The 2021 Pantone Colours of the Year Are Here – And They’re Very Wearable

The 2021 Pantone Colours of the Year are here. Two colours, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating, were selected for their “enduring and uplifting” vibe. It’s not the first time Pantone has selected two shades as colour of the year: in 2016, Rose Quartz and Serenity shared the title. In 2020, the colour of the year was Classic Blue.

Ultimate Gray is described as a colour “emblematic of solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation,” while Illuminating is a “bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power.” It’s a colour story that Pantone says encapsulated “thoughtfulness” and “the promise of something sunny and friendly.”

“The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of The Pantone Color Institute in a statement. “Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted; this is essential to the human spirit.”

A message we could all use at the end of 2020, non?

Both Pantone colours are super wearable. In fact, several celebrities showed up to red carpets wearing looks  reminiscent of Ultimate Gray and Illuminating yellow earlier this year – remember Ariana Grande’s frothy Giambattista Valli number at the Grammys? Or Serena Miller in Gucci and Cate Blanchett in Mary Katrantzou dresses at the Golden Globes?

For decidedly less formal, more everyday ways to work Ultimate Gray and Illuminating into your wardrobe, click through the below slideshow of street style looks.

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2021 Pantone Colours of the Year