An ultraviolet revolution: It’s time to flaunt the colour of the year

Is it purple? Is it lavender? Or blue?

The colour that’s dominating shop displays, the runway and key scenes of Black Panther is a bit of all these hues. Ultraviolet is the Colour of The Year, as decreed by colour and shade-matching authority Pantone.

Unlike last year’s Shades of Green and 2015’s Marsala, this year’s colour pick might be tricky to incorporate into India’s warm colour-scape. Even fashion experts advise caution when pairing the tricky, futuristic blue-purple for everyday looks.

“From the perspective of fashion, this colour has a great presence,” says Narendra Kumar, creative director, Amazon Fashion. “It is an enigmatic shade of purple and can be paired with a broader spectrum of colours to wear every day. It works really well with deeper shades of maroon and purple.”

That’s good news for India, where maroon and purple are widely worn. However, ultraviolet contrasts beautifully with brighter colours such as orange and yellow. To dress it down, pair it with neutral and grey.

“For accessorising, ultraviolet is very accommodating to classic metals: brass, antique gold or even silver,” says designer Payal Khandwala, whose latest collection experiments with ultraviolet.

“This colour is great on Indian skin, from wheatish skin tones to duskier ones. But it’s a strong colour so I wouldn’t recommend prints or at least ones that are too busy. Don’t pair it with too many bold colours. Let this be the key colour of the outfit if you want to introduce another colour,” Khandwala says.

There exists, all over Instagram, a huge ultraviolet makeup movement. Here’s where you exercise even greater caution.

“Ultraviolet is not an everyday colour and is not meant for the fainthearted,” says Renuka Pillai, makeup expert with Avon India. “I do not suggest going monochrome with ultraviolet. Always pair this colour with nude shades.”

For example, with ultraviolet lips, keep the eyes clean. If you’re planning a smokey eye look with ultraviolet eyes, use lipsticks in nude colours.

“Even if you wish to add a pop of another colour, choose pink for your lips and cheeks. It compliments ultraviolet both being from the same colour family.”