Subdued hues? For fall? Groundbreaking.
For its seasonal fashion color trend report ahead of New York Fashion Week, Pantone looked to a hotly anticipated fashion film for inspiration.
“When you look at some of the advanced images of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ you get a little taste,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “It has many seasonless shades, power colors, not unexpected. But then you have some really different ways of putting together that we missed in that first film. Whenever you have something that’s happening in the world around you, people pay attention to the colors they’re seeing.”
Case in point: Eiseman said much of the palette, with names like “Muted Clay” or “Red Mahogany,” is about more faded or retro-inspired preferences, though paired with neutrals like the chocolate- brown “Toffee” or deep midnight “Poseidon.”
You May Also Like
There were a few twists, including the light eggshell “Egret,” which Eiseman thinks is seasonless. “I know some people might say, ‘I’m not sure about white in the winter,’ but I don’t think there’s any question that white is going to remain very strong. You don’t stop wearing your white button-down shirt,” she said.
The feeling of pieces that have been worn for years, a manifestation of the secondhand market boom, also pervaded the predictions. “Take Muted Clay, which might happen when you dig back into an old cedar chest and pull out a garment that’s lightly faded over the years so the tonality has changed,” Eiseman said. “It’s very evident in what consumers are looking at, but pulling out some of those more faded colors, and being excited about some things that are newer and fresher.”
Fall 2026 color palette:
Muted Clay 16-1330
“With a color like this, you might expect to see more of a harvest orange in a fall palette,” Eiseman said of the soft tone.
Neptune Green 14-6017
“It’s one of the biggest surprises of the season, because you don’t always see a retro, aquatic green,” Eiseman said. “It brings a bit of life into earth tones.”
Green Envy 16-0541
A more yellowed take on green, the shade is best contrasted with less vibrant earth tones, Eiseman said.
Arabian Spice 19-1245
“We’re seeing the continuation of that brownish feeling,” Eiseman said. “This isn’t an ordinary reddish-brown, it has a little bit more of a pecan touch.”
Foxglove 16-1710
More nostalgic than the pinks of past seasons, the shade nods to Eiseman’s emphasis on more veiled or quiet tints.
Festival Fuchsia 19-2434
Evocative of the vibrancy of a party or celebration, “it’s something to be happy about,” Eiseman said. “These brighter shades are colors that definitely say ‘let’s have a party.’”
Red Mahogany 19-1521
The rich brown “is to bring a new feeling in, to mix it in a different way with other colors. You’re going to see all kinds of those mixes,” Eiseman said. “This is a red-toned brown with a real rich depth attached to it.”
Acacia 13-0640
“If you look at the history of it, people loved it or didn’t, and then the environmental movement became really important,” Eiseman said. “We look at this like a classic color.”
All Aboard 17-4140
Meant to mimic the color of a clear sky, “this adds a cooling element to the palette. It’s the only real blue,” Eiseman said. “It also adds this feeling of excitement. We usually think of blues as being a bit more tranquil but this one just pumps it up.”
Burnt Olive 18-0521
“We have the classic staples and the power colors that feel dependable,” Eiseman said of the green, which brings the hue into more neutral territory.
Seasonless Shades:
Egret 11-0103
“It’s a bit different than our Cloud Dancer color of the year,” Eiseman said. “It’s a creamier, fitting take for fall.”
Candied Ginger 15-1213
“It has this steady, smooth, warm neutral quality that you look at and you know it,” she said. “It’s a deeper beigey tone. We call it a multitasking color.”
Toffee 18-1031
“This is going to stay in your closet for a while, it has some relevance,” Eiseman said. “This is a color the consumer is comfortable with.”
Underworld 17-4005
“You could use this with any of the top 10 colors,” Eiseman said. “It’s a mid-tone gray, which means it’s very versatile and you don’t really get a temperature from it. It’s not warm, it’s not cool, it’s right in the middle which makes it much more of a staple.”
Poseidon 19-4033
“To make this a dull navy felt like a disservice to the color, and we felt this was just the right shade to get that feeling of a little bit of a lift,” Eiseman said. “It’s meditative, but it’s bumped up.”
