photo: Orange accents make for a delicate feel.

The Trendsetters

What's the next big thing? If only you knew.

photo: Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute.

"Sparkling white," says forecaster Leatrice Eiseman. "And it's only going to get bigger in 2007."

Well, some people do know. But don't call them psychics: They're trend forecasters, and they're experts in figuring out what people will think is stylish next month, next season, or next year.

The major area of focus among forecasters has to do with something that affects everything around us, except maybe water and windows: Color.

Meet Dana Poor, a color trend forecaster at Cotton Inc., specializing in textiles. She travels to over twenty countries a year - shopping and taking photos - in order to determine the future trends in the field of home furnishings.

"It's kind of like being a psychic, but I think the factors are all out there already, we just whittle it down and put it together in a way that people can put together," she says. "I look at lifestyle indicators, social issues, economic issues. . . . It all comes into play."

So what should we look out for?

"2006 is about bright colors like lime green, orange, pink," she says. "In homes, people want to do things themselves; there are so many shows and magazines and sites to help people who want to experiment. That increases confidence, and where there's confidence, there are bright colors."

Next year, however, she thinks things will get toned down.

"They'll have more of a gray cast to them, and chocolate brown will be a big color. It looks really beautiful next to bright colors and looks modern and updated. Bed sheets in chocolate brown are already selling out."

Forecaster Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and the author of the book More Alive With Color, doesn't disagree with Poor- there are few wrong answers in color trend forecasting, since there are plenty of colors out there to be embraced at the same time in any one year. But she has another "It" shade in mind. Hint: It's not technically a color at all.

"White!" she says. "Sparkling white. And it's only going to get bigger in 2007. The iPod definitely helped pump up the trend."

Why white?

"It works with all the bright colors that we've been seeing, but mostly, it's a tonal tranquilizer in a tumultuous world," she says. "It's helping to cleanse the palete and bring us to a quiet place that brings us some Zen."

Posted on April 17, 2006