Wear This Color If You Want To Feel Joyful & Strong In 2023

Come winter, most people default to wearing a darker color palette, both for ease in dressing and as a reflection of the season’s dreariness. (I’m wearing black cashmere pants and a black T-shirt, as I write this.) However, Pantone’s It color for 2023 — Viva Magenta — might be just the jolt needed to wake everyone up from their moody fashion slumber. The bright berry shade, which sits somewhere between red and pink, is electrifying but not overwhelming (unlike 2021’s color of the year, which was a highlighter yellow).

“We chose [Viva Magenta 18-1750] because we felt that it was an unconventional shade for an unconventional time, something that could present us with a new vision,” Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone’s executive director, said to TIME. “It’s a color that really vibrates with vim and vigor, that demonstrates a new signal of strength...”

As everyone has a renewed sense of hope and optimism leading into the new year, it feels natural, too, to embrace a fun shade like Viva Magenta. “The name ... itself tells you this is a color to celebrate with, [it] promotes optimism and joy,” Eiseman said to TIME. “It’s what we call a boundless shade, a real standout statement. There’s no way you’re going to walk into a room if you’re wearing this color and not have attention go to you. It’s audacious. It’s witty and inclusive — it welcomes anyone and everyone with the same rebellious spirit.”

Don’t wait for everyone else to wear magenta first. You can immediately start incorporating next year’s It color into your winter wardrobe with the select pieces ahead.