Fashion is one of the most important visual phenomena of our time, and in fashion, color plays a major role. In this background article, we share the difference between primary and secondary colors, discuss color combinations and contrasts, and the influence of color in the fashion industry.
The depth of color indicates how light or dark the color is. Adding white makes the color lighter, and adding black weakens the color and makes it darker.
While adding grey can change the brightness of a color. The more grey added to a color can dull the intensity of the shade. Adding white or black and mixing with grey creates numerous color shades and nuances.
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Colour can be essential when creating a contrast. Simply put, contrast is the difference between two colors. Some combinations make colors more vivid and intense, while other neutralise each other.
For instance, a color-to-color contrast between colors that are not mixed with black or white can make a striking impact.
Another example is a cool and warm contrast. Warm colors are yellow, orange and red, and cool colors are green, blue and purple. Turquoise and scarlet (which is orange-red) form the greatest cool-warm contrast. Within each color, there are also cooler and warmer tones.
Ton sur ton is French for tone on tone. Which describes wearing one color but combining different shades within that color. This combination offers the smallest of contrasts in color.
Whereas faux camaïeux is a false one-tone color combination. You combine colors with the same grey value: that are equally warm and bright but differ in the base color.
The strongest color contrast that exists is black and white.
In addition to color contrasts (section 3), the appearance of color is important. Colour offers an emotional appeal. Colours can evoke different emotions and behaviours in people and can convey a message.
The meaning and effect of color are very personal, but there are similarities in the perception of color. For instance, we find black neat, red romantic and dark blue businesslike. Each color (shade) also has its own meaning and effect. The subjective meaning we attach to various colors is also known as color symbolism. Yellow, for instance, is associated with the sun, happiness, optimism and vitality. The color is cheerful and positive.
Many colors also have both positive and negative associations. With red, we think of love and passion, but the color is also associated with danger and aggression.
How a color is experienced often also depends on the context, as well as the color’s strength. In general, light colors weaken the effect of dark colors.