The votes are in and this year’s big winner in the race to be Pantone’s Color of the Year is the bright and vivacious Tangerine Tango. The juicy hue is expected to be a hit in the home and on the runway.
Optimistic Orange
According to Pantone, the 2011 color of the year, Honeysuckle, “encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor.” Tangerine Tango takes that optimism and can-do attitude a step further. The color gurus call it “a spirited reddish orange, [that] continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.”
“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”
Pantone noted that, over the past several years, orange has grown in popularity and acceptance among both designers and consumers. Once a shade considered just for the fashionably daring, it has become everyone’s favorite accent -- at home, at the office and at play. But Tangerine Tango is no simple orange.
Invigorating Interiors
This is a great shade for those clients who are afraid of bold colors. It’s powerful enough to make a big statement via smaller pieces and to hold its own as the only pop of color in a room. An entirely neutral room will jump to life with a few carefully selected accessories in bright orange hues.
Pantone’s suggestion is to energize interior spaces via the use of patterned home accessories, kitchen appliances and focal walls that incorporate Tangerine Tango. “Pillows, bedspreads and tabletop accessories in this high-impact hue add spice to any room,” said the color experts. “Looking for an inexpensive way to perk up your home? Paint a wall in Tangerine Tango for a dynamic burst of energy in the kitchen, entryway or hallway."
Personally, one of my favorite qualities about this shade is it’s gender neutral. Don’t get me wrong, I was a big fan of Honeysuckle, but Tangerine Tango is a color everyone can agree on and that can make the design process simpler for all parties involved.
Fashion Forward
Labeled “a provocative attention-getter,” Tangerine Tango is expected to make a big play in the fashion world as well. In fact, Pantone’s Fashion Color Report for Spring 2012 pointed to designers including Tommy Hilfiger, Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Steffe by Shaun Kearney, Elie Tahari and Adrienne Vittadini as incorporating the lively shade into their spring collections.
As Tangerine Tango is a “fun, lively take on a traditional autumnal hue,” it is expected to hold its power position into the fall fashion season as well.
Bold Beauty
In cosmetics, Tangerine Tango is considered a winner due to its surprising versatility. The shade is all at once “a bit exotic, but in a very friendly, non-threatening way,” said the experts at Pantone, who suggest using it to “add a sultry flair to lips, cheeks and nails.”
It was also pointed to as a great, and unexpected, option for eye shadow color, for reasons that can be of assistance when pairing decorative accessories in the home as well. It was specifically noted that “Tangerine Tango is a complementary opposite that flatters blue or green eyes, [and] when paired with brown eyes, it brings out an amber cast.”
Tangerine Gallery
In tribute to the color of the year, I’ve set up an Product Gallery featuring products that put orange in the spotlight. Check it out and let the creative juices flow.
