Silver and gold are colors that can be enjoyed all season long. There is, however, an extra joy that comes from being surrounded in their glitter and gleam this time of year. These colors not only symbolize luxury and prosperity— they also represent centuries of traditional reverence for objects made out of those precious metals.
Join us as we take a look at the silver and gold trends we’ve recently spotted across fashion and beauty. As a bonus, we have artist pairings who incorporate silver and gold aesthetic into their creations.
sil·ver
/ˈsilvər/
noun
- a precious shiny grayish-white metal associated with meanings of industrial, sleek, high-tech, and modern, as well as ornate, glamorous, graceful, sophisticated, and elegant.
Silver is a color that contains within itself an endless array of narratives. It is at once cold and luxurious, minimal and decadent, high-end and high-tech. Right now we’re seeing trends that exploit all the potential meanings of this color.
Today’s major trend for jewelry is oversized, chunky bangles and necklaces, examples of which we’re seeing in silver and gold. The appearance of shimmering silver in catwalk fashion seems to highlight the color’s high-tech, futuristic interpretation. In beauty, we love the bold, layered silver-leafed eye makeup just as much as the light dusting of the shimmer we’ve been seeing.
We don’t think that it’s too much of a stretch to say that we say that the bigger meaning behind our manifestations of this color reflects our present collective search for silver linings. As we look towards the new year, however, everything we touch seems to be turning gold.
gold
/ɡōld/
noun
- a yellow precious metal associated with illumination, courage, magic, and wisdom
- a precious metal that is associated with wealth, grandeur, and prosperity, as well as glitz and glamour.
Gold is so prevalent across fashion, beauty and interior design trends right now that it’s widely projected to be one of the colors of the year for 2021. Like silver, gold has many connotations but we’re better that it’s symbolism of courage and prosperity is what makes it a desirable color for 2021. The popular oversized jewelry trend mentioned above has resulted in a major comeback for chain necklaces and large-linked bracelets. Fashion is embracing gold in both its most glitzy and more earthy tones. Interior designers are still enamored with combining a bright gold accent with a deep, rich color scheme. During a time when we’re all still spending so much time in our homes, bringing a touch of glamour into our home decor makes good sense.
KBAA Artist Pairings
Kathleen Werner is a New York-based artist whose geometric designs create portals with the use of multiple varied symmetries. Her “Ecliptic” series is filled with symbolic undercurrents and combines quadrilateral, reflective, diagonal and cyclical symmetries to realize a unique visual interaction. Inspired by her background and obsession with architectural design, Werner’s intricate and elegant paintings are detailed completely by hand, requiring intense reflection at every step of the process.
Gina Tyquiengo is a Florida-based, self-taught artist devoted to exploring themes of cultural duality through her work. Her use of black and white honors who she is as multi-racial artist, growing up half black and half Guamanian, while raised in a Pacific Islander culture. In addition to exploring culture and identity, her work also explores themes of universality, peace, love, purity, process, mystery, and beauty.
Tracie Cheng is a Connecticut-based artist who sees her artwork as a play on space and depth, structure and fluidity. Through interweaving lines and paint, the painting takes on an unexpected, yet natural evolution and movement. Cheng wants her work to evoke a calm understanding to be felt—to find more possibility in the intangible and allow for it to come into its own.
Lisa Hunt is a New York-based artist who primarily works in gold and gold-leafing. The use of these materials comes from Hunt’s desire to illuminate her patterns in a way that allows them to endure. Hunt is most inspired by the exploration of themes that are expressive of the infinite passing of time through pattern and repetition.
Looking for examples of projects with artwork that dazzle with these precious metals? We have a few handpicked featured projects below that you’ll want to explore.
