Luminous Blue: What 2027's Colour Forecast Means for Fashion and Beauty

What has been announced

On 29 April 2025, the trend forecaster WGSN and the colour system Coloro named Luminous Blue as their Colour of the Year 2027. It carries the Coloro code 125-28-38. That is a Coloro reference, not a Pantone number — a detail that matters when you brief a mill, a dye house or a packaging supplier.

The two companies also named five Key Colours for Spring/Summer 2027:

• Luminous Blue

• Energy Orange

• Pop Pink

• Meadowland Green

• Clay

According to the announcement, the five were chosen from Coloro's library of more than 3,500 colours.

Not to be confused with Pantone

Pantone runs a separate Color of the Year programme and usually announces its choice in early December. At the time of writing, in early November 2026, Pantone had not named a 2027 colour. Keep the two programmes apart in briefs and marketing copy: "Colour of the Year 2027" means something different depending on whose forecast you are quoting.

The thinking behind the blue

WGSN's case for the palette rests on connection between opposites: nature and technology, the ancient and the contemporary. In a June 2025 explainer, it compared Luminous Blue with lapis lazuli and cobalt — pigments with a long history — and with the glow of screens. This is the forecaster's thesis, not a finding about what every consumer wants.

WGSN describes the shade as gender-inclusive and transseasonal, and recommends it across apparel categories. For technology products it suggests glossy, metallic and lacquered finishes; in beauty, it points to cosmetics and packaging. These are recommendations, not measured sales results.

Forecast versus adoption

A forecast is a starting point, not proof of demand. Coloro's own announcement post illustrated the colour with imagery credited to brands including Akris, Ferragamo and POC Sports, alongside AI-generated images. That shows the kind of blue Coloro had in mind; it does not show that those brands adopted the exact colour standard.

Similarly, the sports retailer Decathlon has adopted a vibrant blue for its brand identity, but it does not describe that blue as Luminous Blue. Bright blues are not new. The forecast's value is in giving design, sourcing and marketing teams a shared, specific reference.

Reading the palette

One way to use the five colours — this is our interpretation, not WGSN's guidance:

• Luminous Blue as the hero shade for statement pieces, accessories and packaging.

• Energy Orange and Pop Pink as high-energy accents, which pair naturally with the season's runway mood of lightness and shine.

• Meadowland Green as a fresher alternative to seasonal khakis.

• Clay as the grounding neutral that makes the brighter shades easier to wear.

What it means for brands and buyers

This section is Style Serum's analysis, not reported fact.

• Approve colour on the real material. Electric blues shift noticeably between cotton, silk, synthetics and leather. Use the Coloro code to brief suppliers, then sign off lab dips on the fabric you will actually produce.

• Test before you commit. Trial the shade across a few categories — knitwear, accessories or beauty packaging — and read sell-through before scaling.

• Use finish as well as colour. WGSN's glossy and lacquered suggestions translate well to footwear, bags and cosmetics packaging.

• Label AI mood imagery. If you use AI images to sell a colour story internally or to retailers, say so, so they are not mistaken for runway or product evidence.

Material suppliers will show their Spring/Summer 2028 developments at the January and February 2027 fabric fairs listed in our events calendar. For beauty applications, see Beauty Innovation.

Sources

• WGSN and Coloro: Colour of the Year 2027 announcement, 29 April 2025

• WGSN: Colour of the Year 2027, Luminous Blue, 2 June 2025

• Coloro announcement post on LinkedIn, 30 April 2025

• Decathlon: new brand identity, accessed 8 November 2026