CHENNAI: Design experts Pantone have announced their Colour of the Year for 2024. This influential annual announcement will have a significant effect on interior design, fashion, and cosmetics industries the next year. Pantone has chosen a shade of peachy orange that is warm and welcoming, conveying a message of empathy.

According to designer Rema Kumar, who always keeps an eye on the ever-changing fashion industry, peach has been a popular choice in bridal mood boards, as set by Bollywood brides in recent years. “While not a traditional Indian colour, it works well for Indian skin, evoking feelings of comfort, tenderness, and warmth. A gentle shade that soothes the eyes during the hot months of summer, it will be interesting to see if more Indians embrace this colour in the coming year, given its selection as the Pantone colour of 2024. I loved and enjoyed wearing my peach lehenga as a bride in 2001,” says Rema.

Make-up artiste Prakruthi Ananth expresses her love for peach fuzz rocking the stage as Pantone’s colour of the year. “As an Indian makeup artist, delving into this trend brings a sense of excitement. Presently, makeup trends lean towards fresh, natural looks, cute girly styles, glossy bitten lips, and soft brows. The preferred choice for blush? Warm, peachy tones, delicately applied over the cheeks, extending onto the eyes, nose, forehead, chin, and even the chest, creating a radiant, soft warmth that’s irresistibly appealing,” says Prakruthi Ananth.

The best part is that peach fuzz seamlessly complements the fresh, warm, and radiant aesthetic that many are gravitating towards. “However, we must remember that makeup is an art form thriving on diversity. We navigate through a spectrum of possibilities, and selecting one colour for the entire year feels a bit like sticking to one outfit daily. In an era where uniqueness is celebrated, people desire to stand out rather than conform to a single shade,” the make-up artiste concludes.