Rose Quartz, Serenity are colors of the year

Todd Leopold
By Todd Leopold, CNN
Updated 12:57 PM EST, Thu December 3, 2015
Pantone, the company that considers itself the authority on colors in consumer trends, announced in December that Rose Quartz and Serenity are their colors of the year for 2016. The two colors reflect "connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace," the company said. Click through for other colors of the year.
Pantone, the company that considers itself the authority on colors in consumer trends, announced in December that Rose Quartz and Serenity are their colors of the year for 2016. The two colors reflect "connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace," the company said. Click through for other colors of the year.
Courtesy For Love and Lemons
Marsala was its pick for 2015's color of the year. Pantone called it "a naturally robust and earthy wine red," that's "subtly seductive." Here, a model walks the runway in marsala during the Mikael D show at Fashion Week in Toronto.
Marsala was its pick for 2015's color of the year. Pantone called it "a naturally robust and earthy wine red," that's "subtly seductive." Here, a model walks the runway in marsala during the Mikael D show at Fashion Week in Toronto.
Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press/Ap
In 2014, Radiant Orchid won out. Pantone, a subsidiary of X-Rite, makes its annual color choice by surveying fashion executives and following trends in travel, music, movies and technology.
In 2014, Radiant Orchid won out. Pantone, a subsidiary of X-Rite, makes its annual color choice by surveying fashion executives and following trends in travel, music, movies and technology.
courtesy west elm/pantone.com
In 2013, Emerald was Pantone's choice for color of the year. The company called it a "symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity."
In 2013, Emerald was Pantone's choice for color of the year. The company called it a "symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity."
courtesy pantone.com/JC Penney
Tangerine Tango was Pantone's pick for color of the year in 2012.
Tangerine Tango was Pantone's pick for color of the year in 2012.
courtesy crate & barrel/pantone.com
Honeysuckle was the color of the year in 2011.
Honeysuckle was the color of the year in 2011.
courtesy Kim Kennedy/Cynthia Steffe
Turquoise rose to the top of Pantone's color picks in 2010.
Turquoise rose to the top of Pantone's color picks in 2010.
courtesy Dessy/Pantone.com
Pantone's color of the year

Story highlights

Pantone's colors of the year reflect reassurance, security, says company

It's the first time the company has chosen two colors

CNN  — 

Serenity – now.

That’s the message from Pantone, the color experts, which named “Serenity” – a kind of baby blue – one of its two colors of the year for 2016. The other is Rose Quartz, a dusty pink.

The choice of color of the year is “a symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude,” the company, a division of X-rite, said in a news release.

Pantone determines its color of the year after surveying fashionistas and insiders in pop culture, including movies and music.

This is the first time the company has chosen two colors. Previous winners include the reddish Marsala, the popping purplish Radiant Orchid, the exquisite Emerald and the boisterous Tangerine Tango.

But anxious times call for calmer colors, said Pantone, and Serenity and Rose Quartz fit the bill.

“As consumers seek mindfulness and well-being as an antidote to modern day stresses, welcoming colors that psychologically fulfill our yearning for reassurance and security are becoming more prominent,” Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone’s executive director, said in the statement.

The two also suggest the “gender blur” of modern fashion, which fits with our trans-aware times, it added.

Some wags on Twitter weren’t quite sold on the colors’ fashion qualities. To them, the colors looked more like bubble gum and blueberry – or something New Agey.

(Nobody has brought up Pepto-Bismol. Well, until now.)

“Joined together, Rose Quartz and Serenity demonstrate an inherent balance between a warmer embracing rose tone and the cooler tranquil blue, reflecting connection and wellness as well as a soothing sense of order and peace,” the company said.

We hope they’re right. It IS an election year.