The color blue

As the Washington Post writes, numerous scientific studies agree on the fact that blue is the favorite color of most women and men of all latitudes. It is a color that conveys a sense of confidence, stability and competence.

In 2019 the American company Pantone had indicated Classic Blue as the color for 2020 due to its sense of serenity and solidity. Today more than ever, stylists are focusing on these concepts by showing the over 40 types of blue classified to date on the catwalk. The history of blue starts far away, about six thousand years ago, from the ancient Egyptians who made abundant use of it, together with gold, mixing lapis lazuli powder and linseed oil. And then there is the wonderful world of art and painting. We remember Giotto's ultramarine blue, Kandinsky's sky blue, Cézanne's Prussian blue. In the 1920s, the French designer Jeanne Lanvin, fascinated by Italian painting, created a shade of blue to which she gave her name, a light blue with touches of mauve.

In 1956 the French artist Yves Klein defined a new touch of blue with his name: a saturated, luminous, velvety ultramarine, the perfect synthesis between heaven and earth. In the Sixties the catwalks were tinged with Balestra blue, vivid, electric, which the Italian designer used to illuminate his collections. For this spring summer season, many designers have focused on blue: combined with white and cyan for Missoni; with silver veins for Valentino; with iridescent gray for Armani. Blue also refers to the theme of protecting the environment, seas and oceans. The sustainable Dutch brand Botter used materials produced from seaweed processing and numerous marine details such as ropes and navigation nets used as tops or accessories. All in blue to protect our planet which, not surprisingly, we call the "Blue Planet".


Elisa d'Adamo
NP June / July 2023