There's a new colour in town and that's the Pantone's colour of the year, very peri. A mix of violet and blue, the colour resonates hope and faith even as uncertainty continues to loom. Designers in the city are already working with this colour which they term 'versatile'. Whether it's loungewear, brunch outfits, jackets, cufflinks, lehengas, the colour seems to be lending itself to a host of designs.
Being from a family of lilac, very peri can be used with multiple materials. Alexander explains, "I'm using the colour to design more western silhouettes with traditional fabric. It could include works like embroidery, mirror, bead or sequences. It's been great since many wanted this colour on their lehengas, ruffle sarees and dupattas. It doesn’t show too much when you look at the product but once you wear it on a dusky skin tone, it really stands out. It’s a lovely vibrant colour," says fashion designer Shiny Alexander who even bought a lipstick of the same colour.
Designer Husna Sait, owner of Limited Edition & Golden Touch Couture, says that very peri looks great on silk materials. "Since it's a blend of blue, red and violet, on a heavier quality of silk, this colour looks amazing. I still haven't been able to get a good work out of it using cotton and other handloom fabrics," she says, adding it’s inspirational to work with a colour that highlights a new world.
Sait is working on a collection that has more loungewear as almost everyone is working from home once again and planning only intimate gatherings. "The collection will include more loungewear like drapes, easy-wear and so on. These outfits can be worn just as or paired with other colours in one’s closet too," she says, adding that the vibrant colour is ideal to wear for brunches and intimate get-togethers.
Very peri is also used by designers in small elements like trimmings, embroidery and buttons. Bassam Osman of Studio Bassam has been creating pocket squares and cufflinks with very peri. He says, "I recently designed these for a wedding. I got a hint of very peri when Daniel Craig wore it for a movie premiere. Since then, designers in India have been using it in various forms and now it's catching up everywhere."
Osman finds men opting for very peri-coloured shirts instead of the usual blue, white and pink. "Honestly, it’s yet to catch on as people are still preferring darker colours during wintertime. But wait till summer and this colour is going to be on everything," he says.