Want to know what the hottest color in street style fashion is in Paris? Milan? Antwerp? Then Color Forecast is the site for you! Created by European clothing retailer Pimkie, the new fashion orientated website features live streams of trendy streets in Paris, Milan, and Antwerp aimed at the idea that a person will want to know what color is trending that day.
Each of the three square screens in the middle of the webpage simultaneously move and interact with each other. The screen on the left is the live stream of a street in Paris, Milan, or Antwerp. The middle screen traces the color of the moving object’s (pedestrian’s) trajectory in the first screen against a black background. The third screen is a graph that calculates that information and displays a corresponding color scheme.
The trending color report leads to a page that allows viewers to shop for clothing of the most viewed color on Pimkie’s site. Each day the featured color in each city is archived on the site. The website will soon be available as an iPhone app.
While watching the live stream in Antwerp, a couple dressed in neutral colors stopped and greeted a woman in a red puffy jacket. The red color sketched across the center screen mimicked the woman’s path in the first screen as she walked over to the couple. A color graph in the third screen featured red as the trending color.
Watching the exchange between these three people, I paid little attention to the graphics of the two screens on the right. I was fixated by the people on the street. They looked to be about middle age and were not dressed in any way that might be characterized as fashionable. The bright red coat was large and unflattering on the woman. They hugged and smiled as they spoke. I felt like I was people watching from almost half-way across the world.
The site plays on the idea that a person will want to know what the “It” color of the day is in these three cities. However, watching the live stream at 9:00 am central time meant that I witnessed people (or lack of people in Paris) walk by during their daily routines. A few people rode by quickly on their bikes while others walked straight across. In all three cities, not one pedestrian looked up towards the stationary camera which made me wonder if they even knew it was there. If they come to find out that a camera is broadcasting them live over the internet, will they want to be part of this fashion experiment?
Color Forecast observes men and women of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds as they walk along the designated streets. Based on the most popular color worn by pedestrians on that day, Pimkie automatically suggests pants, tops, bags, shoes, and accessories that match the trending color available for purchase on its site.
This project focuses solely on color. That’s it. It does not focus on the shapes, styles, fabrics, or even on the individual items of clothing being worn.
I took one last look at Antwerp before finishing this post. A beam of light coming directly from below the camera obscured the view of the street. The center screen still traced the path of pedestrians, but the graph on the third gray screen was gone. It’s hard to tell if the camera had been positioned in a poor spot or if something below the camera coincidentally obstructed the view. Or maybe some didn’t like being a part of the experiment after all.
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