Milan Design Week 2021 – the colours

Roses are red, voilets are blue, sugar is sweet and colours overload too… One way to talk about change and new things, or even trend, is to look at the new colours used at a Design Week like Supersalone. Here is my report for 2021.

Introduction.

I would say that the colour combinations for 2021 is very balanced. As I have said before – there are no real news from the design week so it is more about colours than before. The above picture is from Alcova, the youngest and most lively exhibition during the design week. Perhaps this is a sign of the future? In above picture you have a lot of yellow, hints of a pink terracotta and avocado green. All together with eggshell and a hint of brown.

Almost the same colours as above, but instead of green you see hints of blue as a contrast. But yellow, terracotta, earthy hues and a bit of brown. Picture from Studio Pepe.

As mentioned – it is all about colour, so we see multicoloured pieces. Further down, and in a picture in a report later, you will see how legs of tables are coloured in a different hue than the top. Also in this picture you see colours that demand attention. It’s not a “nice” colour combination but rather loud. Orange is present and this burgundy red. Picture from the new tables by Pierro Lissoni for Kartell.

Almost same colour combination for the extravagant rug collection I talked about yesterday. This is not something for the timid.

Almost neon colours but with transparency. Here from Alcova, but Kvadrat had the same similar installation with Peter Saville.

Yellow

Here at Cassina. Look at the yellow base of the table. Completely different from the top. It is lighter than mustard. Not as childish as a sunny yellow… Perhaps a dirty pastell yellow?

Same kind of yellow at Vestre.

Of course we see other alternatives for yellow. A lot of variations, and I think we haven’t made up our minds on what exact hue of yellow is “correct”. So there are plenty of versions of yellow. Here German Llov Llot.

A stronger yellow at Hermes.

A cooler yellow at Dimore Studio.

Turquoise

This brings us to the blue hues. First out turquoise. Look at the colour combinations for the plates at Hermes. The same yellow we talk about, and also the burgundy red. Now with blue.

Here at Cassina

Same colours in a vase at Cassina.

Burgundy red and turquoise.

I saw some versions of this blue, but in a darker version. Here at Gervasoni.

Blue

Blue has been predicted to be a dominant colour for the coming years. I absolutely saw blue. Mainly as a contrast colour on walls and for installations. But some furniture pieces too. Here a blue glass table at ClassiCon.

At Paola Navone.

At B&B Italia

Avocado green

Not sure if avocado is the right word for this. I also call it olive green. Regardless, this is absolutely a “new” colour, It really feels fresh and unused. Here at colour company Kerakoll.

Here with the Danes at File under Pop.

As a detail on Thomas Eyck at Rossana Orlandi.

Purple

Missing purple? Don’t worry. There is absolutely some purple too. It is more “amethyst” than anything. You have the dark red burgundy if you need deeper colours. This is light. White metals are big but I am saving that for the later report. But look at the carpet. By Etage Projects.

Sofa at File under Pop.

Design student at the fair.

Orange

What about orange? Absolutely. Even more so in Paris. But this leads us to the main colour trend for 2021. See below.

Rust

Rust or terracotta is the number one used colour for this year. Works well with white and grey. Its a bit boring and something we have seen, but very dominant. Here at Gervasoni.

Here at Thomas Eyck again.

Here with green at the Konstantin Grcic installation for Mutina.

But rust is also redish natural materials. Here cork, but all kinds of red wood or even leather.

There are futuristic and forward looking examples of rust or terracotta. Like this metallic thing by Etage Projects.

So to summarize: main dominant colour is rust or terracotta. Expect a lot of yellow. Amethyst. The new green (olive or avocado) is going to grow. Orange, red burgundy and turquoise are energetic and new to the season.