In Colour: Mellow Yellow Makes Its Mark

Last year we saw Barbie pink boom and rich brown hues take over our wardrobes, homes and even beauty routines. But 2024 is proving a more pastel mood.

Pantone named Peach Fuzz the colour of the year. And while there’s no denying that stone fruit-inspired saturations have been popping up a lot lately, we’ve also noticed a shift towards mellow yellows growing stronger by the day.

“The spectrum of pastels is emerging as a mainstay across seasons as consumers respond to colours that feel calm, comforting and soothing,” says Tully Walter, futures strategist at human-insights think tank Soon. “In an age of rapid and accelerating complexity, a landscape characterised by simultaneous crises – known as ‘polycrisis’ – consumers will increasingly be drawn to the colours and designs that boost and soothe our mood.”

As we edge closer to autumn, a more subtle take on the sun-drenched shade marketed as gen Z yellow is coming to the forefront. Banana motifs might be having a moment, but this trend is all about shades of whipped butter, limoncello spritz and fluffy scrambled eggs – or a stack of perfect pancakes.

“Mellow yellows feel especially soothing because of the adjacency to our natural world. From sunlight to wattle buds, right through to soft sand between our toes, there’s a visceral link between the colour and our human evolution that’s both comforting and energising – something we’re craving in our wardrobes and lives,” Walter tells Broadsheet over email.

Harling Ross stans might remember when stick of butter dressing did the rounds in 2018 – and now the sartorial sorbet is back. In wardrobes it acts as an alternative neutral for when white feels too bright but beige too boring. And in our homes it brings gentle colour to the mix.

For furniture brand Mustard Made, butter was an easy choice to add to its colourful range. But creating the perfect shade proved a trickier proposition. “We spend a long time selecting the shades we bring into our rainbow. We tend to do this in a very IRL way, with paint swatches, scraps of fabric, ripped pages in magazines and colour reference books. We look for the perfect shade to sink right into our existing range, as if it was always meant to be there,” co-founder Becca Stern says. “Sometimes a colour on metal just doesn't sing the way it did on paper, but eventually we arrive at the final colour”.

These are our favourite mellow yellow pieces to add to your outfits, dinner tables and wherever else you see fit.

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