Pantone’s FHI system of 2,600+ shades is aimed at designers and producers of textiles, apparel, cosmetics, fashion accessories, hard home and leather goods, allowing them to select, communicate and control colour with precision throughout the design process. The latest addition of 98 pastels and 77 shadow shades promises a greater range of nuance, balance and dynamism.
The New Age Pastels collection is a sweet, airy and calming range, spanning light-filled yellow and orange, cool minty green, uplifting sky blue, soft rose pink and faded lavender. Chiming with our Spring/Summer 2025 Colour & Material Direction Lucid, it stems from a desire for quieter, more meditative colour that soothes rather than overstimulates, offering an antidote to our bold, busy and brash ever-digital world.
Meanwhile, the monochrome Shadows palette celebrates the fundamentals of colour in response to a growing focus on simplicity, versatility and longevity. Consisting of gradations of black through grey to white, the hues – both warm and cool – are intended to be practical yet sophisticated, as well as seasonless, genderless and forever relevant. We’ve also been anticipating a rise in enduring, classic colour and complex dark shades – see our Colour Evolutions across Autumn/Winter 24/25, S/S 25 and A/W 25/26 Direction Simplicity for key colours and inspiration.
The emotive power of colour is an increasingly prevalent (and important) design tool for positively influencing mood and ambience, and should be approached with nuance – as demonstrated by Pantone. See Colour Launches for 2024 for other zeitgeist-driven colour strategies.