Design and Fashion Design: a Chromatic History

Abstract

Dear Esteemed Readers,

I am honored to have had the opportunity to edit this special issue of the “Color, Culture and Science Journal”, which focuses on “Design and fashion: A Chromatic History”. The collection brings together ten historical essays that take very different approaches and cover a wide range of perspectives and fields of research. The variety of topics covered, ranging from clothing and photography to digital technology and experimental research for companies, demonstrates once again that color plays a central role in most areas of design and fashion. At the same time, it presents us with a panorama of episodic features, offering openings of perspective rather than the results of long, in-depth research into the same themes or segments of a consolidated framework. This calls on historians and scholars in general to reflect on the state of the history of color in relation to fashion and design — a history which remains largely unwritten.

In September 2014, the journal Design History published a special issue on the theme of “Colour and Design”. In her editorial with the meaningful title ‘Chromophilia: The Design World's Passion for Colour’, Regina Lee Blaszczyk justified the decision to devote a monographic issue to color with the observation that “The history of colour in design practice is an overlooked area in design history”. Over a decade has passed, and as I sit down to write this editor's note, I am tempted to repeat his words verbatim. Despite color's obvious and ongoing extraordinary role in the worlds of products, communication and fashion, the history of design has remained stingy with specific insights into it.

It is true that the number of studies on color has increased over the last ten years. However, if we exclude the numerous scientific and technological contributions, analyses of color in design continue to adopt two main approaches: the first considers the cultural and social history of color. This primarily focuses on studies of the symbolic, semiotic and perceptual elements that shape our perception of reality. It also revisits theoretical aspects, beginning with the role of color in design education. Consider the role of color in the basic courses at the Bauhaus with Johannes Itten and, at the New Bauhaus, or at the Ulm School, where exercises were proposed by Josef Albers and Tomás Maldonado. A second point of view focuses on the phenomenology of objects, though these are predominantly limited to furniture.

In this case, color becomes a distinctive feature of a product, conveying its emotional value while also expressing specific production and marketing strategies. The analysis of this subject is similar to the methodologies of art criticism in that it focuses on the unique and authorial aspects of the object, restoring the “aura” that Walter Benjamin claimed was lost due to “technical reproducibility”. In other words, the processes of industrialization and standardization. History seems to advance timidly in the area of the birth, consolidation and development of industrial artifacts, especially in the second half of the twentieth century. With the exception of furniture, very few studies have examined the role of color in industrial product design, how designers use color not only for expressive purposes, but also for design purposes, and its role within companies and their technological and product strategies. Fashion studies and the history of graphic and visual communication have paid more attention to this topic. However, even in this case, the majority of studies tend to focus more on historical and cultural analysis than on design analysis.

With this issue, we aim to encourage fashion and design historians, as well as color scholars in general, to explore new avenues. This is why the issue begins with white, never less “achromatic” than in the case examined by Nallely Rangel Vázquez, who reconstructs the design and communication of women's underwear in early 20th-century Mexico through the history of ethical, symbolic and hygienic codes linked to shades of white. Just a few decades later, Anni Albers combined a sensitivity towards Native American cultures with a modernist approach, transforming color into a tool that gives texture a voice, as Carla Farina argues in her text. Paulo Eduardo Tonin and Marinella Ferrara's contribution focuses on color in textiles and fashion, exploring its use in fashion environments. Finally, Maria Martone and Tiantian Fan analyse the impact of digital technology on fashion processes, particularly in relation to color, through the study of two case examples (Armani and Prada).

In their analysis of the role of color charts in design choices, Jonas Leysieffer and Tina Tomovic argue that digital technology's immateriality influences color choices without considering their chemical materiality and environmental consequences.

In his text, Geoff Isaac takes us through the history of furniture design, highlighting how color has played an instrumental role in shaping the image, design and production structure of the sector, shifting from a functional and expressive logic to an emotional one. Meanwhile, Gianluca Grigatti, Francesca Mucchetti and Pierpaolo Peruccio analyse an extremely relevant and unprecedented case study, examining the use of color to create the identity and recognisability of products such as the 1962 Riva ‘Aquarama' motorboat in depth.

The 1960s were a pivotal decade for the development of color in fashion and design, beginning with designers' growing awareness of its importance. In this context, Marta Vitale's work explores a specific aspect of the multifaceted Ettore Sottsass, examining the relationship between color in his photographs and color in his architecture.

The latest essays analyse two intertwining experiences that demonstrate Italy's great creative and experimental vitality during those years. Maddalena Dalla Mura and Elena Fava retrace the history of the Montefibre Design Centre from the 1970s to the 1990s, exploring its dual role in experimentation, research, and public engagement through the application of new synthetic fibers to fashion and design. Raimonda Riccini and Maurizio Rossi's latest text focuses on Clino Trini Castelli and his theoretical contribution to the foundation of design as a discipline. Through a series of experiments, research and activities with companies, Castelli became a recognised pioneer of color theory and practice at an international level.

Colorful regards,

October 2025
The Guest Editor
Raimonda Riccini, PhD
Full professor of Design