Colour theory for fashion designers
Hue, value and chroma, colour harmonies and how to build a balanced seasonal palette.
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Colour theory gives designers a shared language and a method for building palettes that work together across a collection.
Hue, value, chroma
- Hue: the colour family: red, blue, green.
- Value: how light or dark it is.
- Chroma (saturation): how intense or muted it is.
Most palette problems come from value and chroma, not hue: two colours of the same intensity can fight, while a muted partner lets a bright colour lead.
Harmonies that work
- Tonal: one hue in several values: calm and luxurious.
- Analogous: neighbours on the colour wheel: easy and natural.
- Complementary: opposites, used in unequal amounts: energetic.
- Neutral plus accent: a neutral base with one bright: commercial and safe.
Building a season palette
Most balanced palettes have three to four core colours that sell in volume, two or three fashion colours that create excitement, and one or two neutrals that tie everything together.
See how Forecut builds each season in the season palettes.
