Colour is China's biggest design trend: Centdegrés highlights multi-sensory experience at Luxepack Shanghai
At last week's show, the agency unveiled six colours that hold special significance and symbolism to the Chinese culture.
“We collaborated with Coloro, which is backed by China Textile Information Center to create the palette. One of the goals of this division is to work with experts to dig into Chinese history and catalogue Chinese traditional colours,” said Matthieu Rochette-Schneider, general manager of Centdegrés China and South Asia.
Multi-sensorial way to experience colour
“Colour has a deep and rich history in China and acts as an ambassador for the culture. The colour yellow is associated exclusively with the emperors and the blue you can find on Chinese ceramics is associated with Emperor Kang Xi.
“They are so meaningful and we want our visitors to be able to grasp the whole meaning of the colour and they can with an experience that’s not only through their eyes but also through their other senses,” said Rochette-Schneider
He elaborated: “They were be able to smell the colours and touch the colours. One of our partners is Firmenich and we worked with them to create fragrances for each colour.”
He hoped that visitors were able to immerse themselves into the story of each colour, what it means to the Chinese, and how to use it in design.
Additionally, he revealed that Sephora China unveiled a collection it helped create at Luxepack Shanghai.
The China Red collection features one of the most significant colours in Chinese culture, which represents luck, happiness, prosperity and celebration.
“We used a traditional red and reinterpreted it to make a more modern and luxurious result.”
“There will be a lot of storytelling. We will explore why red and explore its link with heritage, tradition, modernity and luxury.”
Next big trend
Rochette-Schneider said that colour will be the biggest design trend in China for 2019 and will becoming increasingly important as Chinese millennials continue to embrace their cultural identity.
“What we are seeing in the China market is that millennials now have a big interest in their heritage and asserting their own identity.”
He said he has already observed some cosmetic brands using colour to connect with millennials and believed that it is the start of a new trend.
“We believe this is only the beginning of the trend and we think it’s going to be bigger this year across industries including cosmetics.”
