COLOR & CULTURE INDEX
The INDEX was a Brand-direct Color & Culture service focusing on key segments including; Lifestyle, Luxury, & Emerging.
Below are samples from;
SANDSWEPT
SANDSWEPT
“TO LEAVE THE KNOWN AND TAKE THE FIRST STEPS.
SO LET US NOT RETURN TO WHAT WAS NORMAL,
BUT REACH TOWARD WHAT IS NEXT.” - Amanda Gorman “New Day’s Lyric”
Whether it was the audacious ambitions of Ancient Egypt, or the lunar regolith that man dared to walk upon, human invention and artisanship is central to EMERGING volume ii. In a world where AI is forcefully being implemented, most commonly with mediocre and unimagined results, SANDSWEPT celebrates the human aspects of invention. The messy, gritty, and sublime.
From the ancient sands of Egypt, to American prairies, to the surface of the moon … SANDSWEPT carries through the millennia of human ingenuity and a dare to dream. Particles of sands sweep through our human adventures, inspired by unmistakably human craft and untethered from the expected.
“SPECIAL EDITION AND YOUR AI COULDN’T COPY”
- like JENNIE
DECENTRE
DECENTRE
“DECENTERING” HAS BEEN UTILIZED IN STYLE EDITORIAL AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS AS A TERM WHICH IS SYNONYMOUS WITH “GHOSTING THE MALE GAZE.”
However, Decentering is not about avoidance, but about being authentically seen. It is about style and aesthetic built for self expression and identity, unrestricted by gender normative biases that have restrained the fashion industry for decades. Born on the streets and through CULTURE, decentering is defining modern silhouettes. DECENTRE celebrates who we are “born as,” and cedes the power of the narrative to the individual.
Decentering is not about hiding or camouflage … it is about power, strength, and control.
Control of one’s own voice, identity, presentation, gender, and style. The Artist CHINCHILLA’s flawlessly soaring vocals are the soundtrack for a palette that is expressive and unexpected. A juxtaposition of genders, as well as modernity with antiquity. The palette has been thoughtfully created for highlighting volume, sculptural surfaces, and an intriguing diversity of surface effects (from translucence to matte).
“LUCKY I KNOW MY OWN WORTH.”
- CHINCHILLA “LITTLE GIRL GONE”
In volume 3 of the EMERGING INDEX, we are exploring and drawing inspiration from female Influencers who have inspired the liberation of expression through decentering. Highlighting also the art of select couturiers, such as Viktor & Rolf, who have led art-first collections inspired by the messaging of the CULTURE.
“DON’T BE A DRAG, JUST BE A QUEEN”
- Lady Gaga “Born This Way”
CAKE
CAKE
“I'MA THROW IT BACK LIKE IT’S THURSDAY
I GOT CAKE, I'M LIT, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY (ah).”
- Megan Thee Stallion “Bongos”
Rich, ornate, & textural … CAKE serves exclusive modern luxury inclusive of zeitgeist-powerhouse Gen Z. Generational reciprocity defines this decadent inspiration. Antiquity layers with modernity, classical ornamentation is creatively reimagined.
Gone is yesteryear where decadence was defined by popping open a bottle Dom Pérignon. Gilded tones are no longer defined by the bubbly, but with sweet rich decadence. Instead of uncorking a bottle, slice into this rich double entendre.
“Lookin', like money (cold)
You could print my face on a dollar (okay).” - Cardi B “Bongos”
LUXURY ANTHROPOLOGY
NATHAN ZED posted an incredibly multi-layered viral video (in February of 2025) discussing many things including the normative boringness in culture. He pointed to Artists like Doechii, Chappell Roan, and Kendrick Lamar for bringing back “the lost art of trying.”
ZED also addressed the medicority that AI produces in order to simply “save a little time.” That the market is being flooded with AI production (in all aspects of media and content consumption), and it all feels “fake, corporate, and low effort.” His ethos connects directly to what is at the core of CAKE …
THAT WE WIN BY NOT TRYING TO BEAT AI, BUT BY BEING HUMAN. IN A SEA OF PROLIFIC MEDIOCRITY, IT IS “HOW YOU CUT THROUGH THESE DAYS.” BEING MORE HUMAN.
CAKE LAYERS
OUR HUMANITY IS CONNECTED TO STORYTELLING, WHILE HERITAGE IS LUXURY’S GROUNDING ROOTS. THE FOLLOWING ANTHOLOGY BREAKS DOWN THE STORIED INGREDIENTS OF (LUXURY INDEX VOL. 1) CAKE.
2005
A gorgeously styled shoot for Vogue Italia in 2005, this series by Steven Meisel anchors the “Let Them Eat Cake” decadence of LUXURY vol. 1. The colors are the fondant, and the uninhibited layering of textures are the cascade.
20-TEENS
The cross-generational zeitgeist commonly agrees that during the 21st century, “things got boring” and “conformative” post-mid-teens.
Gen Z pines for the “old internet” when content was expressive, creative, non-AI generated, or tethered to algorithms. The gateway to return these Days of Expression is through craftsmanship, quality, innovation, decadence, and human-made goods … LUXURY has time, resource, and does not cut corners.
LUXURY from the mid-teens … just prior to “The Great Bore” … goes largely uncredited with massively breaking open design innovation, inclusion, and cultural cross-pollination. It was the Early Renaissance of K-Pop, and global style ambassadors such as G-Dragon burst open the doors for public consumption of decadent exclusivity (stans consumed content across social, in music videos, and through streaming content).
G-Dragon is a critical muse and master of LUXURY. His uninhibited melding of the inspired creativity of Streetwear with LUXURY is generationally unmatched. G-Dragon was also the pioneer of male style icons adopting Chanel.
PASSING THE MANTLE
Donatella Versace crowned Hyunjin as “Prince,” and their photoshoot (from his fitting) in Milan for Fashion Week in 2025 was posted across media. A bold “passing of the mantle” to Gen Z Influencers as the new faces and voices in LUXURY.
LOOKING FOWARD
Whether it is pushing against fashion norms in a Thom Browne gown (challenging today’s uniform), or reaching into the archives with a gown from Jean Paul Gaultier’s 2003 couture collection … these Artists are indeed “trying.” LUXURY, art, expression, and storytelling merge. Even Kendrick Lamar’s (by Maison Margiela) “Canadian Tuxedo” was integral to his art / performance / message at the 2025 Grammys; “They not like us…”
FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL
“Live music is the cure for what ails ya.”
- Henry Rollins
When it feels like the world is breaking, the art of live music is the glue that brings people back together, reminding the soul of what it feels like to live. The essence of life, joy, and a shared collective cultural experience.
Music festivals are also the workshops of fashion and zeitgeist, a reciprocal relationship between Artists and audience. They are a mirror to the outside world of unencumbered aspiration, while defining aesthetics and spirit of expression.
“With so many ways to communicate at our disposal, we must not forget the transformative power of a live music experience and genuine human exchange.” - Jon Batiste
Music Festivals are enjoying a Renaissance in popularity. GEN X understood the value of live performances since the dawn of the 90’s. Building on the groundwork of a slacker generation’s Lollapalooza, this new era of live festivals is a tapestry of the uniquely American events, catapulted into a realm of multi-sensory performances. This evolution of elevation has been forged by K-POP. Coachella grew from a fashionista desert festival marketers once swarmed, to a phenomenon where subcultures burst into the mainstream consciousness.
Although known as a generation of digital natives, GEN Z embraces more so than it’s predecessor, a uniquely GEN X skepticism and self expression. With a less voyeuristic approach to curating their lives on social media with generational conformity, GEN Z is intrigued by untraceable and untracked IRL (in real life) shared social experiences.
A generation unencumbered by ageism, GEN Z openly embraces art and aesthetics not by their timestamp, but by their relevance. As a result, you will see FESTIVAL insights spanning many years to form volume two of our LIFESTYLE INDEX.
Music festivals are cultural wildfires, where zeitgeists are formed and spread at an unfathomable scale. Dubbed “The Queen of Festivals,” Chappell Roan catapulted from a little known Indie Artist performing for ten years, to an “overnight success” with the largest audience in Lollapalooza’s history. This explosion in popularity occurred in just a few short months from her April Coachella stage, to her historic Lollapalooza main stage performance.
Festivals are also like an “answer song,” with no performance existing in isolation. With stages evolving into epically multi-sensory productions, performances pay homage to those who went before them, stand on the shoulders of innovative pioneering artists, and “raise the ante” with each culture shattering stage. Festivals are where subcultures are birthed into mainstream, and fans wrestle Artists’ destinies from record labels and executives through their sheer democratic enthusiasm and adoption.