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WORDS BY Gabriela Ulloa
DESIGN BY Brit Ashcraft
“Home has evolved into a very relevant extension of your personal style,” Christopher Scinto, VP of Marketing for French cookware brand Le Creuset, tells Domino. “Particularly now, where we have all spent an extra amount of time indoors, cooking and entertaining ourselves and our families, our environments have never mattered more.”
Since 1925, Le Creuset has forecasted, formulated, and released over 150 different colorways. The first to introduce colorful cookware into the kitchen, Le Creuset has nailed the connection between form, function, and, most notably, mood by understanding the power each pigment holds—and what they mean to generations of meals, and the memories attached to them. It’s no surprise, then, that Cerise, a deep cherry red reminiscent of Rhône wines and leather Parisian brasserie banquettes, is the brand’s top-selling color globally.
“All of our colors start with broad visual stimulus from different aspects of life,” Scinto says of the development process. “We then refine each color for tone, saturation, and vibrancy until we ultimately arrive at something we feel is unique.” Once an approved sample is made, the team starts researching and ideating names that will “best exemplify the spirit we intended.” The end result, a manifestation of trend concepts, design references, and external influences (food, nature), is how Le Creuset maintains individuality and quality while producing its palettes.
Like its signature enamel cast iron, Le Creuset’s colors have rich origin stories. Here, Scinto walks us through the hues that make up the 2021 launch; each one is dynamic, captures the nuances of personal expression, and can be easily mixed and matched. Read on for exclusive intel.
“Agave came up as an influence because it has an almost iridescent quality with comforting aspects. We’d never done cross-color gradation and were deficient in celestial colors, so that became the impetus for [this new palette]—the blending of nature into one's life and becoming more thoughtful.”
AGAVE
WE ASKED A LE CREUSET INSIDER: WHAT COLORS ARE YOU BETTING ON FOR 2021?
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FRENCH
CONNECTION
“Flame is Le Creuset’s oldest color—nearing 100 years; it was originally inspired by the foundry in France and what would happen when molten cast iron would get poured into the crucible. It has these brilliant shades of orange, from very bright to very dark (hence the color name).”
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Flame
“In the past, we’ve really struggled with developing a yellow that would stick. This gold tone, with traces of amber, has a richness and depth of the translucent glow of nectar.”
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Nectar
“When discussing where we’d go with a shade of off-white or cream, it took only one great photo—meringues on my iPhone from a recent trip to France—to figure out the direction.”
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Meringue
“When you look at kitchen styling, and where Le Creuset falls into the conversation, we didn’t want to produce a neutral that was just in the background, hence this satin shade inspired by the sweet confection. Plus, as a former New Yorker, how do you not have a great black?”
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Licorice
“Grays are so important to design and interiors, so naturally this has become one of our top five colors. Born out of visual stimulus, like the raw beauty of nature’s palette of sea and shore, this shade has the iridescent depth of an oyster shell.”
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Oyster
“Like black, there’s a great base for everything. As a brand, we had started to evolve the way we express ourselves visually and elevate colors that perhaps hadn't been spoken to. White was one of them. Since it launched, this light and simple hue has been one of the top-selling colors.”
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White
stockpot, FLAME
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Round Dutch Oven, agave
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Oval Dutch Oven, NECTAR
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SERVING PLATTER, MERINGUE
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FRENCH PRESS, LICORICE
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DINNER PLATES, OYSTER
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Oval Dutch Oven, WHITE
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