Listened to this freakonomics about car colors the other day and offers some interesting details on current paint trends and how we got here with the putty: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/car-colors/
This goes for bicycles too.. I ride a 2006(?) Trek 6500 SLR with a superb orange/yellow gradient (sunburst style). It is my pride and joy partly because you never ever see bikes with two-tone jobs or the slight sparkle any more! Everything is gloss grey or dark blue block colour.. so boring
Zooming out a bit further, there's a bigger trend at play: 'the home interior of everything'.
As a new dad, I've noticed this in particular with kids clothing and toys. Slate greys, sage, millennial pink, teak and the insidious bronze of mid-2010s boutique hotel fitouts.
The idea that one's child and his/her objects ought to conform with their parents' watered-down MCM world and tastes seems like a passive-aggressive denial of their right to an identity.
The obvious counter-argument is: everything is subject to and a reflection of trends—whatever they are. But when interior design—and design in general—is a pillar of pop culture like it is now, trends seem to creep further into every corner of our lives.
Respectfully, didn't this auto-trend (or at least the flat v. metallic aspect) begin with the FJ Cruiser's introduction in 2006? Regardless, the colors were a nod to vintage Toyota Land Cruisers, so the pattern still tracks (and additionally, vintage TLC's at the time being an absolute grail item in Greenpoint and Bushwick, I think it was an ill-informed attempt to capture offshoots of the crowd who couldn't shell out 120k for that aspirational purchase), I think the roots just go back about a decade further.
The FJ Cruisers are definitely part of the broader "wet putty" lineage... the ones Erin and I recall most vividly / most ubiquitously were indeed "glossy matte" looking, BUT the colors were bright, children's-toy-like yellows and blues -- rather than gray-toned, which is the dominant *contemporary* look that we're most interested in ...
Googling now, though, we do see some gray-toned FJ Cruiser colors, too ... in which case (depending when Toyota rolled out those paint-jobs) they would seem to precede the "nardo gray" / "porsche chalk" ongoing supernova moment for sure !
Only color I could get was Lapiz Blue Metallic on my VW Golf R. Probably would have gone with a shitty white had I the choice but glad I didn’t. The flecks you speak off really make the car have multiple personalities: deep dark navy (purple even) at night, electric blue in the sunshine and then boring run-of-the-mill blue when the cops be chasing you. Bring back the fleck.
Nardo Grey is an Audi color that's been around for awhile and is a major source of this trend. Like black wheels and big front grills its gotten way out of hand lately (obviously you've noticed lol).
My first thought with this was how Disney parks use “Go Away Green” and the blue variant I think referred to as “Bye Bye Blue.” Very wet putty. I actually think it’s a good move to use these putty colors on things that you want to turn down the volume on, but it’s weird seeing it on every new car. One example that I personally own is the Herman Miller Cosm chair. Most computer chairs are either make your space look like a drab office or are very gamer aesthetic. The “Glacier” color is very wet putty, but it also blends in which is nice to not muck up the rest of the decor.
They use it to camouflage trash cans, doors for employees, and things they don’t want visitors to focus on. Someone pointed it out to me last time I was at Disneyland.
I think we’re at the apex of the pendulum having swung towards minimal colour. It swung this way following the obsession with bright “volt green” or “electric blue” colours in clothes, cars and general items.. The pendulum will swing back and hopefully we’ll have a period of conscious use of colour like the examples you gave (before it inevitably goes too far and we end up with “lightning yellow” electric BMW’s!
Listened to this freakonomics about car colors the other day and offers some interesting details on current paint trends and how we got here with the putty: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/car-colors/
curious to check it out, thanks
the "latte-ification" of paint color.
Wow, targeted. I, too, fell for those same Dwell home pics back in 2014.
they cast a spell haha
Yoooo I can’t believe it but the BBSP was referenced on a Hank Green vid lolll https://youtu.be/KchX52bIZSg?si=81cqjzLHVx3EdwOx
yes it's funny to hear him read the spyplane prose hahah
I was expecting him to paraphrase, but it’s hilarious he went bar for bar lolll
This goes for bicycles too.. I ride a 2006(?) Trek 6500 SLR with a superb orange/yellow gradient (sunburst style). It is my pride and joy partly because you never ever see bikes with two-tone jobs or the slight sparkle any more! Everything is gloss grey or dark blue block colour.. so boring
Not to mention the 'trend' of big clunky regulation-defying SUVs... the combo is dystopian af
Zooming out a bit further, there's a bigger trend at play: 'the home interior of everything'.
As a new dad, I've noticed this in particular with kids clothing and toys. Slate greys, sage, millennial pink, teak and the insidious bronze of mid-2010s boutique hotel fitouts.
The idea that one's child and his/her objects ought to conform with their parents' watered-down MCM world and tastes seems like a passive-aggressive denial of their right to an identity.
The obvious counter-argument is: everything is subject to and a reflection of trends—whatever they are. But when interior design—and design in general—is a pillar of pop culture like it is now, trends seem to creep further into every corner of our lives.
this all began with an aftermarket auto design names Neil Tjin - he got all of his paint colors for vehicles from the Ralph Lauren paint swatches.
Respectfully, didn't this auto-trend (or at least the flat v. metallic aspect) begin with the FJ Cruiser's introduction in 2006? Regardless, the colors were a nod to vintage Toyota Land Cruisers, so the pattern still tracks (and additionally, vintage TLC's at the time being an absolute grail item in Greenpoint and Bushwick, I think it was an ill-informed attempt to capture offshoots of the crowd who couldn't shell out 120k for that aspirational purchase), I think the roots just go back about a decade further.
The FJ Cruisers are definitely part of the broader "wet putty" lineage... the ones Erin and I recall most vividly / most ubiquitously were indeed "glossy matte" looking, BUT the colors were bright, children's-toy-like yellows and blues -- rather than gray-toned, which is the dominant *contemporary* look that we're most interested in ...
Googling now, though, we do see some gray-toned FJ Cruiser colors, too ... in which case (depending when Toyota rolled out those paint-jobs) they would seem to precede the "nardo gray" / "porsche chalk" ongoing supernova moment for sure !
I thinkkkkkk the greys/muted tones came after Audi/Porsche, but I'm deffo not sure!
Y'all are killing me. And I like it.
Only color I could get was Lapiz Blue Metallic on my VW Golf R. Probably would have gone with a shitty white had I the choice but glad I didn’t. The flecks you speak off really make the car have multiple personalities: deep dark navy (purple even) at night, electric blue in the sunshine and then boring run-of-the-mill blue when the cops be chasing you. Bring back the fleck.
Nardo Grey is an Audi color that's been around for awhile and is a major source of this trend. Like black wheels and big front grills its gotten way out of hand lately (obviously you've noticed lol).
Nardo Grey appeared like 5 years earlier than Porsche's 'chalk.'
Big time
“Wet Ass Putty” was right there
Someone had to acknowledge it
My first thought with this was how Disney parks use “Go Away Green” and the blue variant I think referred to as “Bye Bye Blue.” Very wet putty. I actually think it’s a good move to use these putty colors on things that you want to turn down the volume on, but it’s weird seeing it on every new car. One example that I personally own is the Herman Miller Cosm chair. Most computer chairs are either make your space look like a drab office or are very gamer aesthetic. The “Glacier” color is very wet putty, but it also blends in which is nice to not muck up the rest of the decor.
I gotta look up these Disney hues … interesting
They use it to camouflage trash cans, doors for employees, and things they don’t want visitors to focus on. Someone pointed it out to me last time I was at Disneyland.
More on the unfortunate gray-ing of the world:
https://defector.com/is-everything-really-grayer-than-it-used-to-be/
I think we’re at the apex of the pendulum having swung towards minimal colour. It swung this way following the obsession with bright “volt green” or “electric blue” colours in clothes, cars and general items.. The pendulum will swing back and hopefully we’ll have a period of conscious use of colour like the examples you gave (before it inevitably goes too far and we end up with “lightning yellow” electric BMW’s!