Farrow and Ball on the growing relationship between domestic design and fashion – WWD

Farrow & Ball — the cult durable paint company whose colors often define broad home fashion trends — introduced 11 new colors this month.

The UK-based brand only releases new paint colors every four years, leaving enough time to be influenced by wider cultural changes. This latest cycle has provided a lot of inspiration – the global pandemic has changed the way most people interact with their living space and thus interior design. Houses are launched as part of a larger fashion statement, and the women in charge of Farrow & Ball’s new colors felt the responsibility to meet this moment with bright new colors.

“I spend a lot of time in people’s homes and help them choose colors,” says colorist Joa Studholm. The first thing I do is look at what people wear as an indication of their color tolerance. It’s chalk and cheese compared to five years ago. Five years ago it was about keeping the grays and not wanting to express ourselves too much and now it’s about creating memories.

The colorist began to think [our new colors] When it’s locked in and it feels a bit like reorganizing our wardrobe – checking which colors we want to wear with our current colors or upgrade. It was about checking and making adjustments.

Among the new colors are Bamboozle, a modern red-orange, and Whirlibird, a cheerful and bright green. There are also fashion references such as selvage, a dusty mid-blue inspired by raw denim, and taylor tuck, a warm beige with a slight pink undertone, a sewing thread used in haute couture ateliers in ODE. They join F&B colors like Studio Green, Sulking Room Pink and Railroad.

Studholme, along with Farrow & Ball’s head of creative, Charlotte Cosby, said their new color was deliberate in its calm optimism and thoughtful attitude.

Stuholm says the new normality of Farrow & Ball’s colors comes from “just how we’ve been wearing sweatpants and shirts and skirts for years.” It’s the same with our homes, people want more formal spaces.

“I think we can all agree that with all the bad things going on in the world, we all need a little bit of optimism,” Cosby added. At times we need a little color to pull ourselves out of a slump. If you look back to England in the 60s, there are a lot of bright colors. You can control this feeling and emotion at home.

The two women are seeing a new trend in home color – more and more people are painting the interior of their cabinets in bright accent colors. “Fuchsia pink is like wearing black,” says Stuholm, referring to the increasingly blurred lines between clothing and interior fashion choices. “It gives you a wonderful splash of color because it’s in the cupboard. We’re seeing secret pockets of things that people have done to themselves, like painting a closet orange. It helps you smile and feel good.

The color in one zoom background also continues to be interesting. “People seem to like to have bookshelves behind them, and if they have bookshelves, I tell them to paint them the same color so the walls don’t,” added Stedulme, who advises Cosby to choose a fun color. Distractions”