Pantone’s 2022 Colour of the Year packs a purple punch! The international colour trends institute has created an energising new colour, ‘Very Peri’, which fuses periwinkle blue and violet-red. The result is a bright lavender hue that reflects tones found in nature and the virtual world but is totally original.

For 23 years, the Pantone Colour of the Year has been chosen by a panel of international colour and design experts to reflect the current world in which we live. The experts analyse new colour influences from around the globe and across industries, including entertainment, art, fashion, technology, social media and travel. It considers socio-economic conditions and emerging lifestyles as well as new materials, textures and techniques.

Image: Pantone

The final result has a huge influence on product development and purchasing across fashion, home furnishings and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.

This year, Pantone decided to blend a new shade that wasn’t already in its existing catalogue of colours. 

PANTONE 17-3938 VERY PERI was devised to catalyse confidence and curiosity; to spur the creative spirit in a new, altered landscape of possibilities. It also illustrates the fusion of modern life and how colour trends from the digital world are being manifested in the physical, as well as vice versa.

A Fusion of Worlds

Our physical and digital lives have now merged in many ways, opening the door to a dynamic virtual world where we can explore and create new colour possibilities. ‘Very Peri’ reflects trends in gaming, as well as the growing popularity of the metaverse and artistic community in the digital space and the explosion in NFT artworks.

“The Pantone Colour of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that colour can hope to answer,” says Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Colour Institute.

“As society continues to recognise colour as a critical form of communication, and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us.”

However, purple is not for the fainthearted! If you’d like to inject some ‘Very Peri’ into your interiors, here are some ideas to do so in a subtle way…

Neutralise the Palette

Pantone has curated a number of auxillary palettes which will complement ‘Very Peri’, We love ‘The Star of the Show’, which surrounds the purple hero with a halo of classic and elegant neutrals.

Statement Furniture or Accessories

Add a generous scoop or a mere soupçon of ‘Very Peri’ with a statement accessory such as a stuffed occasional chair or soft furnishings.

Colour Block! 

‘Very Peri’ is fun-filled and a great unisex shade to use for kids’ rooms.  They’ll love that it draws on the digital world too. Use it as a statement splash or colour block an entire wall.

See the latest colour trends and much more at the Australian International Furniture Fair (AIFF) and Decor + Design 2022, which will return to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from 14 – 17 July. Register your interest now for news and to be notified when trade visitor registration opens.