Stephanie Mcdonald reports on the growing trend of paint companies teaming up with clothing designers to bring colour straight from the runway to the wall.
Paint trends have always had a close affiliation with fashion catwalks and colours. This relationship has become even closer in recent years, with paint companies now teaming up with fashion designers themselves to collaborate on new paint palettes.
Dulux is one of the more recent companies to follow this trend, partnering with Australian designer Kirrily Johnston for the Dulux Kirrily Johnston Colour Palette. The limited edition collection was released in June this year and features colours and textures which were used in Johnston’s 2010/2011 collection, which was shown at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week.
Johnston’s clothing collection was inspired by nature and earthy and vibrant tones, such as chocolates, reds, stone, black and white, which were easily translatable into interiors. As a result, the Dulux colours focus heavily on rich reds, browns, greys, bold patterns and metallic embellishments.
“Aligning with a fashion designer brings a fresh approach to colour with a fashion insight and influence. Kirrily Johnston’s spring colours were aligned with interior scheming and aligned with the new Dulux Design Collection,” says Sarah Nadenbousch, colour, communication and events manager at Dulux Australia.
Johnston’s input into the colour range did not just include a name association, but the designer had complete freedom in selecting and choosing the colours.
“The starting point for my collec tions is always with colour palettes. For years I have been heading to my local hardware store and selecting Dulux swatches to inspire me, so the opportunity to actually work directly with them has been very natural. Many colours in my collection were directly inspired by the Dulux paint colours,” Johnston says.
“The colours in the Dulux Kirrily Johnston palette are perfect for modern homes, and for any room in which a statement wishes to be made,” Nadenbousch says.
“Striped walls, metallic detailing and other textures are increasingly being used by designers to create definition and depth. The combination of metallics, pearls, bold reds, rich chocolates and burnt charcoals are perfect for feature walls and add instant glamour.”
Finishes in the range include Pewter Illusion, which was specially selected by the designer to paint the runway to complement her collection for spring/summer 2010/2011.
“I imagined a beautiful metallic runway when I was designing my collection. So when I met with Dulux and saw their stunning range, I instantly knew that Pewter Illusion was the colour I would use. The results were excellent. The colour complemented my collection and gave the whole presentation a lift.”
The collaboration with Johnston is Dulux’s first partnership with a fashion designer. The company has, however, teamed up with Kit Cosmetics through a range of nail polishes for its 2010/2011 Colour Forecast. Dulux currently has a programme to collaborate with different designers from fields as diverse as fashion, architecture and landscape design.
Bauwerk has also diversified with partnerships beyond the usual fare and has collaborated with the team from Home by interior specialist Megan Morton and stylist Sara Silm, with colour palettes for a lime paint range designed by Home and hand mixed by Bauwerk.
The aim of the range was to pro duce a palette consumers could afford which had an interior designer’s ‘touch’ and to offer people advice or palettes.
“The advantage to having a part nership with Home and Bauwerk is that we can offer a range of fool proof colour palettes that are guaranteed to work. Also the consumer has the advantage of being able to make green choices,” says Marilyn Tuna, manager at Bauwerk.
The partnership with Home and Bauwerk has so far produced five ranges, with each range comprising five to seven colours. The Mud collection has a soft muted colour range and was developed to show less colour variation with an enhanced durability and a thicker consistency. The range is recommended for internal painted surfaces.
Bauwerk Ultra Mud is one of the company’s thickest paints and is suitable when a flat look is desired. Meanwhile, the Uber and Kalk ranges are traditional lime wash systems — Uber was developed for all interior and sealed surfaces where more colour variation is required, while Kalk was developed especially for all exterior absorbent wall surfaces.
Bauwerk plans to continue collaborations with Home, with more colour ranges not far behind.
With the trend of paint palettes coming straight off the runway continuing, those looking to predict future paint trends need look no further than front row seats of fashion shows.
