Color Exercise No.04

Donna Karan - Monochromatic (Fall Collection)

Donna Karan - Monochromatic (Spring Collection)

Donna Karan - Analogous (Fall Collection)

Donna Karan - Analogous (Spring Collection)

Donna Karan - Achromatic (Fall Collection)

Donna Karan Fall 2008

Donna Karan FW08

High & low value
Generally high chroma

2 major color combinations
# Combo 1: Purple Red, Burgundy red + Black
# Combo 2: Soily yellow, Dim military green + Black Black can also be found in some pieces solely

• Contrasts from the coolness of the previous season
• Combo 1 consists of aggressive colors, they give a very warm feeling
• Combo 2 consists of natural colors
• Show the colors of fallen leaves that are common in autumn & winter
• A very cozy, warm winter is created by using the 2 color combos

Shows the flexible use of colors

• Purple Red + Burgundy red (Mono chromatic)
• Purple Red/Burgundy red + Soily yellow (Analogous)
• Soily yellow + Dim military green (Analogous)
• Purple Red/Burgundy red + Dim military green (Split complementary)
• Black (Achromatic)

Yellow is introduced as one of the major colors, influenced by the color use in fall winter 07. A shimmering yellow one piece was shown in fall winter 07 to test market response towards new colors. Probably because the sales of the yellow dress was good in the previous season, it is introduced again in fall winter 08 as a major color. There are more than one piece of yellow outfit in the collection. In order to suit the brand image of Donna Karan the value of the yellow is increased and chroma of the yellow is decreased. Transoformed the shimmering yellow into soily yellow, the new yellow looks natural but still stands out from the collection. It is coherent to the tone of the rest colors in the collection

Donna Karan Fall 2007

Donna Karan FW07

High value. Generally low chroma

2 major color combinations
# Combo 1: Black, Dark grey, Charcoal grey
# Combo 2: Black, Dark grey, Charcoal grey + Dark purple, Navy blue, Teal
Black can be found in almost every piece as an ornamental color

**The iconic piece- The shimmering yellow one-piece

• Very cool colors are used in fall winter 2007 and can hardly sense any warmth from the collection.
• Unlike the usual fall winter collections that give a warm feeling
• Coherent with the style
• Looking very cool, tough & strong
• An iconic shimmering yellow one-piece is shown
• A very sharp color that stands out from the entire dim collection, as if it is the main focus of the collection
• A new color in Donna Karan's designs
• The popularity of the shimmering yellow may be tested to see the market's response towards this new color
  
  
  

Donna Karan Fall 2006

Donna Karan FW06

Colors are of High and low value. Generally low chroma.
Black can be found in almost every piece as an ornamental color

2 major color combos

# Combo 1: Black, Smoky grey, Dark purple

• Black & Smoky grey are used the most in this season
• Dark purple is used in some pieces solely
• White is used together with Black to soften the look, todetailed the features and to brighten up the outfit because white reflect light better than black. Otherwise there would be too many dark pieces in this collection.
• In fact black and white are the strongest contrasting color, their presence will always be eye-catching.
  

# Combo 2: Crimson, Khaki

Khaki can be commonly seen in the spring summer's collections, less often in fall winter's collections. It is picked this season because it goes well with the Crimson & Chocolate brown pieces.

Gold is used in this season, in an exaggerated bling bling manner. Such practice is not common in the rest seasons. According to Donna Karan's style, gold is used to accessorize designs & high light features. But this season, it is used alone as the major color in a few pieces. Totally different from what Donna Karan usually does.

This is because:

• gold was a popular color in 2006
• introduced by color & trend forecasters
• many other brands used gold in fall winter 2006
• in order to follow the trend Donna Karan also needed to respond to the trend that year
  
  
  

Donna Karan Fall 2005

Donna Karan FW05

Colors used are of High value and Low chroma

2 Major color combos

# Set 1 : Black, Smoky grey, Ashy brown + Burgundy/Purple as the “Mistress Color”

Black, Smoky grey & Brown are common in the fall winter's collection. The black & the smoky grey show a sense of grace & elegance, since these colors remind people a motionless feeling. They give people a feeling of carming, therefore their subtlety reminds people of a classy image. However, they give people a very cool feeling at the same time, therefore Burgundy/Purple is used as the "mistress" color to accessorize the dark clothes give the cool colors a warmer, softer touch.

# Set 2: Navy, Dim Turquoise, Purple (Analogous)

• Enhance nobleness because purple was once the color for bishops & royalties.
• Enhance the classiness of the collection

Navy, Dim Turquoise, Purple are also special colors in the collection, because they are the "mistress" color for the whole collection. Their presence makes the whole collection more versatile & more interesting

Donna Karan Fall 2004

Donna Karan FW04
Theme: “Dark Charm”

Colors are of High value and Low chromaBlack is sometimes used alone
Black can be found in almost every piece, usually as an ornamental color because all the leggings are in black.

2 Color Combos

#Set 1: Plum, Burgundy, Reddish Brown (Analogous)the principle of familiarity

• natural colors
• enhances a warm feeling
• create a graceful touch
• shows a high degree of femininity

#Set 2: Mustard Yellow, Military Green (Analogous)

• the principle of familiaritynatural colors
• the colors for autumn winter
• the colors of fallen leaves

The collection shows flexible use of colors. Monochromatic, Analogous & Achromatic schemes are applied.

Donna Karan Spring 2009

Donna Karan SS09

Colors are generally low value

2 Major sets of colors
# Set 1: Beige, Khaki

# Set 2: Grey, Light grey, Minty grey

It shows features of resort styles. The mint colors contribute to a more playful style

Donna Karan Spring 2008

Donna Karan SS08

Colors are generally low value

3 Major Sets of Colors

# Set 1: Silvery white, Grey

• Collaborating the safari colors with formal colors

# Set 2: Brown, Beige, Red

• Reminds people of journeys in Africa
• Incorporate with formal colors

# Set 3: Black, White

• Collaborating the safari colors with formal colors

The bodice shows features of formal wears, tailored collars, belts. However, the bottom shows features of outfits wearing in safari, the collaboration of the 2 styles interest audiences eyes.

Donna Karan Spring 2007

Donna Karan SS07

Colors are of Low Chroma

2 Major sets of colors

# Combo 1: Military Green, Khaki, Beige

• Shows the colors of dying plantations

# Combo 2: Grey, Light grey, Off white

Donna Karan shows concern towards the decaying earth, the collection gives people a very dry impression.

Donna Karan Spring 2006

Donna Karan SS06

Used the most colors
Black can be found in almost every piece as an ornamental color

3 Major Color Combinations

# Combo 1: Black, White + Yellow, Red (Low value, High Chroma)
# Combo 2: Black, Navy
# Combo 3: Brown, Beige

Formal wears' colors + Yellow, Red ( Low value, High chroma)
Interests audiences' eyes by forming patterns. The patterns are inspired by Graffiti.
But the patterns are toned down in order to look more graceful and suits the needs for office wears

Since Donna Karan receives inspirations from Harlem (New York), she would like to capture the spirit of the Graffiti in the Harlem area. Therefore the most colors are used in this collection. All 3 primary colors are used because they are the basic colors for drawing (Graffiti).