The Colors! The Colors!

Well, here you have it - your Fall '08 palette, aka the top 10 (the font counts too!) Pantone colors that NY designers have chosen to send down the runway this week. Somewhat unusual for the season, "The bottom five colors are the warmer colors we're more accustomed to seeing for fall. The dominance of blue, purple and green really makes a statement about how influential they are for designers this season," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of Carlstadt, N.J.-based Pantone Color Institute.

This year both Pantone and the designers are in agreement - the undisputed color of the year is Pantone 18-3843 Blue Iris. People are looking for calm in such a volatile year — especially now, with the election and the turbulent economy, said Eiseman. "We need that element of calm, but at the same time, this color also has some strength to it." It will be seen in the collections of Reem Acra, who will showcase blue and green-toned coats and Alice Temperley's billowy dresses.

The other top 9 in order of popularity are (above from top, l to r):
Royal Iris (look for it on Zac Posen's runway)
Shady Glade (Carmen Marc Valvo, Luca Luca, Doo-Ri)
Carribean Sea (Tracy Reese, Peter Som)
Twilight Blue (Yigal Azrouël)
Aurora Red (Cynthia Steffe, Y & Kei, David Rodriguez)
Ochre (Lela Rose, Alvin Valle)
Burnt Orange (Miss Sixty)
Shitake (Elie Tahari, Ports 1961, Jenni Kayne)
Withered Rose (Brian Reyes)

[WWD]