?


After several seasons of over-abundance, eccentricity and the triumph of artificial over the natural, there is a strong desire to return to a state of equilibrium. Is this a reflection of the current world economic climate? Has this resulted in a wish for fashion to take things steady rather than go overboard? Or is it simply a question of pausing for thought while we mix technical and traditional once more?


It still seems some time off, but 2010's fashion trends are already emerging. With the worldwide economic crisis we aren't expecting any wardrobe revolutions in 2010, but be sure to stay ahead of the trends that do emerge be they hair, make-up, clothes or accessories


Men's suit in 2010

Picking a new suit is never an easy task; there's the cut, the fabric and the quality all to worry about. Though men's fashion trends change at a slow pace, and suits slowest of all, 2009 and 2010 will see a major move away from the monochromatic skinny-boy suit to something a lot more masculine and adventurous. But don't worry, the slim cuts aren't going anywhere.
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Pantone Fashion Color Report Spring 2009

It is always fun to see Pantone’s round up of colors from top designers. Here’s what they are seeing in fashion for Spring 2009.

From Pantone: Spring traditionally evokes a sense of freshness and new beginnings, with sprouting shoots and blossoming flowers that inspire designers to breakout of the winter doldrums. Bright colors return to the top 10 list for spring ’09, as designers incorporate vibrant pops into their collections, yet temper the vibrancy with deeper, translucent or neutral tones.

Yellow is a color that often finds favor with women for Spring dresses but this year yellow has been the ‘it’ color and the lemony lusciousness isn’t limited to dresses or even to women for that matter.
Men are wearing yellow! Yellow nail polish is finding its way to the mainstream. And yellow accessories are popping up more places than daffodils.


Spring color craving: bright green

color analysis of 2009 ready-to-wear

this outfit is mainly red and gray which is in different intensity or Chroma of colour : The brightness or dullness of a color.
Chroma is the purity of a color. High chroma colors look rich and full. Low chroma colors look dull and grayish.
so , it is Mono-chromatic:




the outfit is mainly in green and brown which in the same tone.
It is Split Complimentary Color Scheme
which is similar to complimentary but chooses the adjacent colors 30º each way of the compliment.

it is Analogous Color Combination: Those that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. They create harmonious combinations because they are relatives and have little contrast. Ex: brown and purple in this outfit which they are in the same value

It is Analogic and Complimentary Color Scheme, which is using yellow and dark blue and they are in same tone
the yellow colour is in small proportion in order to achieve the unity of design

this outfit use Aggressive (Warm) Colors
are based on yellows, oranges, browns, yellowish greens, orangish reds, and the like.
It is Analogic Color Scheme, since there are brown and orange colour which they are in same value, while there is 2 different brown colour which they are using different value, it is mono-chromatic scheme.

it is mono-chromatic scheme, which the brown colour are in different value( lightness and darkness)

the dress and the top are in same hue but in different value
It is Monochromatic Color Scheme

these two outfits, Gautier used different line which are in complimentary colour of the others . The small proportion of using complimentory colour which is in order to give audience a flesh feeling. while the main colour the outfit use is brown which are in different value( different
lightness or darkness )

Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2009 couture collection ----Great inspiration from architecture

While the Chanel couture collection was inspired by paper, it was calligraphy that inspired the new Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2009 Haute Couture collection.


While models in Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2009 couture collection waltzed down the runway, an image of a pen-and-ink going through strange computer-generated distortions played in the background.


Not surprisingly, his inspiration lay in the age old art of calligraphy (abstract, of course, with loops and swooshes morphing into hard lines and crested edges).


However, on second glance, each piece in the collection looked more like a guided walking tour of Wells Cathedral, the most poetic of the English cathedrals (known for its early Gothic interior and signature 'scissor arches.')

Gaultier introduced his dreamy couture creations that featured see-through fabrics, fishnets, embroideries, and high-waisted skirts and pants that illustrated the mastery of his craftsmanship.

The colour theories applied: it is mainly achromatic .Lace and embroidery were just some of the exclusive, meticulous details which came in black and white, like ink on paper.

Trousers turned into corsets, and silhouettes took on an 80s look with dresses, some of which were inspired by swimsuits.



For the rest of my thoughts on the show, just read more.

Indeed there was a lot of sheer in the collection as Gaultier's cheeky playfulness shone through. There was an undeniable '80s vibe with power shoulders on power suits and Madonna style bodice . The '80s influence was confirmed when ex-Chanel model Ines de la Fressange ended the show.

Apparent trends from Spring 2009 couture shows