From SA to the world: Rooibos Pantone in top 10 spring colours

The colour of South Africa's’ indigenous tea, rooibos, has been added to the Fashion Colour Trend Report for Spring 2024.

October 3, 2023

Savanna Douglas for Bona 2 minutes read

We’ll be seeing a lot more of the colour Rooibos on fashion ramps after the Rooibos Pantone was announced as one of the top 10 colours in the Fashion Colour Trend Report for Spring 2024 at this past New York Fashion Week (NYFW).

Pantone LLC, the global authority on colour and provider of professional colour standards for the design industries chose the Rooibos Pantone® among 2 390 other colours as one of the standout colours of 2024. An additional five new classic colours were also announced.

World-renowned colour specialist and executive director of the US-based Pantone Colour Institute, Leatrice Eiseman, says the new spring colour palette is a harmonious mix of familiar shades infused with a contemporary edge.

“Colours for NYFW Spring 2024 introduce a new interpretation of current times as memories of the past and a glimpse of the future”.

She referred to the Rooibos Pantone as ‘restorative’.

“Just as people sometimes use food to revitalise themselves, the spring colour palette can be equally refreshing. The health benefits of herbal tisanes, for example, extend beyond personal wellness. They are restorative in every sense. They are refreshing to taste, but also refreshing to look at.

“The Rooibos Tea Pantone® 18-1355 is full-bodied, red imbued with rich, woody notes. The toned-down shade has the same effect as the shade of a dress that had been stowed away in a cedar chest for a while. Fashion brands like, Gucci, Zegna, Josie Natori, Bally, Emilio Pucci and Markarian’s Alexandra O’Neill are among the early adopters of the colour,” remarks Eiseman.

Marthane Swart, secretariat of the SA Rooibos Council, says the rooibos industry is thrilled with the news.

“Fashion has always been the forerunner in setting colour trends. It was a big deal for us when the Rooibos Pantone was first introduced, but to have it singled out as a signature colour for the next spring/summer season exceeded our expectations by a long way.

“We hope that when people wear the warm and inviting amber colour of rooibos, it will evoke confidence, along with emotions of warmth, comfort, optimism, energy and passion.”

Aside from seeing the colour popping up in new spring/summer fashion collections, experts say we can expect the colour to be used across industrial designs too, from cars, electronics, AI and technology to interiors, films and animation.

Here’s Pantone’s NYFW Spring/Summer 2024 Colour Palette: