Arjun Agarwal

The biggest colour trends of 2021 are taking a cue from this last tumultuous year and giving people a sense of hope, optimism and the refresh that many are looking for in the new year. The bright yellow hue is meant to evoke hope and optimism after the tumultuous year. The colour goes along with Pantone’s second colour of 2021, Ultimate Grey, and is said to represent sunshine coming in as clouds disperse. Pantone’s second colour of the year is said to represent dependability, as community and camaraderie became crucial during the pandemic. Paired with Illuminating, the hues convey the message of unity, stability and hope.
According to designer, Arjun Agarwal, “Yellow has always been a favourite colour during the wedding season… mehndi and lighters functions are always synonymous with shades of yellow… the modern touch of grey is a fresh take on the traditional colour…keeping it millennial and contemporary.”

— By Namita Gupta

Ankita and Gayatri Bansal, THERE!

The colour grey brings with it a lot of neutrality. Yellow is perfect fit for all seasons whether summer spring or winter, just like each and every pair of denim we introduce in our collections. Yellow as a colour brings optimism and magic to the table.
To maintain the versatility that our product offers, using these two shades will definitely work wonders for us as not only do they all complement each other, it brings a perfect balance to the wardrobe as well.

— By Namita Gupta

Geethika Kanumilli

The Pantone, a standard language for colours, declares a colour of the year, every year. This selection process has colour experts at the Pantone Colour Institute comb the world, looking for new colour influences, from the entertainment industry to fashion, travel destinations and socio-economic conditions. Influences can also stem from new technologies, materials, textures, social media platforms and even upcoming sporting events that capture worldwide attention.

This year, the two colours that have been announced are Ultimate Grey and Illuminating. The bright yellow hue is meant to evoke hope and optimism after the tumultuous year. The colour goes along with Pantone’s second colour of 2021, Ultimate Grey, and is said to represent sunshine coming in as clouds disperse. Keeping this trend in mind, we caught up with designer Geethika Kanumilli to know her views on this.

They’re fun! Plus it is interesting to see the usage everywhere. Everyone has their own way of showcasing it, and that’s worth looking out for. I think this year’s combination is fresh and new! I’m quite excited to see what’s in store.

To be honest, I don’t usually follow these trends… in fact, we like to set colour trends! I don’t follow it blindly but we try to incorporate them in our collection somehow. We don’t completely avoid them but also we don’t go completely by the colour trends also – the key is to find a good balance. For us, it has to go with our aesthetic sense and also match our target client’s needs, too.

Designing is actually three things for us – one it has to have a meaning, secondly it should set the mood for the entire concept of the collection and thirdly is that it should blend in with our aesthetics.

— By Anahita Ahuja

Anu Nagappa

We have been following the Pantone colour charts for international coherence in our collections. The same colour usage makes our international patrons easy to connect to our styles.
Shades of Grey and Yellow have been foremost in many of our creations for the coming season.
Grey signifies a silvery smooth feel which makes it great for dinners and cocktails and party wear.
Yellow, as always is a bright influence which makes me create many a signature statement pieces for the upcoming season.
I am having fun with both these in trendy styles.

— By Namita Gupta

Laxmi Krishna Label

Grey colour and Yellow combo is nothing new in the world of fashion but that leaves a lot of experimentation for us designers.

As a designer for movies and movie stars, we usually design as per the character and what fits their role, but when we design for our shows we will definitely look for these colours and suitable fabrics and cuts.

For yellow, which is very bold colour, it speaks a lot with the colour itself, so we could go with subtle accessories and cuts and for grey, we could accessorise more with contrast colours and interesting cuts.

— By Namita Gupta

Naina Jain

Following the annual trend each year, Pantone has some forecast about what 2021 might look like, as it announces its picks for Colour of the year. This year, Pantone has chosen a bright yellow called Illuminating and a classic grey dubbed Ultimate Grey as its 2021 Colours of the Year, echoing optimism and dependability. Especially with undercurrents of uncertainty, such as 2020’s global pandemic, the colours are certainly aimed to appease, pacify or uplift spirits.

‘Khoya Khoya Chaand’. A celebration of minimalistic textures, bold colours and delicate embroidery is my new collection – an assemblage of Sarees, Suits and Lehengas in Chiffons, Organzas, Silks and Chanderis. The array brings a whiff of fresh air to Bandhani, as the spotlight this time is on illumination of a different kind—mirror work spangles splashed across clothes bedecked with intricate embroidery. With its energetic presence the marriage of Ultimate Grey and Illuminating is a great combination for my collection. The high visibility contrast of Illuminating and Ultimate Grey adds to its appeal. The two colours have been selected to symbolize harmony and stability, and to give people a way to reinforce themselves with vitality, clarity and the hope of overcoming constant uncertainty.
Through the use of the Pantone colours of 2021 we can redefine age-old Indian traditions in the contemporary era, creating a style that is both rich in Indian aesthetics and modern sophistication.

— By Namita Gupta

Namrata G

We have been following the Pantone colour charts Grey and Yellow for international coherence in our collections. The same colour usage makes our international patrons easy to connect to our styles.
Shades of Grey and Yellow have been foremost in many of our creations for the coming season.
Whereas grey signifies a silvery smooth feel which makes it great for dinners and cocktails and party wear.
Yellow as always is a bright influence which makes me create many a signature statement pieces for the upcoming season. I am having fun with both these in trendy designs.

— By Namita Gupta

Prerna Lohia, Founder, Something Sustainable

We create positive products from overstock organic fabrics and create dyes out of food, flower, and plant waste. Our goal is to keep the usage of the earth’s natural resources to the minimum without compromising on the aesthetic of beautiful clothing.
Today, choosing natural dyes over the chemical alternatives is more important than ever. SOS colors are dictated by nature. Our processes work with nature, respect our planet and everything it has to offer. With natural dyeing we are always working with hope and love. Pomegranate rinds give us shades ranging from black-grey. Yellow comes from residual temple flowers like marigold.
A sustainable wardrobe is built with a mix of neutrals like greys, blues and some happy colors like yellow. We’ve been using sublime- silver grey in our collections since last year. We plan to continue using them primarily in Menswear and introduce our new pastel – yellow in little accessories and minimal womenswear.

— By Namita Gupta

Reshma Kunhi

Pantone Colour of the year 2021 is Illuminating and Ultimate Grey.
When we talk about Illuminating, it is a bright yellow and cheerful colour associated with our Indian culture since ancient times. Yellow colour is associated with new beginnings, peace and happiness.
It is considered an auspicious colour after red in the Indian culture for marriage ceremonies and every couple wears yellow on their haldi ceremony, as it marks an auspicious beginning.
After Covid times which the entire world has gone through, Illuminating is an aspirational colour which gives us hope.Illuminating is a perfect colour for 2021, as it marks a new beginning for the entire world.
I will be using these colours a lot in my collection this year. We are making a variety of silhouettes in this colour for our designer wear range as well as our ready to wear collection, be it skirts, croptops, sarees, gowns, shararas, kurtas, anarkalis, draped tops, tunics and lehengas. We will also be using stripes and florals in this colour and give it a fun twist.
Ultimate Grey is the perfect neutral colour which blends with anything and can also be used as a contrast. It gives us a feeling of dependability. It is an everlasting colour and provides a firm foundation and is great as a base colour.One can never go wrong with this shade. Grey is getting more appealing day by day and is now even being used for weddings and other formal occasions too. We are designing an entire theme in Ultimate Grey from gowns, skirts, linen saree, short dresses, pants, lehengas, shirts and more.

— By Namita Gupta

Sarika Pawar, Designer of House OfSoi

Illuminating yellow and ultimate grey being the Pantone trends for 2021 is the ultimate shade card given to any designer. Every year yellow is used in various shades and different seasons from mustard yellow in winters to bright yellow in summers. This year the trend will continue to be the same with the introduction of illuminating yellow.

The spring summer collection will portray the extensive use of this colour as it allows us to play well with different textures and patterns while grey has remained as the ultimate guide to nude colours. The season or occasion don’t matter while using the ultimate grey. The colour is multidimensional and can signify something super romantic and whimsical as well as be very official too. Using a light shade of grey works very well with 2021 as it’s the year to rediscover after the dark pandemic year of 2020.

— By Namita Gupta

Vandana Bhandare, VANARAS.

As a sustainable brand, we believe in creating pieces that are versatile and can be worn across seasons.Colours are the easiest and the simplest way of communicating and the colours we match at Vanaras, every tone and tint, is collection/inspiration driven.

In our maiden collection – Forest Moon, we have unknowingly incorporated a tint of Ultimate Grey. The dyes used in the making of the grey tone are free of AZO-dyes.

In our second collection – Valley of Flowers, we have a colour that resembles Illuminating. The components used in the making of our “Haldi yellow” are Turmeric and Pomegranate.

We believe sustainability isn’t something we need to look/change towards but just back to our roots and analyse the basic necessities and stick to it. We try as much to stick to earthy elements as possible in the making of any Vanaras piece.

By Namita Gupta.