Visions Episode 1: Desolina Suter, Fashion Director of PV, Explores Color’s Role as a Medium for Societal Transitions The - Première Vision Paris - Denim Première Vision - Première Vision New York
Visions is a series of forward-looking articles that explores the world of tomorrow — its contours, models, and challenges. Through the eyes of experts from various fields, the Visions series undertakes an exploration of our societies, adopting multiple viewpoints to address several questions: How can we imagine the future today? What emerging trends or subtle signals should we pay attention to identify and anticipate new models and ways of living, creating, producing, and consuming? By gathering observations, analyses, and future-oriented insights in fields ranging from multidisciplinary creation to economics, sustainability, and new technologies, Première Vision aims to inform, inspire and provide key resources for creative Fashion professionals.
When it comes to the defining characteristics of clothing, fabric and cut led the way until the mid-20th century. Fast forward to today, however, and color has grabbed the spotlight. With the power to make or break a sale, color has become a true universal language, notably with the advent of digital technology and the digitalization of the industry.
Desolina Suter, Fashion Director of Première Vision, highlights color’s pivotal role in influencing our perceptions: “With the rise of digital technology, it has become the primary medium through which we perceive a garment or an object,” she confirms. “It has asserted itself as the primary criterion of choice, even surpassing elements such as proportions or functionality.” Unlike material or size, which can be touched and adjusted, color immediately catches the eye. In fashion, it conveys emotions, identities, and social trends, serving as a means of personal and collective expression. In beauty and design, it also plays a variety of roles, evoking sensations and moods, while exerting a power of attraction.
Accelerating Societal Shifts
In a world marked by accelerating shifts, it has become difficult to anticipate the future, or project ourselves into future ways of living, creating, producing, and consuming, without first taking the time to identify and analyze emerging trends and reflect on current societal shifts.
A dynamic relationship exists between these rapid, wide-ranging transitions and our perceptions of color, according to Suter, who highlights some key influences before turning to the latest innovations in color developments.
“First, we are seeing a noticeable trend toward the rapid acceleration of innovation driven by advancements in A.I., robotics, and biotechnology, which is having a knock-on effect on technology and production.”
Desolina Suter, Fashion Director of Première Vision
New disruptive methods of communication are also having far-reaching effects on the industry, she notes. “Social networks have introduced and standardized new modes of expression, exchange, and sharing. Viral content has become the norm. Images are omnipresent, and the world is now seen through videos,” Suter adds: “The climate emergency and the development of sustainable awareness have led to a renewed focus on humanity and a redefinition of priorities favoring quality of life, well-being and the search for meaning. With the rise of the circular economy, preserving resources is becoming the norm, as is limiting waste.”
“People have become more aware of their connectivity with nature and the impact of their actions on the planet. The concept of hyperconnectivity underscores the relationship between individuals, objects, and data. But while data allows for more tailored experiences, it also presents legal and ethical challenges.”
Desolina Suter, Fashion Director of Première Vision
In this two-sided world (one physical, one digital), the industry has a role to play in developing new production methods capable of providing solutions to new challenges.
Color: A Testament to Change
History is full of examples of this interconnection between color and industrial, technological or societal change. In the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution, the invention of synthetic dyes such as mauveine led to the democratization of bright new hues previously reserved for the elite. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Art Deco palette used in architecture, with its rich blacks, golds and metallic hues, reflected technological optimism and symbolized opulence. In the 1960s, an explosion of bright colors accompanied the countercultural movements of the psychedelic revolution. Two decades later, the 1980s brought neon shades into the mainstream, with digital screens and backlighting accentuating bright, fluorescent hues.
Neutrals: An Era-Defining Trend Fueled by Sustainability
If we were to highlight one major trend in the evolution of colors over the past 30 years, it would be neutrals, with a toning down of color across all areas of design and manufacture, from automobiles to architecture and fashion, infiltrating both wardrobes and urban landscapes.
While at the end of the 19th century, 15% of artwork and everyday objects were monochrome, today it is around 50%.
The shift is attributed to two driving factors: muted tones are better suited to industrialization and large-scale production, and appeal to a wider audience.
For Suter, the heightened focus on sustainability and the quest for timelessness have also contributed to the ongoing popularity of neutral shades: “The focus is on neutral colors, such as gray and shades sliding from ecru to caramel, alongside a palette of non-dyed hues. Fluorescent and synthetic colors, which often rely on chemical dyes, are on the decline as they are increasingly associated with pollution in consumers’ minds. However, advances in microbiology around pigments and the production of natural dyes obtained from the fermentation of agricultural by-products have enabled the creation of rich, deep colors without the use of chemical dyes,” she says.
Another notable point is that recycling alters the composition of colors. In denim or wool, for example, the color of mechanically recycled fibers is used, making optimal use of existing colors that are revalued. These recycled materials do not require dyeing. The result is a slightly mottled, less uniform hue. Recycling also accustoms our eyes to less uniform, less saturated materials, with more complex shades that are softer, more nuanced, and less defined. “This is especially evident in subtle purples and surprising pinks,” notes Suter.
Against a backdrop of soothing hues, such as the undyed blacks and whites seen in the AW24-25 and SS25 Fashion Weeks, pops of bright color draw the eye. Suter reminds us of a historical precedent: “Let’s not forget that Le Corbusier was already combining raw materials (concrete, glass, metal) with accents of bright color to inject vitality. Nowadays, social media craves these vibrant details that capture the eye and hold attention.”
The Interaction of Color and Nature
Based on the observation and imitation of natural processes and colors, biomimicry is also gaining significant interest from sustainable fashion proponents, enabling a combination of aesthetics, innovation, and sustainability. The growing awareness of climate challenges is also prompting a more careful examination of nature’s cycles, with the fashion expert sharing a concrete example: “In peacocks, pheasants, and birds of paradise, it is the females who select the males. This ‘sexual selection’ motivates the males to develop extravagant or attractive traits to maximize their chances,” says Suter.
This evolution can provide food for thought on the latest trends in men’s fashion, focused on adornment and seduction, traditionally considered the domain of women.
Photography: A Tool for Interpreting Evolutionary Developments
Artistic disciplines carry the historical markers of their times, while simultaneously innovating with new visions and techniques. For Suter, the way photography transcribes new trends in color is particularly instructive. “Photography is the medium that best translates the contemporary world, helping me to perceive and feel things,” she confides. Images have a privileged relationship with light, which expands the range of coloring possibilities with techniques such as solarization and opalescence, which play on extreme contrasts that question the back and forth between the real and the virtual. The Première Vision fashion director cites the work of Laëtitia Lefour, whose work focuses on decolorization, with shades such as burnt white and gray that enhance readability.
Playing on contrasts such as presence/absence, life/death, she encourages reflection on the fundamentals. The importance of the link with nature, a determining factor in our future perception of color, is also present in the futuristic aesthetics of artists like Alice Pallot, who appropriates nature through colored filters. Playing on these effects, the photographer captures landscapes with artificial colors that seem to hold minerals, plants and humans in a state of hibernation. Baptiste Rabichon’s work takes us further into the future, mixing analogue and digital imagery to recreate a world that straddles realism and abstraction. In so doing, he questions our addiction to screens, which manifests in the blue light that emanates from them.
The SS26 Palette: Setting the Stage for Future Trends
As explored, the evolution of techniques in the arts is transforming our understanding of color. It highlights new ways of perceiving and provides insight into how the textile industry, influenced by reflections on nature, technology, and our relationship with machines and screens, is shaping the colors of tomorrow.
So, what does the SS26 palette – with its fresh and inventive use of color blending aesthetics and sustainability – tell us about future trends? The Première Vision fashion teams have identified three key perspectives: Re-fresh, Re-set, Re-store, each symbolically referring to an ongoing societal mutation.
“Evoking the themes of lightness and reset, the cool blues and greens of the Re-fresh palette refer to the desire for freshness, accentuated by the challenges of global warming. Also informed by a tech aesthetic, the shades reflect the central role of science and the new technologies on which the industry relies.”
“Enhanced by textural effects, the coral, raspberry and orange shades of the Re-set theme reflect the desire for multisensory experiences that cuts across all design disciplines. These particularly rich, intense, flamboyant colors reflect society’s growing appetite for visual and tactile sensory experiences.”
“Lastly, the deep browns, khakis and purples of the Re-store range bring a sense of grounding and connection to the earth and are associated with natural materials and sustainable practices.”
Alongside brighter, more acidic, artificial shades, these combinations symbolize a rich dialogue between past and future, and the reinvigoration of traditional know-how through new technologies.
Connecting with nature, a desire for timelessness, recycling. As seen, these era-defining markers continue to influence our aesthetics and inspire new shades. While avoiding rash forecasts, they will continue to exert a lasting influence on the color palette for industry players who undoubtedly, in keeping with tradition, will readily embrace them as a key source of innovation.