Summer is traditionally the season for bold and bright colors. For 2009/2010 we are beginning to see an intensity of subversive and grating brights splashed across the board of new product innovation. This palette seems to mean a revival of a combative confidence and creative boldness while fearlessly experimenting.

-Tribal Tech is a good example of this as well as the paradox of opposing themes-the mix of traditional folk culture with a sense of acceleration and a life lived at break-neck speed, dominated by amusement and fun. An awareness of the world born of the desire to save endangered resources and folklore. A nomad, tribal spirit, also inspired by urban landscapes. A cultural mix where natural instinct is reconciled with technological progress.

One hopes that “seizing on color as a power source” will prove a powerful enabler to the consumer in these increasingly difficult times. The weavers and textile factories have already prepared bold offerings for the market in the hope that this tactic is just what the consumer will desire. These colors evince a clear predilection for risk taking, showing that the fashion industry believes cannot maintain a low profile.

But in a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow. This direction represents a sustainable “slowing-down lifestyle”- Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation.

The trouble with predicting the 2009/2010 season is that there really is little collective understanding of just how far down our economic climate will tumble as we stand on the precipice of what could be the worst recession in decades. In this sense, the rhetoric used by the fashion team of “putting aside consensus” makes a certain amount of sense. Our reaction to color is almost instantaneous and has a profound impact on the choices we make everyday. Shifting aesthetic boundaries may help us to move the market and these bold colors may do just the trick.