A brief history of pink, a fictional color that is constantly changing

It is the story of a man (1) who conquered pink and who made a book out of it, The invention of pink (2). When he was a research student at Kobe University, Pierre-William Fregonese was overwhelmed by the color that heralds spring in the dozens of cherry trees that make up Egeyama Park. VIII onwards^e century, the Japanese worship a cult called hanami – when the first sakura blossoms appear. The love for these pink flowers is not only related to their beauty. because they are so ephemeral (and therefore so memorable), they have long symbolized the dedicated life of samurai in feudal Japan. And it’s a sakura flower, a delicate pink that decorated the cabins of kamikaze planes during World War II.

Our inquisitive academic wanted to know more about this “everybody’s known, everybody’s unknown color,” he says, and which has established itself around the world. A word that covers as many shades from beige to purple as it does symbolism. It’s the color of Barbies and Queen Elizabeth II, cotton candy and little girls, Chanel outfits and the Tati logo. A color that carries with it pride and shame, vulgarity and class. A color monopolized by marketing fueled by exchanges between East and West. Back The invention of pinkPublished by Éditions Puf, we embark on an intellectual wandering to understand with Pierre-William Fregonese “how the symbolism of pink was constructed”. If you type “Japan” into Google, you will come across cherry blossoms, kimonos, neon lights, rising suns, cute drawings and watercolors… All pink. Candy pink, powder or raspberry, old pink, salmon pink.

In Japan, a golden place

However, except for these few fleeting days in April, Japan is not rosy. “Why are we showing Japan pink when it’s not?” Pierre-William Fregonese wondered upon arrival. A few years later, she explains in her book how the third world power used pink as a tool soft power in the same way as gastronomy or manga. He says that in 1912, the Emperor of Japan sent about three thousand cherry trees from Japan to Washington, so that the American capital would bloom at the same time as Tokyo in the coming spring. A way to ensure a powerful relationship through pink (which turned sour anyway). A century later, thanks, among other things, to the Cool Japan program created in connection with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan has continued to sell a country that is better than reality and has become a tourism destination of choice (about 32 million foreign visitors in 2019 year).

But not everything is pink in Japanese pink. Pierre-William Fregonese thus recalls that color played an ambiguous role in the country’s feminist revolutions; Kawaii culture emerged among young Japanese women in the 1970s at the same time as punk in England. By owning the image of a young woman who uses and abuses pink, they have escaped from patriarchal society itself and their future as housewives. But this culture of liberation was diluted in a consumerist society and led to a hypersexualization that was detrimental to the cause of women.”

By owning the image of a young woman who uses and abuses pink, they have escaped from patriarchal society itself and their future as housewives. But this emancipatory culture has weakened in a consumerist society

Pierre-William Fregonese, Doctor of Political Science from Pantheon-Assas University

Many temporary colors

Pink has experienced its revolutions in Europe as well. In the 1930s, Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli invented pink shocking (in his words) fuchsia-based. gorgeous, candid, “too much” color. In a very masculine and very classical universe, she conquered rebellious spirits (Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, etc.). They say it’s a pink that frees itself, that proclaims, that doesn’t apologize for existing. This shade will be worn by Marilyn Monroe Men prefer blondes and, closer to our time, will be selected by the AIDS Association for its famous Act Up logo. Pink is a “catalyst of world culture”, analyzes the expert, who believes that the power of this color comes from its mix; , it brings together opposites.” It can be used to create a stereotype (for example, the sweetness of girls), to over-reinforce it (with Barbie pink), but also to undermine it. “Today, even rappers wear pink,” adds the researcher.

We live in an age where temporalities are crushed and pink for me is nostalgia for the past, present and future.

Pierre-William Fregonese, Doctor of Political Science from Pantheon-Assas University

After his shock in Japan, Pierre-William Fregonese explored his relationship with color. “Pink was hidden, silent, in the blind spot of my eye, following me without realizing it, a discreet, precious companion whose presence does not fade over the years,” he writes. According to him, pink is essentially a synesthetic color, in the sense that under its influence, the perception of an olfactory or visual signal includes another sense; therefore, pink “tastes” candy, “smells” gallica (rosa gallica, the quintessence of the rose note)… And thus invites memories, nostalgia. “For me, this color evokes the pink of neon lights, the pink of the night, the crazy noise of fairs. But also the pink of the grays by the pool… We live in a time where temporalities are crushed, and pink for me is the longing for the past, the present and the future at the same time,” explains the researcher.

This is undoubtedly the reason why its nuances are often overused in films (from spring switches, by Harmony Korine, Marie Antoinette , by Sofia Coppola) or album covers (Indokin, Lana Del Rey, November Ultra…). Thanks to the power of pink, time no longer counts.

Rose season

In 1959, Mattel released a brand new doll. Eyeliner, lipstick and a black and white swimsuit, she is not a child, but a woman in full control of herself. She doesn’t wear pink then. The shift happened at the dawn of the 1980s. The marketing decision was ignited in the form of a fire extinguisher to block the third wave of feminism. The color becomes the color of the sexualization of women and the conditioning of little girls. “Barbie built the superficiality of pink, even if the expression ‘with rose water’ already existed, but was reserved for literature,” emphasizes Pierre-William Fregonese.

Sixty-four years after the first one was released barbie Greta Gerwig’s film, co-produced by Mattel, was a global hit, “successfully promoting the idea that Barbie’s pink enabled women’s liberation.” “, sums up the academician. The commercial success of the film and its media hype speak for themselves. more than $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office a month after its release. In France, doll sales are up 20%, and fast fashion king Primark is giving away vintage pajamas and iPhone accessories that pop. The summer of 2023, the hottest on record, was also arguably the pinkest.

(1) Pierre-William Fregonese holds a PhD in Political Science from Pantheon-Assas University.
(2) The Invention of Pink Éditions Puf, 192 p., €18.