PJ007, written report

My own conclusion of SR and future forecast of SR 2010 SS collection’s color scheme

My own conclusion of SR

My group have studied and analyzed the fashion brand of Sonia Rykiel from different aspects. We find that, at the beginning, the brand tended to be using achromatic, shades and few main hues. It was because of the war, poor and unstable environment.

Yet, as the brand became more and more popular, and the worldwide economy and political environment became better and free to women, SR tried to use more colors on the collections, representing new women. Purple, beige, navy blue, blue violet, pink, light yellow and brown, those colors (we thinks that she likes) could be seen more often in the collections.
(Seen in the picture of “Most frequency using color of SR”)

However, she still tended to use the hues in low chroma and achromatic as the main colors of the collections.

We analyzed SR’s collection from 02FW to 09SS, in the first few years’ collection, brown, navy blue, low chromatic purple, yellow, red and green could found quite often in FW. Although SS contains more high chromatic hues, they still used in a low proportion.

However, from 02 to 08, there is an evolutional increase of using high chromatic color scheme. The more recent collection, the more high chromatic hues have been used.
In 08FW and 09SS, the brand has come into its 40th anniversary.
In the 2 collections, the number of color used is more than any collection before; I described it as a color boom.

Also, I found that some other fashion designers designed some outfits as a present. -------------------Out came 30 more models in Sonia Rykiel looks designed by some of fashion's biggest names. Martin Margiela made a fur chubby the color of Rykiel's flame-red mane. Rodarte's sweater dress read "Obama." Jean Paul Gaultier's came attached to giant knitting needles and trailing a ball of yarn.(style.com)
So, I don’t think those outfits should be included in SR’s fashion design timeline during analysis.

I understand that her daughter had joined in the brand and tried hard to increase the number of high chromatic hues used and total number of colors in collections. Yet I do want to consider the 2 collections as an exception. Everyone want to be more beautiful during her birthday, isn’t it? But it does not mean that you will keep on wear like this afterwards!

To be concluded, it is the truth that SR’s collections become more and more colorful, more color in high chroma are used due to her daughter’s influence, but in the 2008FW and 2009SS collections, the 40th anniversary brings the brand to a sudden color boom, which I think would not be kept. In the next part of future forecast of SR’s color scheme, I will discuss more in detail.

My future forecast of SR 2010 SS collection’s color scheme

First of all, I would like to explain why I have chosen 2010 SS for the future forecast but not 2009FW. (Although Robert, you said that it does not matter to choose either FW or SS…) It is because I have done the color research of SR’s SS collections, I am more familiar with SR’s SS collections, both of its color schemes and tendencies. And I see that, compared with FW, SS have more color combination used; I think it would be more challenging and interesting.

As I mentioned, the 40th anniversary of SR, has brought the brand a sudden color boom in 08FW and 09SS collections. 40 is a special number, both for the brand and Sonia herself, and also for me.
Logically, in the next few seasons, SR will not keep on celebrate its 41, 42, 43 anniversaries.

As a result, I would predict SR’s 2010 SS collection’s having less number of colors than 09SS’s, and it would still try on using more high chromatic colors.
In the collection, the colors that appear many years still could be found, black and white achromatic, light purples, brown, yellows, and blue. Those colors still used quite frequently, but in the whole collection, I think their proportion might be decreased.

Beige, red, light pink, orange and navy blue, these colors are not used too much before but still we can see them quite often, and I think they would appear in the collection.

And I would like to make a guess on a hue that not much used before, green, would be used in the collection, like the tendency of SR, new main colors, such as orange of 08 SS, blue green of 04 SS, may be used in 5-10 out of ~60 outfits. And I think the green hue would be in high chroma, as we mentioned, SR’s daughter and new designer make SR become a more colorful brand with more high chromatic colors.