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Pantone colour of 2022 Very Peri Hair formulas
Pantone have released their colour of the year for 2022 in the early hours of 9th December 21. I sat in on a live webinar with Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Colour Institute, who explained how they decided upon the new hue. Usually Pantone choose a colour from their catalogue and you can pick from a few it might be, but this year was a first, they produced a colour from scratch and that colour is Very Peri. Another difference from previous years is that they’ve chosen to represent the shade dynamically. Rather than a solid flat depiction they’ve used motion to showcase the colour. This bodes well for hair stylists as the fibrous animation looks and moves like hair. Just like hair, it not only has shine and movement but a slight shot silk effect duochrome. Very Peri is a blue/lavender shade with a subtle violet red undertone. This is why one of the key words used to describe the shade is “unexpected”.
Very Peri has been carefully designed – it has been a year in the making. Pantone look at trends in design and anything that affects culture. The biggest recent impact on culture has been the Pandemic and everything that has come with it – threat, uncertainty, restrictions and isolation.
In terms of clients, it really is about an attitude. I think if lockdown has taught us anything it really is to have what you want and appreciate things in case they are taken away. Which has meant some clients have been more daring or “personally inventive” with their style. With a “I might aswell go for it” mind set. And this vivid blue/lavender would show that off.
Very Peri “Whose Courageous Presence Encourages Personal Inventiveness And Creativity”
Re-writing our lives with new possibilities
The situation we find ourselves in has been a huge disrupter and we know our salons have had to be both creative and courageous with the ways they’ve dealt with their businesses in a very challenging and unpredictable climate. We would much prefer Covid not to exist but this year has meant the world waking-up and having a change in state; environmentally and technologically. Something Laurie Pressman from Pantone referred to as “Re-writing our lives”. We have had to view things through a different lens. This year more than ever people are less into things and products and much more into gratitude and being thankful for what they have and the changes they can make.
Pantone Took Inspo from real and virtual worlds
Pantone not only looked at the physical world we exist in but looked at the metaverse for inspiration. The merging of digital and reality. Even looking at blockchain and digital art. The launch was an immersive art installation with this year’s digital art (tokens) NFTs already for sale (A non-fungible token is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger. NFTs can be associated with reproducible digital files such as photos, videos, and audio). Another keyword attached to this colour is ‘curiosity’, as the future opens up new possibilities.
“We are living in transformative times. PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through. As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our notions and standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged in new ways. Digital design helps us to stretch the limits of reality, opening the door to a dynamic virtual world where we can explore and create new colour possibilities. With trends in gaming, the expanding popularity of the metaverse and rising artistic community in the digital space PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri illustrates the fusion of modern life and how colour trends in the digital world are being manifested in the physical world and vice versa”
So what does this mean for hair?
Very Peri plays beautifully into the creative minds of stylists; “curiosity is key”. Don’t just view the shade as one colour but how you can play with the concept of the trusted blue and playful red, and blend the tones. Futuristic, newness and versality are again keywords for Very Peri. Hair stylists love to experiment and Very Peri is about being brave. For those of you who love to try something new and develop your own shades you will enjoy Very Peri
I asked our education team how they would interpret the shade. Linda our head of technical said that this is about being playful with violet, blue and fuchsia in the blossom range. Using blends and effects with these tones to embody the personality of the colour. Blend one into the other to create new shades.
I agree this is about technique. Would you baby light the lavender shades with ripples of violet or fuchsia to show a hint of the duality and mesmeric nature of the shade or melt one into the other? How would you approach it?
To give you a good idea of what Very Peri might look like on the hair. We found three examples from our IT&LY community, using Blossom and Oh My Blonde
In the first example Samantha Briscoe has used various shades of blossom over a pre-lightened base.
The 2nd is by Dani Flynn. Oh My Blonde denim and diamond was used and then overlayed with Blossom violet and blue combined.
Finally the last picture by Sam J Flowers solely uses Oh My Blonde denim and diamond toners. If you wished you could use Denim and rose gold to mimic the red violet undertones in the Very Peri shade.
Using Blossom
The basic formula for Very Peri would be to use violet purple rain and blue lagoon diluted with clear in blossom over very light (pre-lightened) and possibly pre-toned hair to get a true lavender shade. You may wish to under colour, light or use violet or fuchsia to create interest.
Using Oh My Blonde
Perhaps using the denim, rose gold and diamond from the Oh My Blonde range to create various lilac and lavender hues with varying levels of rose gold versus blue to create a melange of shades.
As I write this at 10pm on the 9th Dec 2021, the day is not yet over but there are already over 5000 instagram posts with the #pantone2022 and over 1000 for #veryperi ( by Monday 13th Dec 10,500 posts) . In the coming days no doubt we will see the hair industry adopt their own hastag #veryperihair #pantone22hair. Let’s see.
As always tag us in your colour creations @italyhairuk We would love to do a follow-up of this blog with your Very Peri hair looks.