Mimosa Anyone?

The colour of 2009 as predicted by Pantone is mimosa, a vibrant shade of yellow illustrated by the flowers of some mimosa trees as well as the brunch-favourite cocktail, as its top shade of the new year. In general, Pantone expects the public to embrace many tones of optimistic yellow.

In the spring fashion collections previewed earlier in the fall for retailers and editors, pops of yellow brightened the runways of Carolina Herrera—who called her favourite shade marigold—Badgley Mischka, Zac Posen and Michael Kors, among others. Kors even included a retro yellow polka-dot bikini that clearly harkened back to a more upbeat time.

Home goods companies based in Europe have already been heavily influenced by yellow and splashes of yellow appear in kitchens, bathrooms and dining rooms.