Inspiring editorial from MIX Magazine
Softer and more forgiving than black, sophisticated and sober, navy’s ubiquity gives it a pleasing and reassuring anonymity. If there is such thing as a fail-safe choice, then navy is it.
As with most colours, a strict definition of navy is highly subjective. Essentially though, the word is a descriptor for a dark central blue. You can comfortably use the term for a blue with a slightly red undertone (midnight navy) or arguably even a little green (French navy) but it’s a narrow band. Most importantly, there needs to be enough blackness and saturation. Paint companies are useful for showing variations on this theme, with examples including Little Greene (Royal Navy™), Benjamin Moore (Hale Navy) and Sherwin Williams (In the Navy).
The name has its origins in the British military; while soldiers traditionally wore red, sailors were officially dressed in fabric dyed with a dark tint of indigo. This plant, which grew wild in Florida, was grown and harvested by slaves while the US was still a British colony. The British government even encouraged cultivation through subsidies before the East India Company shifted production to Asia in 1786. To this day, the colour is still worn by both the British and the US fleet.
Captain John Gell | Gilbert Stuart 1785 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Purchase, Dorothy Schwartz Gift, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and 2000 Benefit Fund, 2000
However, by 1869, navy had broken free of its narrow association with uniforms, and, rivalled only by maroon, had become one of the most popular colours sold in Britain, according to Harper’s Bazaar. This may have something to do with its rather prosaic but nevertheless valuable capacity to disguise dirt; Victorians frequently went a month without washing their clothes.
As well as its formidable dirt-hiding capacity, navy has long been synonymous with a perception of trustworthiness and financial solidity. No wonder then that banks love it for logos, but others too appreciate its steadiness, including Ford, Boeing, Volkswagen and PayPal, among many others. Navy is favoured not only in military uniforms, but also in corporate clothing, especially where customer reassurance is paramount, hence it’s the choice of British Airways and American Airlines.
So much gentler on ageing skin than a harsh black, the recent boom in stealth wealth fashion has also been to navy’s advantage. Along with black, white, grey and stone, this calm blue is currently one of the core colours of a tiny palette that acts as urban camouflage for the very rich.
In terms of interiors, Ligne Roset does a fine navy for upholstered pieces like its Ploum sofa, and Gubi is partial to a little navy velvet for cult designs like its Beetle chair. Then there’s Maison Rhizomes’ collaboration with Ludovic Philippon, appropriately called Blue Breath, which showcases navy in all its glorious gravitas.
Ludovic Philippon | Maison Rhizomes | Blue Breath
Navy’s trajectory through history is a gentle one, subject to very little ebb and flow. It rarely leads from the front, so is ultimately associated with a sort of staid classicism, it doesn’t enjoy the highs, but is also protected from the lows of public preference. It is simply always there, in the background, unassuming and reliable, the ultimate safe choice.
MIX Magazine is a quarterly print and digital publication by our creative agency, Colour Hive and is available as part of the PIONEER subscription of In Colour.
Duha Group is a global, industry leading manufacturer of innovative colour marketing tools. We specialise in colour matching, colour mass reproduction and colour system management.
We are here for all your colour needs, let’s talk…
Want to stay updated on global colour solutions? Sign up for our quarterly Colour Strategy Newsletter.
