COLOR TRENDS FROM MILAN DESIGN WEEK #3 | Terracotta Orange

by Elisabetta Rizzato July 12, 2022

July 12, 2022

Be inspired by the orange&terracotta color trend for 2023 from the Milano Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone

Today we continue our round up of the color trends from Salone del Mobile 2022 and Fuorisalone with the color which in my opinion is the key one of this edition.

I’m talking about orange, in many different hues but especially in the warm terracotta one. After the soft and light pastel baby blue and the bold Kelly green, today we explore more about these beautiful sunny colors.

|| Want to know more about the next trends as seen at the Milan Design Week? Lear more in the new Trendbook: Design Trends 2023 from Milan here

Color Trends from Milan Design Week

#03 | Terracotta Orange

“Terracotta Orange” ( Pantone Orange Ochre ) is an earthy shade of orange ( hex code #c6733d ).

This is only one of the different kind of oranges that I spotted in Milan. In fact, orange has been one of the top colors of this edition, in many different variations ( from bright Princeton Orange, to Burnt Orange ) and used both in furniture and in interior decoration.

Orange, especially in the warm terracotta hue, reminds of 70s aesthetics – in fact, it was the signature color of the decade between the Sixties and the Seventies.

While the swinging 60’s, a time of change, peace, love and psychedelic, was a decade of bright and bold colors – with Acid Orange being one of the key ones – the 70’s aesthetics moved into more natural colors. Earth tones dominated in this era, as the “earth movement” began in 1970 with the first Earth Day.

Orange is a color deeply rooted in history, especially in the Eastern cultures, where orange is a color with deep spiritual connotations. In fact, it’s the color of transformation in Confucianism; it’s the color of perfection and illumination in Buddhism; is a color often used also in Hinduism, in the dresses of Krishna.

Despite its long history, in Europe, the color orange didn’t have a name until the 16th century -prior to this, in fact, it was simply called yellow-red.

Things changed when Portuguese merchants brought the first orange trees to Europe from Asia, along with Sanskrit naranga, which gradually became part of several European languages: “naranja” in Spanish, “laranja” in Portuguese, and “orange” in English.

Enjoy some more inspiration in the the Orange Ochre color trend in this post and new photo gallery from Salone del Mobile & Fuorisalone 2022 below.