The Pantone Fashion Update Spring/Summer 2023

This one is all about colour! My favourite thing about styling work. 🌈🌈🌈

The Pantone updates are published twice a year ahead of the London and New York fashion weeks. It’s always exciting to see what they predict will be big in the coming season, and they include the colours that you’ll see on the runways and start to notice in the shops.

The updates are an excellent way to talk colour with your audience. You can use them to reach out and reconnect with existing clients and invite them for a colour refresh, for example, or you can use them to entice new clients into your world.

The New York Update Spring/Summer 2023

• Fiery Red is a fabulous colour to suit Autumns and those coded as Deep.

• Beetroot Purple is one that I love. I’ve categorised it as a Winter colour or a cool colour. Summers could also get away with it but might want to add an additional colour when wearing it to tone it down a little.

• Tangelo is lovely and zingy, and I’ve gone with a warm categorisation which would be gorgeous for Autumns.

• Peach Pink is another warm colour that would look beautiful for Springs. Under the tonal system, I’ve gone with Light, and I could imagine a Summer with a flow to Spring looking lovely in this. For me, though, as a Summer flowing to Winter, it wouldn’t work as it’s too warm.

• Empire Yellow is another bright and fresh colour for Autumns or Warms on the tonal system. It would suit many Springs too.

Onto the second row:

• I’ve categorised Crystal Rose as Summer or Light. As a Cool Summer, I’d wear this one with a darker colour to create some contrast, but for lighter Summers, this would be divine just as it is. A nice one for lighter Springs too.

• Classic Green is quite bright and warm, so I’ve gone with Spring and Bright for those who prefer the tonal classifications. If you were a Winter with a flow to Spring, you’d look amazing in this colour.

• Love Bird is a lime green colour with definite warmth, so excellent for both Springs and Autumns.

• Blue Perennial is perfect for cool Summers. I adore this colour. It’s like it was created just for me as it’s one of the colours you see in my eyes! So, Summer for those who use the seasonal system and a definite Cool under the tonal system.

• Summer Song is another Cool/Summer colour. There’s no doubt about it as the undertone has no hint of warmth.

The bottom row:

• For Skylight, I’ve gone with Summer and Light. As a Cool Summer, it would be perfectly paired with something like Blue Perennial to get a beautiful contrast. If I were to wear Skylight on its own though, it would wash me out.

The final four, Vanilla Cream, Gray Lilac, Leek Green and Macchiato, are all neutrals, so I’ve not categorised them seasonally. All look warm to me except Gray Lilac, which has definite cool undertones.

The London Update Spring/Summer 2023

• Cherry Tomato is definitely warm, and I’ve gone with Spring or Bright. One for me to avoid as I’d completely disappear if I wore it!

• Persimmon is very similar to the peachy colour on the NY update and is another warm one that would look great on Springs and Autumns.

• Iced Mango is beautiful for Springs, but also delicate enough for those categorised as Light under the tonal system.

• Blazing Yellow has a warm undertone, so I’ve gone with Spring or Bright.

• Titanite is gorgeous for Autumns and would work for Springs as well. Definitely warm.

The second row:

• Andean Toucan is perfect for Springs or Brights, but I think it would work for Winters too. It is a tad warm.

• Airy Blue is similar to Skylight in the NY palette. This is one for the Summers and Lights. Lovely for Summers with a flow to Spring or Springs flowing to Summer.

• Electric Blue Lemonade is a fabulous colour for Springs or Brights with a hint of warmth.

• Spring Crocus is another that I’ve fallen in love with as it’s spot on for Summers and Cools. It would look stunning with Perennial Blue.

• Pink Crocus is another perfect colour for Summers and Cools and would be irresistible if worn with Spring Crocus. A beautiful pairing.

On the third row, we’ve got another selection of neutrals. Bluing, Mocha Mousse and Tender Peach are all warm. Grayed Jade would be gorgeous for cool folks and lovely with either of the Spring and Pink Crocuses. Oyster Mushroom is a true neutral, which would work for both cools and warms.

There are lots of Spring and Summer, lighter and brighter colours as you’d expect to see as we head into the warmer months. 

The Pantone updates were always popular with my styling clients. When I lived in Singapore, I’d hold “Image Insights Nights” in my studio and invite people along to learn about the latest fashion colours. After the sessions, many would often buy a full colour analysis with me.

The updates provide excellent material for your social media posts as people will want to know whether the trending colours work for them. You can create images using the new colours to draw people in and then talk to them about the seasonal or tonal classifications to show how colour analysis works.

How else could you use the fashion update reports in your business? Time to get creative!