Comfort in Brown

Pondering upon the elevation of brown as the colour associated with dirt to something almost intoxicating. A point of view on the colour that marks the start of a new decade.

Disney Channel being the mainstay of 90s teenagers gave us embarassing pictures for life, which Facebook will never let us forget.

I am a 90s kid and when I think of colour, I think of something so in-your-face bright that it will induce a headache in anyone over 15 years of age. Music videos were full of it – and isn’t that what every growing child derives their entire sense of identity from? The millennium started with highly saturated shades of red and even a highly obnoxious fuchsia – which nobody would admit liking now. But there they all were, and still live on in DVDs of Mean Girls and Lizzy McGuire. We derived happiness in youth.

Wes Anderson's Tribute to Millennial Pink, further solidifies its significance in pop-culture. It evokes a fantastical feeling, bringing to mind memories of childhood, cotton candy, and unicorns.

From that, to a very recent millennial pink and rose gold phenomenon which gave us a clean antiseptic feel. It sold. I can look around and spot 10 different things I purchased in that shade. It seemed like it would stay for the long haul. Everyone exploited the colour to such an extent that it stopped being calming at all.

Even before we could mourn its death, a colour that explained the sentiment of our generation, a new star is among us. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought that one day I would want to be surrounded by browns and greens. I always associated them with dirt, something boring, something old. But now I seem to be approaching a mindframe where it brings to mind some of my favourite smells, chocolate, coffee, and petrichor.

Chloe takes the centerstage in elevating brown to a sexy, intoxicating, and glamorous colour.

And boy I am shocked to see that it is not just me but everyone around who seems to suddenly have reached a collective understanding and change of mind. Just look at any runway show, any shop, or Instagram. It is comforting to see that millions of people, in their lives and on their own, have started to appreciate earthiness at the same time. A critical mass has been achieved, momentum is being gained, and the new decade will usher in a relentless fight towards everything nice.

Sustainability and greenwashing have been flirting around in every press release of every brand, making us very almost immune to marketing messages that don’t have real world manifestations. The market has reached a stage where change can actually begin from the customer instead of the big guys and the government – and they need to be very, very afraid.

There are so many people behind brown right now and there is a certain comfort in numbers.