While everyone was gaga over millennial pink in 2017, a new color has dethroned your favorite pastel. The color of 2018 is ultra violet, and it's going to take over your millennial pink obsession. If violet is not your jam, consider this: violet is the color of amethyst, and according to the website Crystal Cure, amethyst is "traditionally worn to guard against drunkeness and to instill a sober mind. The word amethyst comes from the Greek meaning 'without drunkenness' and amethyst is believed to protect one from poison."
So, if you're hoping 2018 will be better than the dumpster fire of 2017, embracing ultra violet might help. The color of the year is announced each December by world-renowned authority on color Pantone, and according to the New York Times, Pantone sent out 10 color sleuths to scour the globe for trending color patters in everything from food to cosmetics before declaring ultra violet as the color you're going to love in 2018.
"[It] communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, told the Times. "It is found in the cosmos (think of all those swirling purple nebulae!), the wellness movement (amethyst crystals!) and was a favorite color of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright."
So, if nothing else you might want to get yourself some amethyst ASAP. Here are a few more facts about the color we'll be seeing everywhere in 2018:
Ultra Violet Promotes Healing & Expression
While I'm probably the last person anyone would describe as new age-y, I do use crystals, and I always carry amethyst with me when I travel because it's known to reduce stress and and help balance emotions. And, this color can apparently light our path to the future. Let's face it — we can use all the help we can get.
"... intuitive ultra violet lights the way to what is yet to come," Eiseman said in a press release from Pantone. "Complex and contemplative, ultra violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now. The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own."
Crystals aren't the only ultra violet item taking the world by storm. Wayfair sent Bustle a sampling of myriad ultra violet items that you might want to use to accent your home, including rugs, chairs, throw pillows and blankets, and some pretty sassy ultra violet agate coasters. "Ultra violet can transform a room into one of extraordinary self-expression, or conversely its polish can tone down a room with subdued, modern pairings," Pantone noted in its press release. "Adding spice and brightness." If you haven't finished your holiday shopping yet, ultra violet gifts for the trendsetters in your life are a perfect choice, and they're totally Instagram worthy. Like this Andy Warhol-inspired ultra violet soup-can painting.
Ultra Violet Trends Will Dominate 2018
Always 10 steps ahead of every breaking trend, Lady Gaga recently sported an ultra violet hard hat while helping with hurricane relief in Houston. Ultra violet has also been a dominant color in Mother Monster's Joanne world tour, and was the background lighting of choice during her recent performance at One America Appeal for hurricane relief. Hillary Clinton wore ultra violet numerous times during her presidential campaign, and the late singer/songwriter Prince had been embracing ultra violet since the '80s. It looks like the rest of the world is finally catching up.
"True to the coupled nature of ultra violet, created by combining red and blue, ultra violet lends itself to unique color combinations in fashion and is easier to pair with all colors on the spectrum than one might think," Pantone explained in its press release. And, while avocado toast reigned supreme on the heels of Pantone's 2017 color, greenery, ultra violet food will adorn plates in 2018 in the form of "purple fruits, vegetables, and starches, such as acai, purple shaded cauliflower, yams, carrots, asparagus, and cabbage." And, aside from being much more Instagram worthy than avocado toast, these ultra-violet foods are really good for you, too.
Beauty trends will also being going totally ultra violet in 2018 to create spelling-binding and mysterious looks that will set you apart from the pack. "A singular matte purple on the lips or nails makes a bold statement of non-conformity, while softly blended metallics and shimmers in ultra violet transform the eyes into windows to the cosmos," Pantone noted.
Ultra Violet Pushes Us To Seek Something New
Another reason ultra violet is a fitting color for 2018 is that it's mean is in line with the relentless determination of the Resistance to establish a new normal where everyone's rights are acknowledged and accepted. "[Ultra violet is] also the most complex of all colors," Eiseman told the Times, "because it takes two shades that are seemingly diametrically opposed — blue and red — and brings them together to create something new."
And, I think we can all agree that we're ready to usher out the old guard and pursue a bright and shiny new world. "The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today," Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, said in the press release.
A color known to energize and inspire, ultra violet is definitely the color we need right now, and it also gives you a great excuse to dress like Prince and David Bowie every damn day without people thinking you're weird. It's about freakin' time.
