Colour Systems Across Industries
If you’ve worked with colour in different industries, you’ll know the language changes depending on the context:
- CMYK – the subtractive model for printing. By mixing Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black inks, we reproduce colours on paper.
- RGB – the additive model for digital screens. Red, Green, and Blue light combine to create the luminous colours you see on monitors and smartphones.
Both systems are powerful, but they are industry-specific and come with limits. CMYK can’t reproduce all colours, which is why printed images often appear less vibrant than on screen. RGB, while offering a wider gamut, still doesn’t cover the entire range of colours the human eye can perceive.
In fashion and textiles, the most widely used standard has long been Pantone.
Pantone: Fashion’s Traditional Standard
Since the 1960s, Pantone has served as the global language of colour. From designer studios to dye houses, everyone in the supply chain can point to a swatch number like 19-4052 Classic Blue and know exactly what shade is being referenced.
The Benefits of Pantone
Pantone’s success comes from its ability to offer:
- Universal Communication: A widely recognised system across fashion, graphics, interiors, and beyond.
- Trend Direction: Through seasonal launches and the influential Pantone Colour of the Year, Pantone helps guide designers toward shades that resonate with consumer moods and market shifts. (Example: Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz as Colour of the Year 2024.)
- Consistency: Physical swatch books and fabric standards give designers and manufacturers tangible references, helping to align colour expectations across borders.
- Cross-industry familiarity: Because Pantone is used in branding, packaging, and digital design as well, it makes collaboration between disciplines easier.
The Limitations of Pantone
But Pantone is not without its frustrations:
- Cost: Swatch books and licences are expensive, creating barriers for smaller labels and startups.
- Limited Range: Pantone does not cover the full spectrum of human-visible colours. If you want a very specific shade, it might not exist in Pantone’s catalogue.
- Marketing-driven additions: New colours are often introduced to align with trend narratives rather than filling scientific gaps.
- Analogue Foundations: While Pantone now has digital tools, its system was built around physical swatches, which can feel out of step with today’s digital-first workflows.
Pantone has shaped fashion for decades, but is it enough for an industry that’s becoming faster, more digital, and more global?
Other Colour Systems: Alternatives with Niche Roles
Several other systems exist, each designed with different principles:
- Munsell – A perceptual, scientific model based on Hue, Value (lightness), and Chroma (intensity). Still widely respected in education, science, and art.
- Natural Colour System (NCS) – Developed in Sweden, based on six elementary colours as humans perceive them (white, black, red, yellow, green, blue). Popular in interiors and industrial design.
- RAL – A German system standardised for paints, plastics, and coatings, often used in architecture and industry.
- Textile-focused libraries – Such as Scotdic (Japan), CSI (Color Solutions International), and Archroma Color Atlas, tailored for fabrics and dye houses, but lacking Pantone’s global recognition.
These systems are valuable in their fields, but none have matched Pantone’s cross-industry dominance in fashion.
Enter Coloro: Innovation for a Digital Age
Launched in 2017 in partnership with trend authority WGSN, Coloro takes a different approach. Instead of limiting itself to a swatch library, it is designed as a comprehensive, perceptual system mapping the entire colour space.
How Coloro Works
- 1.6+ million colours – covering nearly the full range of human vision.
- 7-digit code – defines each colour by Hue (000–359), Lightness (00–99), Chroma (00–99). For example,
065-67-36. - 3D model – intuitive for designers, showing relationships between colours more clearly than flat charts.
- Digital-first – designed for seamless integration into digital workflows, while still supporting physical textile standards.
Advantages for Fashion
- Precision – virtually eliminates the “does this colour exist?” problem.
- Efficiency – reduces wasted time and fabric caused by miscommunication.
- Agility – aligns colour development with fast-moving design cycles.
- Trend Integration – WGSN forecasts are tied to Coloro, combining science with commercial insight.
Comparing the Systems
| System | Origin & Use | Structure | Colour Range | Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pantone | Founded 1963 (US). Global standard in fashion, textiles, graphics. | Physical swatches + digital libraries. Codes like 19-4052 Classic Blue. | ~2,600 colours (Fashion, Home + Interiors). | Universal recognition, trend influence (Colour of the Year), cross-industry use. | Expensive, limited range, new shades trend-driven, analogue roots. |
| Coloro | Launched 2017 with WGSN for fashion/textiles. | 7-digit code: Hue, Lightness, Chroma. | 1.6+ million (almost full human-visible). | Scientific, digital-native, precise, trend integration. | Adoption still limited, supply chain needs alignment, some colours unachievable in fabric (neons, metallics). |
| Munsell | Early 1900s by Albert H. Munsell (US). Used in science, education, art. | 3D tree: Hue, Value, Chroma. | Continuous, perception-based. | Scientific accuracy, visual clarity. | Rare in fashion, not a commercial standard. |
| NCS | Developed in Sweden, 1960s. Used in interiors, product design. | Perception-based: white, black, red, yellow, green, blue. | ~1,950 standard colours. | Strong in interiors & architecture. | Limited palette, little fashion adoption. |
Tradition vs. Innovation: What’s Next for Fashion?
Pantone’s strength lies in its heritage and trend leadership. It has shaped the language of colour in fashion for decades, and its “Colour of the Year” campaigns continue to inspire designers and consumers alike.
But as fashion accelerates and moves deeper into digital and sustainable practices, Pantone’s limited range and analogue foundations may not be enough. Systems like Coloro, with their scientific rigour, digital flexibility, and near-infinite palette, represent a new way forward.
The real question is: will fashion embrace Coloro’s innovation, or will Pantone’s legacy keep it at the centre of the industry?