The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color

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I have never been so intrigued by a single color but being at the museum exhibitions at FIT provided me with a perfect opportunity to learn and understand the history and context of the color Pink. The exhibition was named Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color and moment provided me with the opportunity to learn about Pink. There were different exhibitions and each offered a different perspective, description, and critique of the color. Each exhibit helped to enhance the color’s stature and provide a clear understanding of the application of the color. Another issue that seemed to surface was the transition or shift of the color from being considered feminine to being accepted universally.
Pink was not a common fashion color but in the mid-19th century going towards the early 20th century, it gained prominence and popularity but this was limited to the women or the feminine gender. The fashion industry was flooded with pink designs and products but these were specifically for women. To a great extent, one could say that the color pink was a representation of the feminine side of the society because it was predominantly used for women products. However, a slow shift or transition started as the color started to make its way into certain controversial subjects and social topics. For example, the gay rights movement incorporated it into their protests and this started a chain of events that slowly led to the shift or transition of the color from its stereotypic definition which described it as feminine.
The stereotypic definition of pink was something that was taken in stride by fashion magazines and designers such as Andre Courrege. A fashion magazine such as American Vogue did its best to paint pink as feminine by always including women’s pink clothes, pink lipsticks, and other pink accessories. Unknowingly to them, this helped to drive the notion that pink was indeed feminine and this limited the color’s influence in design and other areas. Andre Courrege was also part of the fold that made sure that pink remained a feminine color. The Givenchy dress, a 1968 beautiful silk pink dress, is a good example of how pink was used in the fashion industry. However, on the Givenchy, pink was used to showcase nature. Well, even though the dress is 50 years old, one cannot be faulted to think that the dress is still beautiful and that it paid its respects to the pink color well. Another dress that seemed to stand ou...