HANDS ON - Color Watch
Color Thaw
by Erinn Morgan

	IMAGE COURTESY PANTONE COLOR INSTITUTE

They are passionate and hedonistic. The luxurious hues for Spring 2005 are inspired by the American Southwest and the Mediterranean and are truly bohemian in nature, according to the Pantone Fashion Color Report.

Sparkling blue waters and jagged cliffs moved designers to embrace colors such as blue turquoise, delft, kelp, coral reef, and slate gray. On shore, they reveled in vibrant green, begonia pink, and sweet lavender. With a view to the sky, they brought out aurora and flame.

Those more in awe of the seductiveness of the Southwest's deserts and prairies rediscovered the authenticity of Native American cultures.

"Color for Spring '05 is wildly divergent," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute^®. "The mix is dramatic—like throwing confetti and seeing where it lands. You could make combinations of any of these colors—the rule book has been thrown out the window."

VISUALIZING COLOR

How do eyewear designers translate unique hues to specs? A look at frame company Frederic Beausoleil, which has made its mark specializing in color, demystifies the process.

"We will buy the material a year in advance and wait for the color to change and dry," explains company president and co-owner Pascal Mathieux. "There is a lot of acetone in the materials, and if you don't wait for it to dry, it will shrink after cutting. Frederic buys his main colors a year or two in advance and waits."

And if the colors aren't on target with the trends? "We may use it inside the frame or temple, or as an inside laminate," says Mathieux.

To come up with the palette, Beausoleil looks to fashion and art for inspiration. "He has a strong art background and a collection of African art," Mathieux says.

For spring, Beausoleil is focusing on three new hues—summer white, strong turquoise with a base of green, and henna, which is similar to a dark apricot.

New colors stay in the collection for two to three seasons and then get replaced by fresh hues to ensure newness at all times.