WGSN and Coloro unveil key colours for AW23/24 season

Trend forecasting platform WGSN has unveiled the key colours for the autumn/winter 23/24 season together with global colour authority Coloro.

The duo’s selection aims to reflect “the different journeys and multiple facets of life”, a press release read, as people adjust their lifestyles to focus on building a vision of the future.

WGSN added that the key colours encapsulate diverse lifestyles and attempt to draw motivational forces that will drive consumers, using elements such as healing and transformation.

Speaking on the selection, Jenny Clark, head of colour at WGSN, said: “Our key colours capture the evolving behaviours of the consumer and are sensitive to their shifting emotional states and changing lifestyles.

“We believe confidence will return and vibrant, energising colours will resonate, connecting to travel and discovery, reigniting the imagination.

“These versatile colours have trans-seasonal characteristics which reflect the importance of choosing colours responsibly, and we expect them to transcend into 2024.”

Digital lavender to sage leaf

The selection starts off with Digital Lavender, which was named the duo’s Colour of the Year for 2023. The hue falls in line with the growing demand for health-boosting, digital therapy, as implemented by immersive virtual reality (VR) platforms that are providing gamified wellness experiences.

WGSN recommended brands utilise the shade for smart fitness, wearables and training-led product categories, as well as virtual beauty initiatives and gender-inclusive clothing.

Similarly calming, Astro Dust is a mid-tone red which the duo has connected to space exploration, an element that has commercially evolved over recent years. The mineral tone aims to encapsulate the landscape of Mars and capture the feeling of intrigue.

Brands could use the tone for fashion essentials, outerwear and knitwear, WGSN suggested, as well as implemented with a glossy finish for makeup and skincare.

In keeping with digitalisation and space-themed colours, Galactic Cobalt also takes inspiration from the evolution of the metaverse and merges the digital concept with the modern ‘Space Age’. The technology-driven blue is connected to escapism and extending one’s reality.

The versatile colour can be integrated into both high-functioning activewear and virtual experiences or, in contrast, through occasionwear items and jewellery. WGSN noted the tone could be transformed into a multidimensional hue, through the use of metallics and satin finishes.

Sage Leaf comes as a quiet, settling green, which aims to instil a sense of contemplation and reflection. Mirroring slowed-down lifestyles, the tone is developed as a source of relief to overstimulation and resulting stress levels of consumers.

WGSN said the tone is important for “reductive, considered design”, with therapeutic properties that make it appropriate for wellness products. Additionally, the tone could be used in fashion categories such as elevated utility wear, basics and separates, as well as materials like knits, brushed jerseys and velvets.

Finally, Apricot Crush, which was revealed to be WGSN and Coloro’s colour of the year for 2024, is described as a “vitamin-balancing hue”, stepping up from soft pastels to incorporate a more invigorating tone.

The colour can be used for a vast number of product types, but it's recommended for an array of beauty products, gender-inclusive styles and clothing categories like knitwear, loungewear and activewear.