About two decades ago, Prince was seen sporting a purple outfit in his iconic Oscar-winning song Purple Rain. It made people raise eyebrows as purple was considered a very feminine colour. However, today, purple seems to have taken the fashion world by storm and the colour has been embraced by both men and women.
Now with The Pantone Color Institute (which forecasts global colour trends and advises companies on colour in brand identity and product development) declaring deep purple hue of ‘Ultra Violet’ as Colour of 2018, fashion designers, makeup brands, food experts and interior designers are picking up the trend and working on it. Of late, many celebs have been seen sporting Pantone’s ultra violet, which is a deep grape and a ‘dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade’, and now it is your time to wear the shade, and also imbibe it in your lifestyle by bringing purple in your décor and food. If you are unsure how to rock the trend, we have experts sharing tips on how to embrace ultra violet.
Splash Purple
Interior designers believe that ultra violet has the power to inspire and heal. While it is trendy to rock Pantone’s ultra violet in your outfit, to make your home more trendy, you can think of a décor inspired from the shade.
City-based interior designer Deepak Shinde shares a few tips on how to give a touch of ultra violet to the interiors:
- The bathroom is one of the most overlooked places at home, so it needs to be jazzed up. Getting the walls of your bathroom done in ultra violet will add a vibrant effect.
- For your living room, you have a lot of freedom to experiment. From a couch that has an ultra violet colour with white cushions to a sofa set in a neutral shade with purple cushions, to curtains, table runners, and so on can be incorporated into your living room decor to make it more lively.
- Lavenders, orchids, clematis, bell flowers and so on — flowers in this shade make a perfect décor item which will cheer you up and bring positivity.
- Purple rugs and carpets can make your floor look more decorative.
Wear Purple
Every colour brings along its own impact on the wearer. Talking about the significance of ultra violet, Nishit Gupta, director, Kalki Fashion, says that the colour which has already taken over design, décor, fashion and beauty industry, is mystical and relaxing.
“Colours, actually carry a lot of emotions and change the mood when paired with other colours. Ultra violet has been associated with the royalty in the past. Today, it indicates a personality type having a great love for art, creativity and imagination. Such people who don this colour look charming,” quips Gupta.
Commenting on the same, Rikita Pujara and Ratna Shah of label Riraan say, “It is a very royal pick and suits men as well as women.”
Keep it subtle
The key to carry off purple is to keep it subtle. According to Gupta, the colour signifies mysticism, serenity, vampishness and flirtiness, hence it can be flaunted in many ways.
“Off-shoulder or ruffled dresses, sheer gowns, heavily embellished jackets, floral printed dresses, long trail gowns, high-slit matching cape gowns, long-sleeves velvet gowns, high waist skirts, anatomically crafted dupattas, kurtas as an essential staple, lehengas, jumpsuits and cape dresses in purple will work wonders for women. To complete the look opt for tassel earrings and matching clutches — they will uplift the entire attire effortlessly,” advises Gupta.
To incorporate ultra violet in their look, men sport purple tuxedos, floral shirts, bandhgalas, kurtas and pyjamas, turbans, wedding accessories, pocket squares, ties, cufflinks, etc.
Choose the right fabric
When wearing purple, you need to be careful about the fabric you choose and the colours you team it up with.
Designer duo Pujara and Shah say, “In metallic, ultra violet becomes lavish and dazzling, for natural elegance and a classy look, team it up with greens and greys. Ultra violet can be worn in lush velvets for an evening look and also athleisure clothing. Ultra violet colour can be sported in jewellery too with natural gems and also floral form.”
What to wear where
While striving hard to look your best in this shade, you may end up making mistakes. “You must not overdo it or else you will convey the wrong fashion message. If you are attending mehendi or sangeet, ultra violet lehengas will make you stand out. Velvet gowns for cocktail and reception parties will look great. Opt for embroidered and printed kurtas and jumpsuits for breezy brunches. Pair up a shirt or short kurti in the ultra violet shade with a pair of denims to gain that chic appeal. Teaming the attire with hot boots in the same hue will turn you into a showstopper. Men can wear purple formal shirts for work or interviews. If you want to dazzle at a wedding, don a purple kurta, bandhgala or sherwani,” says Gupta. But guys, please don’t stand next to the groom!
Eat Purple
Towards the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, the purple food trend had taken Instagram by storm. From purple smoothies, to purple cauliflower, purple breakfast bowls, purple noodles, purple pudding and so on were an instant hit. And now with Pantone’s colour pick of the year, ultra violet has caught the fancy of more gastronomes across the world. Besides looking great on the platter, purple food — like açai and elderberries alongside violet-hued cauliflower, asparagus, and sweet potatoes — also has a lot of diverse health benefits.
City-based food enthusiast and blogger, Manash Shah, who blogs at www.willtravelforfoodandfashion.com, says, “Purple food has indeed taken the culinary world by storm. Purple cauliflowers, purple cabbages and even purple broccoli apart from the many indigenous vegetables which are naturally purple, including purple carrots and purple corn, are grabbing eyeballs. Purple can be used to add another colour and flavour to the plate, and certainly make it Instagram worthy.”
Shah adds that purple foods are full of natural health benefits and restaurants and chefs are now utilising this colour to splash their menu. Talking about how to make purple food at home, Shah suggests, “They can be made by using purple edible dyes or colouring. Mixing of red and blue food colouring will give you purple — variations in the proportions will produce different shades. Alternately using purple cabbage, beetroot juice or blueberries can also produce natural colouring.”
Tips
Pujara and Shah suggests that the colour should be worn with more neutral shades like off-white, beige, lilac, light pink. Here are a few suggestions for you:
- You can easily wear this fun and breezy colour to a wedding.
- The shade can be incorporated into separates like a knitted jumper or show-stopping patent booties.
- A classic metallic clutch in this colour can make you stand out from the crowd.
- Easiest way to wear purple is to use it carefully like vibrant socks, a coordinating crossbody or jewel-toned talons.
- Purple jumpsuit, a shimmering ruffled gown or velvet trousers always look good.
- This colour shouldn’t be paired with darker tones so as to keep its uniqueness.
