Pantone Color of the Year 2016 Is Blend of Serenity and Rose Quartz

— -- And the Pantone color of the year for 2016 is ... serenity. And rose quartz.

That’s right. The shade color experts who have every year picked one color that they believe will be reflected in the following year’s fashion, home décor and design have departed from tradition to predict that the blending of the two colors – the delicate pink rose quartz and the soft blue of the serenity -- will dominate next year.

In a news release today, Pantone explained that the combination echoed a growing trend of challenging traditional perceptions about color association.

“In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in the release.

“This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumers’ increased comfort with using color as a form of expression which includes a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged, and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.”

Pantone described the colors as “a harmonious pairing of inviting shades that embody a mindset of tranquility and inner peace.”

Chanel put the two together in its haute couture collection for fall 2015. Prada did the same for spring-summer, as did Fendi. Thom Browne put the color merge front and center for his 2016 resort collection for women, while Richard James and Roberto Cavalli used the two together for men on spring 2016 runways.

Blurring gender lines on catwalks had Valentino showing pale pink athletic-inspired shoes for men with a band of serenity blue, along with leather backpacks showing off geometric splashes of the same shades.

Pantone says the two colors are popular choices for jewelry, fashion accessories and wearable technology. The New Jersey-based institute expects the colors to show up in various kinds of makeup, interior decorating and graphic design.

Pantone’s color experts search the world for new color trends in order to arrive at their annual selections.

The 2015 color of the year was Marsala, an earthy wine red.

Pantone is owned by X-Rite Inc., which develops and markets color software and support systems, among other products.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.