Pantone redefines the colour nude in inclusive new skin tone palette

Pantone has partnered Finnish agency hasan & partners to redefine the colour nude with its “This is nude” campaign that aims to showcase a range of nudes in the newly updated Pantone SkinTone Guide.

The campaign also marks the 10th anniversary of the Pantone SkinTone Guide which has been expanded to include a total of 138 diverse shades of nude.

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“The living language of colour is continually evolving. As a leader in the business of colour, we at Pantone actively embrace inclusivity in the colour world,” said Laurie Pressman, vice-president, Pantone Colour Institute.

The “This is nude” campaign features portraits of six confident and diverse individuals that aim to empower people all over the world by sharing their personal definitions of nude.

The word nude is derived from the Latin word “nudus” which translates to naked and plain. “Originally associated with Western- European-centric Caucasian skin tones, today we recognize that nude is different for everyone and instead refers to someone or something that is naked or untouched,” said Pantone in a statement on its website.

Pressman also explained that Pantone is developing a skin tone-validated software that hopes to reproduce skin tone colour in print and digital environments as the brand looks to redefine the perception of nude.

“Our goal with this campaign is to empower and enlighten each other with the true meaning of the word nude – a colour of, for example, a piece of clothing that resembles that of the wearer’s skin,” added Laura Tohtua, creative director at hasan & partners.

As part of the campaign, Pantone has also ensured that the names of its colours were consistent with the expanded vision of the term nude by replacing the colour name for Pantone 12-0911 from Nude to Peach Taffy.

A push for inclusivity in brand campaigns may not always be received well by the public though. In May this year, candy brand Skittles, which is owned by Mars, launched a special, new packaging designed to show support towards the LGBTQ+ community in collaboration with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

The packaging featured LGBTQ+ illustrations as well as images of children of different races skateboarding and playing. 

While at that point, the packaging went out without much fanfare, netizens have recently picked up on it and unfortunately, they are not happy, particularly with the phrase "Black Trans Lives Matter" which has had many calling the brand out for trying to be 'woke' unnecessarily. 

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