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Move over millennial pink: Coral is the colour of the year for 2019

'Colour enhances and influences the way we experience life', says design company Pantone

Sabrina Barr
Thursday 06 December 2018 11:58 GMT
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Anna Kendrick wearing a coral gown at the 87th Academy Awards
Anna Kendrick wearing a coral gown at the 87th Academy Awards (Getty)

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Look out, millennial pink, there's a new colour in town, and its vying to take your crown.

The bright hue of coral has been named the 2019 colour of the year, having appeared on the runway, in modern makeup looks and across the media as of late.

Every year, design company Pantone decides upon its colour of the year by taking cultural trends into account.

Pantone's colour of the year for 2019 is "living coral"
Pantone's colour of the year for 2019 is "living coral" (Pantone)

Having chosen "ultra violet" as its 2018 colour of the year, describing the shade as "dramatically provocative and thoughtful", the company has decided to go for a more vibrant shade with its latest choice.

Millennial pink has been a particularly popular colour across fashion and beauty in recent years, with some saying that the trend may have begun with the release of the rose-gold iPhone in 2015.

Dakota Fanning at the 40th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2012
Dakota Fanning at the 40th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2012 (Getty Images)

Gen Z yellow closely followed, with celebrities including Gigi Hadid and Blake Lively donning the garish colour.

Vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute Laurie Pressman explains the way in which the company chooses a colour that it perceives as a reflection of modern life.

Rochelle Humes at the 21st National Television Awards in 2016
Rochelle Humes at the 21st National Television Awards in 2016 (Getty Images)

"Colour enhances and influences the way we experience life," she says.

"As a shade that affirms life through a dual role of energising and nourishing, Pantone 16-1546 Living Coral reinforces how colours can embody our collective experience and reflect what is taking place in our global culture at a moment in time."

The press release revealing the choice of "living coral" as Pantone's colour of the year explains how it is "evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of colour".

This highlights today's society's increasing concern over environmental issues, with divers in Australia recently reporting the "devastating" impact that bleaching has had on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef.

In celebration of the colour of the year announcement, Pantone's official beauty partner Butter London is launching a collection of makeup products inspired by the shade.

With a release date set for January, the range is going to include a three-piece set of nail polishes, a lip gloss and a blush stick, as reported by Allure.

"This is indeed one of the best-kept secrets of the year and we take the secret very, very seriously! Everyone who touches the project is sworn to secrecy," says Butter London general manager Julie Campbell with regards to the release of the makeup collection.

To commemorate the announcement of its colour of the year, Pantone is launching a range of coral-coloured products including a limited-edition mug, a large and small keychain and a notebook.

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