If there’s one thing every designer is saying this year, it’s that colour is back in style. The dull, muted tones of the recession have been replaced by bright, friendly, confident tones for 2010.

In the world of eyewear fashion, neturals are the staple of any collection. Black, brown and rich tortoiseshell plastics are perennial favourites, and metallic gold and silver cycle in and out of fashion every few years. But glasses are increasingly viewed as a fashion accessory, which makes sense given their visibility, and because of that they’re becoming more colourful.

Last year, purple was the leading colour for frames being used as a fashion accessory, and purple has carried over into the Spring 2010 collections. But it’s being nudged aside by a new contender: turquoise. Fashion followers will not find this surprising. It’s a popular enough colour that Pantone, which studies and forecasts colours for fashion, interior design, and much more, picked the blue-green as its Colour of the Year. Turquose takes that honour from last year’s winner, Mimosa, a bright, warm yellow that also made its way into some fashion eyewear collections.

Spring colours

Every year, Pantone surveys the designers at New York Fashion Week to get a feel for the colours that are waxing and waning. For Spring 2010, not surpringly, Turquoise tops the list, particularly paired with the regal Amparo Blue. Last year’s Mimosa is replaced as the yellow of choice with the slightly warmer Aurora. For reds, coral is back with Fusion Coral, and a classic red called Tomato Puree (they suggest it as a retro pairing with Turquoise).

The neutrals are led by a pinkish beige called Pink Champagne and a warmer beige called Tuscany. While green plays into the Turquoise fad, the only true green is Dried Herb, a creamy olive that could play as a versatile neutral. Eucalyptus is the grey of choice.

Canadian colour choice

This year, Pantone did something different in thier colour report: They interviewed international designers. Their list included Vancouver fashion designer Tia Cibani, whose work is behind the Ports 1961 label.

Cibani showed her Canadian colours, selecting Tomato Puree, the season's preferred red.