Intercolor, the prestigious global color organization, recently held its bi-annual congress in Istanbul to discuss color trends for Autumn/Winter 2016-17. For the first time in many years, the USA was represented, through an exciting collaboration between CEW and Beautystreams, a trend forecasting service specialized in beauty.

Likened as the United Nations of color, Intercolor is a non-profit, international organization of color experts. Their aim is to deliver color research, development and exchange. The experts not only represent national associations, but also work with major players in the textile, fashion, beauty and design sectors, in all areas where color is key.

Color forecasting is a mysterious art. More than 50 years ago, experts from several countries decided to get together and exchange their knowledge of color. Intercolor was created in 1963 on the initiative of France, Switzerland and Japan. Their respective representatives, Mr. Fred Carlin, Mr. Milo Legnazzi and Mr. Yasuo Inamura, agreed that fashion color should be discussed internationally. The first Intercolor session was held in Paris on September 9, 1963, and over the last 50 years the network and its activities have continued to develop.

In addition to the U.S., Intercolor currently has 14 member countries: China, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey. The represented organizations range from the Japan Fashion Color Association, Comité Français de la Couleur and the British Textile Colour Group to the Thailand Institute of Fashion Research and Swiss Textile Federation.

Intercolor holds a twice-yearly congress, hosted by one of the member countries. In these work sessions, delegates present their color proposals for a specific season and the concepts, lifestyles and environments that influenced their choice. At the outcome of two days of discussion, the main trends are summarized and the Intercolor color range is drawn up, a distillation of the ideas shared during the work sessions. Helping to unify trends for the textile, fashion and design industries, Intercolor serves as an incubator for innovation and avant-garde ideas. The final palettes reflect key international trends and influences.

During the recent congress in Istanbul, some ideas discussed include: interconnectedness, bio-hacking, re-naturation and duality. Colors veer from elegant ghostly hues to authentic rustic hues and the darkest of blacks. Look to CEW Beauty Insider for the full update of Intercolor’s official Autumn Winter 2016-16 palettes, to be announced next spring.