“My Love is like a red, red rose…”
- Robert Burns

I’m still feeling the residual glow from Valentine’s Day. Inspired thusly, I want to return to our Color Essays. Last year we were inspired by white, black, and purple. This year, I thought we’d start with red…

Red around the world

Whether it symbolizes love, good luck, great privilege, or sacrifice, red is a powerful color in many cultures throughout the world.

In China red is associated with good luck and fortune. Red is the dominant color during the Chinese New Year. Red envelopes containing monetary gifts are commonly giving during holidays as the red is considered to be the color of prosperity. Traditionally brides in China wore red dresses, highly adorned with intricate embroidery. The tradition continues, though modern Chinese brides have opted to embrace the western, white wedding dress and reserve the traditional red for the tea ceremony that follows the ceremony.

Chinese Wedding Veil

India is another country that favors red. The bindi, a forehead decoration worn by women throughout India and Southeast Asia, is traditionally red or vermillion, and represents honor, love and prosperity.

Indian Red Bindi

In western cultures, red is a bit of a paradox. It can be associated with sin as well as sacrifice. One is “caught red-handed” and Hester Pryne was punished for her adultery by wearing the “Scarlet Letter;” while red is simultaneously associated with courage and sacrifice (as exemplified by the scarlet striped on Old Glory).

“The true color of life is the color of the body, the color of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of the living heart and the pulses. It is the modest color of the unpublished blood.”
- Alice Meynell

Red in nature

In 79 AD a catastrophic volcano erupted in Southern Italy. Near the base of the volcano, the city of Pompeii was consumed by the lava flows of Mt. Vesuvius. Outside the city stood a Roman villa which has taken its name for the paintings in one room of the residence: the Villa of Mysteries.

Since the ruins accidental discovery in the mid-1700’s, the world has been given a glimpse of the artistry of ancient Roman pigment mixing.

Pompeian red, which abounds on the walls for the Villa of Mysteries stands out from other Cinnabar based pigments. Cinnabar is mercuric sulfide, the principal ore contained in mercury. In the case of the pigments used to adorn the walls of Pompeii, particular care was taken in grinding and mixing, creating a very fine grain that ensured a deeply saturated and rich red hue. Additionally, larger grains were added to the finely ground pigment, resulting in a glimmering finish appears to have lost little of its original intensity.

Villa of Mysteries

Red in interiors

Red is a tricky color in interiors. Too much and you’re left with something resembling a crime scene. But in just the right quantity, red can be fresh and exhilarating.

In this award-winning bathroom we used pops of lipstick red as the perfect foin to the otherwise black and white palette. The Murano chandelier has a traditional style, but its unexpected color makes it right at home in this otherwise contemporary space.

image: Hayslip Design Associates

But red can be perfectly suited to a traditional setting as well, as shown in this bedroom we designed in a beautiful red and cream toile.

image: Hayslip Design Associates

Red in fashion

In 2007, The House of Valentino celebrated their 45 th anniversary in Rome with a “red party.” A retrospective of his amazing couture and prêt-a-porter creations was assembled, in Valentino’s favorite color, and displayed at the Ara Pacis.

Valentino Red Gowns

The following year, a feature-length documentary on the designer and his fashion career hit the big screen. The film documents a year of work: designs, decisions, business changes, and fashion shows.

click on the image above to watch the official trailer for Valentino: The Last Emperor

While Valentino certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on red, one cannot deny that his fashions, emboldened by their vivid hue live up to what Bill Blass had to say about red:

“Red is the ultimate cure for sadness.”
- Bill Blass

Love,

Sherry

Posted: February 15, 2012

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