Marvelous Marsala — 2015 Pantone Color of the Year

The enve­lope has been opened and the new color of the year has been revealed…MARSALA! A fab­u­lously deep, rich, wine red will be gracing the fashion and design world from run­ways to hallways.

Much like the for­ti­fied wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the sat­is­fying rich­ness of a ful­filling meal while its grounding red-​​brown roots emanate a sophis­ti­cated, nat­ural earth­i­ness. This hearty, yet stylish tone is uni­ver­sally appealing and trans­lates easily to fashion, beauty, indus­trial design, home fur­nish­ings and interiors.

The ver­sa­tility of Marsala was key to its awarded title this year. According to the Pan­tone Color Insti­tute, Marsala is equally appealing to men and women, it is a stir­ring and fla­vorful shade for apparel and acces­sories, one that encour­ages color cre­ativity and exper­i­men­ta­tion. It is flat­tering against many skin tones, sultry and subtle Marsala is a great go-​​to color for beauty, pro­viding enor­mous high­light for the cheek, and a cap­ti­vating pop of color for nails, shadows lips and hair.

Dra­matic and at the same time grounding, the rich and full-​​bodied red-​​brown Marsala brings warmth into home inte­riors. An earthy shade with a bit of sophis­ti­ca­tion, tex­ture is the story in print and pack­aging. A matte finish high­lights Marsala’s organic nature while adding a sheen con­veys a com­pletely dif­ferent mes­sage of glamour and luxury, as shown in this beau­tiful kitchen fea­tured on House Beautiful :

Exactly how is the color of the year chosen? The Color of the Year selec­tion requires careful con­sid­er­a­tion and, to arrive at the selec­tion, Pan­tone combs the world looking for color influ­ences. This can include fashion and enter­tain­ment indus­tries — including films that are in pro­duc­tion, the world of art, pop­ular travel des­ti­na­tions and other socio-​​economic con­di­tions. Influ­ences may also stem from tech­nology, the avail­ability of new tex­tures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that cap­ture world­wide attention.

For 15 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influ­enced product devel­op­ment and pur­chasing deci­sions in mul­tiple indus­tries, including fashion, home and indus­trial design, as well as product pack­aging and graphic design.

Whether in a flat or tex­tured mate­rial, or with a matte or gloss finish, this highly vari­etal shade com­bines dra­mat­i­cally with neu­trals, including warmer taupes and grays. Because of its bur­nished under­tones, sultry Marsala is highly com­pat­ible with amber, umber and golden yel­lows, greens in both turquoise and teal, and blues in the more vibrant range.

Shown Above (top to bottom) : Splendid Gold Framed Art­work ; Jared Desk — Oxblood Lacquer/​Gold — Worlds Away ; Baldwin Sconce — Gold — Scala­mandre ; Melanie White Linen Stool — Brass — Worlds Away 

As with every new Color of the Year release, ques­tions start to arise: How do I work this color into my existing decor? What are the best colors to pair with the new Color of the Year? The Pan­tone Color Institue has made it easy for you to incor­po­rate this fab­u­lously rich color into your cur­rent decor and closet. You can also visit our Get the Look cat­e­gory : MARSALA : for a visual of the per­fect color pairings.

According to Clayton Gray Home, it’s always time for wine and now that you are ready to add the rich tone into your color palette, we are here to help. Check out all of the fab­u­lous Marsala options in our store and on our web­site. As always, ship­ping is free and what better way to spend all of that Christmas green that you were gifted?! This is one wine that is accept­able to con­sume before 11am. Cheers!

 As Shown Above (clock­wise) : Solid Ostrich Eggs on Stand ; Arrow­head Pillow — multi ; Canton Gar­dens Pillow — Design Legacy

*all infor­ma­tion gath­ered from the Pan­tone Color Insti­tute website.