Black is the new black.
- Millie Fisher
- Oct 7, 2017
- 3 min read
Black. Is it an absence of colour? A shade? A feeling? Elegance. Timeless. Genderless. 'Black' is so many different things. This is what i have discovered after researching deeper and darker into the connotations of 'black'.
I was given a project to explore and narrow down how black can be used both positively and negatively. I wanted to view the deeper and less obvious connotations of the colour. How can the colour feel? What does it represent? How is it used in fashion? I Firstly focused on the positives.
Black is perceived as timeless, it is used repeatedly without going out of fashion. A quote which I found interesting was ‘the new black’ - people often refer to other colours that are becoming popular as ‘the new black’. An example of this is ‘orange is the new black’- this presents how the colour is the most popular and it is the most timeless out of all the other colours.
Black is used throughout all the seasons and goes next to all of the other colours. Black pretty much goes next to anything- in recent athleisure this is shown particularly. Brands such as Nike often pair rich grapes and lilac tones with contrasting blacks and deep greys. Debenhams is another retailer who pair menthe tones, muted pastels and vibrant turquoise’s with blocks of black and speckled marls. This is a clear example of how black is paired with other colours and always seems to complete the look of an item!
Black is used seductively, it makes both men and women feel confident and sexy. From this, it shows how black is also genderless- black is used equally by men and women. Whilst men often wear black tuxedos to formal occasions, in comparison women often wear a 'little black dress'.
Now obviously i couldn't talk about 'black' and the 'little black dress' without referring to fashion and a particular designer. Coco Chanel brought out the little black dress on the cover on vogue in 1926- Vogue presented it as "the new fashion horizon". This is when black was made a popular, simple colour to wear and began to represent fashion, rather than mourning and death.
Black is represented positively in various ways. One particular way that stood out to me was through the black belt in martial arts. This holds great symbolism of achievement, knowledge and comprehension.
ELEGANCE. TIMELESS. GENDERLESS.
Now, black used negatively.
Black can be perceived as a 'lack of colour'. It can represent mourning and void. Individuals often wear black to a funeral as a symbol of grief- this comes from the Roman empire, where they would wear dark coloured togas throughout these mourning periods.
Black is also portrayed as a negative superstition, a black cat crossing your path is said to be bad luck. This originates from the legends of witchcraft.
Black can represent dull, clique, boring, safe.
Black can often represent rebelliousness- this if often why goths/punks adopted this colour as a part of their attire. It is presented by them as mysterious, dark and morbid. The goth fashion usually comprises of black makeup, lips, hair and clothes. They also seem to adopt a pale complexion in order to make the shade stand out. Theda Bara was a particular icon in the gothic fashion style.
I particularly have a love, hate relationship with the colour black. I love the colour because it is simple, tasteful and often goes with any outfit i decide to wear. I also love to wear a little black dress on a night out, with a colour pop on my makeup and shoes. Alternatively I can sometimes hate the colour, purely because it can be perceived as boring in an outfit- for example, the typical black Topshop Joni jeans! They may be a hot trend, but sometimes it’s nice to mix it up! I often try and drop the Joni jeans and replace with mom jeans or culottes.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my findings and if you have any other opinions on the colour black please feel free to contact me, i would love to hear them!