Inspiring editorial from MIX Magazine
Avocado has always swung wildly in and out of popularity; adored by 70s bathroom designers then subsequently reviled by 80s beige-loving minimalists, then reclaimed as an Instagram-friendly Millennial badge of honour but then once again mocked by boomers as a symbol of feckless extravagance. Now, the current insatiable demand for natural greens sees avocado once again ripe for rehabilitation.
According to General Electric Appliances, avocado as a colour was listed for products back in 1966. This yellow-based, mid-green played nicely with the more psychedelic palette mashes at the time, but also worked with warmer woods like oak. By the 70s, the colour had become pretty ubiquitous, sitting happily alongside contemporary pumpkin oranges and golds.
The first bathroom suites in avocado had also started to appear, alongside other dubious triumphs including aubergine and Arctic blue. Soon, avocado became so popular that a backlash was almost inevitable. Sure enough, it became synonymous with dated, unloved interiors.
Since then, avocado has embarked on a tentative, gentle road to rehabilitation. The current popularity of 70s-inspired interiors is of course helping. Even bathrooms are exploring the colour again, as seen with luxury interior design practice Boundary Space, placing a freestanding avocado bath in the centre of a room. Furniture companies are also getting in on the action, with avocado spotted at Swedese, Kartell, and Vitra, among others.
Swedese
Paint companies are now daring to put avocado back on palettes. While Benjamin Moore opts for an understated and simple Avocado, other companies can’t resist Millennial-friendly food references; Clare Paint has Avocado Toast, Graham & Brown opts for Smashed Avocado and Claybrook Studio has Avocado Brunch. Other shades fit avocado’s colour profile, but with more opaque names as manufacturers err on the side of caution. These include Myland’s classic avocado hue, named a neutral sounding Stockwell Green™.
There are good reasons to reconsider this colour now; avocado sits well within the natural greens that have dominated palettes for a while. Indeed, much of its initial popularity was attributed to its affiliation with nature. Its growth in the 60s and 70s mirrored a rise of consciousness about environmentalism, particularly in Europe and the US. It’s not a great stretch to imagine that the current environmental concerns that have seen natural earth tones grow exponentially in popularity could look to avocado as a good fit.
This is a colour cursed by a sharp climb, a heady peak, subsequent ubiquity, market saturation, then the inevitable deep decline accompanied by toxic associations with bad rentals and neglect. Yet, like beige, behind the hype and horror, there is a highly practical and versatile colour, one that fits perfectly with the current demand for natural greens. Maybe all that is needed is simply a new name?
MIX Magazine is a quarterly print and digital publication by our creative agency, Colour Hive and is available as part of Colour Hive membership.
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