Drop everything! Pantone (a private corporation which specializes in standardizing color palettes for different industries and companies) has announced the color of the year for 2015. The special color for the new year is…Marsala, a deep dark red named after Marsala, the fortified Italian wine which in turn is named after the port of Marsala. I guess I was really on top of trends when I blogged about burgundy a couple of weeks ago, since burgundy is a similar color with a similar provenance (although burgundy is a purer—and prettier– dark red which lacks the earthy brown notes of Marsala).
According to Pantone’s fulsome press statement, Marsala is a perfect color for…well everything: “Much like the fortified wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal, while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness…This hearty, yet stylish tone is universally appealing and translates easily to fashion, beauty, industrial design, home furnishings and interiors.”
Other self-proclaimed culture-makers and arbiters of taste are less satisfied with the hue. NYmag.com felt the tone evoked Olive Garden (a mid-range restaurant franchise which makes coastal elites shudder and drop their caviar spoons) and…um…feminine sanitary goods. The Atlantic talked about fraternity bathrooms, 70’s institutional carpet, and mystery meat with plenty of offal mixed in. Clearly Marsala inspires strong visceral feelings (ha) and synesthesia, even if it does not necessarily make everyone want a new Marsala Maserati.
I was a big fan of last year’s color “radiant orchid” which was a lovely mid-tone pinkish purple (for the record, tastemakers liked radiant orchid too and thought it betokened “economic recovery”). I think burgundy is prettier than Marsala (which I would probably call “brick”), but the 2015 color evokes garden paths, bound books, farm equipment, trilliums, and, yes, delicious chicken liver, so I like it well enough. It seems like my family even had a Marsala-colored Chevy station wagon when I was growing up in the late seventies. I doubt I will be buying an all Marsala wardrobe or a Marsala blender, but the color is very pretty…for some things. And, as ever, if you despise Marsala (or if its Olive Garden notes cause the stock market to crash) there will be a completely new corporate-chosen color of the year in 2016.
As an aside, you would not believe how hot the back seat of this thing could get…
ferrebeekeeper 
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December 5, 2014 at 3:25 AM
agnesashe
I think this is the kind of colour that works better in natural fibres or flat finishes – perhaps not for polyester and definitely not plastics.
December 5, 2014 at 4:27 PM
Wayne
Definitely! I shudder to imagine this as a microwave oven….
December 5, 2014 at 12:05 PM
Beatrix
O. Mah. Gawd.
I have soooo dropped my nacre caviar spoon into my tin of Beluga.
The color of the year is named after a FORTIFIED WINE???
What is next, a hue inspired by “Liquor de Malt’?
Will Pantone Color of the Year 2016 be like “King Cobra Forty”?
Quotes from around the intarwebs-
“A naturally robust and earthy wine red, Marsala enriches our minds, bodies and souls.”
“This earthy shade is a mix of red wine and bronzy copper and is flattering against many skintones. It’s a sophisticated unisex shade that encourages color creativity, experimentation and expression—something the fashion and beauty industry is all about.”
“Sensual, bold, luxurious and daring—this robust color was seen on many runways and will be appearing in cosmetic collections.”
“Pairing beautifully with aqua blue, sandy beige, mustard yellow and seafoam green, Marsala is going to add a bit of spice to 2015.”
Let it be known that Ms Beatrix shall NOT be wearing ANY aqua blue, sandy beige, mustard yellow, seafoam green, OR Marsala.
Red wine & bronzy copper ain’t flattering nor enriching to my mind, body, or soul. (This all reeks of those tedious & tired 70’s earth tones.)
I’m much, much, more of a mix of crisp, elegant Sauvignon Blanc & scintillating, shimmering platinum thank you very much!
December 5, 2014 at 4:24 PM
Wayne
What!!! No Marsala? But you could look like that sporty/elegant unisex being in the second photograph! …or like a fashionable chicken liver!
On a more serious note, I’m sorry to ruin your beluga lunch with aesthetic concerns. Your choice of “King Cobra” for next year’s color of the year has been noted. 🙂
December 5, 2014 at 12:59 PM
Grace Darling
Has Li Edelkoort signed off on this colour?
Back in 1966, Holden {australia) called this colour “Egyptian Tan’.
December 5, 2014 at 4:26 PM
Wayne
“Egyptian Tan”? Maybe because it looks like naturally tanned leather goods?
Also I’m still waiting for Edelkoort to write me with an opinion.
December 7, 2014 at 10:59 AM
Grace Darling
Nah…because “Murray River Murky” didn’t have the same poetic whimsy.
It was the 60’s man….lots of trippy names.
December 10, 2014 at 9:44 PM
Wayne
I kind of like the whimsy of “Murray River Murky.” We could use fewer marketers and more poets.