LIFE IN COLOURS

We are working on the 2023 colour ranges.

By Inesis

December 13^th, 2021

At Inesis, there are two principal periods for launching new products. The start of the year corresponds to the Spring-Summer season and the middle of the year with Autumn-Winter. For clothing designer, Lea, working on a season starts with searching for colours that will be trending in two years time. Is Lea a fortune teller? How does she know what colours will be fashionable so far in advance? We'll explain.

TAKE OUT YOUR NOTEBOOKS!

There are worldwide agencies called trends agencies whose mission is to observe the world, major sociological changes, deep-rooted trends, short-lived crazes, etc. to summarise style trends two to three years ahead of time and to deduce colours presented in "trend books". Decathlon, like all product designers, whichever their domain, work based on trend books. The Decathlon designers absorb this information and provide a new summary selecting approximately 200 colours.

LEA LOVES COLOURS.

This is when Lea steps in. She puts the colours, selected by Decathlon's central design team, through the Inesis' golf and artistic direction filter: "Athletic, Elegant, Friendly" in consultation with the product managers and the brand's other designers. She then updates the palette of approximately 60 colours used at Inesis. They are classified into three categories:

basic colours: essential, these are classic colours that are here to stay for several years, and even seemingly permanent.
complementary colours: their lifespan lasts just a few seasons.
trending colours: they are only here for a season or two maximum. You know, when you hear "Ah! This summer, THE colour is "Canary yellow".

We never create new colours, but the variations are seemingly endless. What's new not only comes from the selection of trending colours but, especially from combinations, harmonies. For example, yellow and blue might be a combination that works one season, but the following year yellow and green will be fashionable.

The new colours, which are added to Inesis' colour range, are inevitably colour trends. They then replace colours that have become unfashionable. But a trending colour that remains relevant during several seasons can then be switched to complementary colours. Recently, this is what happened to khaki, for example.

THE NOMINEES ARE:

Lea has defined four colour harmonies for the 2023 spring-summer season. Each harmony is made up of basic or complementary and trending colours. She gave each of them a film name which is a nod to the atmosphere in which they fit in with.

#1 JACKIE BROWN

#2 ROSE ISLAND

#3 CROCODILE DUNDEE

#4 MIAMI VICE

All these harmonies will not necessarily be visible on the products on sale. Numerous validation steps still remain and, in particular, the selection, when the definitive colours are chosen from among all those developed on the prototypes.