In the Pink of Things
My August pink flower power — Duct tape, bottle caps, and other recycled bits
Please join me for a late summer PINKaissance and PINKation diving into this fabulous, fascinating, and occasionally fraught color.
In the days to come, look out for more PINKation blog posts exploring pink’s many hues and pinkistories, past and present. And yes, we'll play with “Barbie pink.”
Keep scrolling for a color plunge into deep, joyful, saturated hot pinks. I pinky promise they’ll offer some end-of-summer, rose-tinted R & R!
Let's journey with pink through history and culture, exploring how we (society) make and remake the color’s meaning.
Pinkistory 101
Check out the sumptuous images and great info in the online exhibition Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color. It was produced by the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) curated by Dr. Valerie Steele in 2018.
Overachiever?
Here are my top Pinkistory resources related to the exhibition —
6-minute video, CBS Sunday Morning, February 19, 2019
New York Times article, September 5, 2018
”The History of the Color Pink,” 40-minute talk by Dr. Valerie Steele, September 13, 2018
Playlist of lectures from FIT’s Pink Symposium, October 19, 2018
Unfortunately, the catalogue is out of print.
Wearing my beloved raspberry Chinos, Venice, early 1980s
A Pink Passion
I’ve literally and figuratively been wearing rose-colored glasses the last few weeks. What started as a Pinkaissance has turned into a full-blown passion to the point that I just might need a pinkervention.
I've been reveling in a long-time favorite color, pink’s saturated sister, magenta. Memories from the 1980s keep popping up, from my preppy raspberry chinos to my acid fuchsia clubbing regalia. The hue has stayed with me through the years and is one of my Art Well 4 Life brand colors.
Can you guess which pink shocked the fashion world in 1937?
Hint:
In 1937, Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli rocked the fashion world with her shocking pink.
Unlike the lighter and more pastel pinks that conveyed gentle femininity, Schiaparelli designed with deep, saturated hues humming with magenta and fuchsia.
“I gave to pink, the nerve of the red, a neon pink, an unreal pink.”
Pink Shockwaves
These pinks have jolted every decade — hot, shocking, punk, kinky, neon, repeat.
I love how we’ve designed with and donned shocking pinks as forms of overt rebellion and subversive camp.
These are the pinks of Marilyn Monroe, the Sex Pistols, and the Ramones. They are the pinks of the LGBTQ inverted triangle and pussy hats.
Pink Power Preview
Next time we’ll explore our current wave of pink power, pink feminine - feminist paradox, pink-blue gender politics, and I promise, Barbie.
If you haven’t reached pink saturation, check out Valentino’s 2022 Pink PP Collection in collaboration with color giant Pantone.
I enjoyed Valentino’s surreal 1-minute video staring sulky pop star Zendaya as Barbie’s moody, over-saturated art house cousin.
I found the 20-minute fashion show riveting and truly shocking.
In creativity and service,
