Living Coral: From the ocean to your home

Within a few weeks of Pantone Corporation’s announcement that the Pantone colour for 2019 would be ‘Living Coral’, Gigi Hadid stunned in a Ronald Van Der Kemp ‘90s-inspired shirt and trousers and Moschino trench coat. She had also lightly dusted eyeshadow of the same shade, which made us wonder how Chennaiites could incorporate coral into their homes, wardrobe and makeup routine in the coming year.

Textile designer Kaveri Lalchand didn’t need Pantone to state that coral would be the in-thing next year — she already knew! “I’ve been making clothes in this beautiful colour for a long time now because I think it suits Indian skin tones well. While the colour appears presentable on Indian silhouettes, I personally work with Western outfits more and can confidently say coral is a brilliant colour for dresses, gowns, tops and more,” says Kaveri.

While her favourite combination, if she were to colour block, would be turquoise and coral, she says off-white and green would complement the shade equally well. “I always go back to the source where a colour is inspired from. Naturally, corals are found in the ocean so shades of blue, green, turquoise, white and off-white pair well with it,” she adds. According to her, Living Coral also makes for a wonderful shade to incorporate in accessories and can make both day time and evening outfits pop.

Just like Gigi, many brides are opting for coral-coloured makeup on their big day, says makeover artist Preethi P. “While it is already a popular lip and nail colour, it is catching up as an eyeshadow. In fact, Huda Beauty’s rose gold palette already has coral,” she tells us. Since it is on the brighter side, she would prefer using it during the evenings rather than morning, because it looks beautiful under warm lights, she feels.

Not just in textiles or cosmetics, coral is the ideal shade to give your home a summery touch. Though it might be too loud to paint all the walls in this colour, lead designer at Sidharth Ninan Architecture, Asra Khader, says it is perfect as an accent. She explains, “If you choose to paint one wall in this shade to highlight your living pace, or opt for an accent chair or pillows in coral, I think it would work really well.”

She adds a word of caution, “According to me, it’s a very summery colour so I’m not sure it might work well in the winter months if you pair it with yellows or greens. However, if you wish to have elements of coral present in your home through the year, mix and match it with teal, grey or white,” she says. No wonder Pinterest is already flooded with inspirations to make 2019 a cheery year!