Spritzes, Swifties, and Pumpkin Spice: Orange Is the Only Color That Matters

Look, not everybody likes orange. You ask someone their favorite color, and more often than not you’re going to hear blue and green, maybe pink—but probably not orange.

Still, orange does have the power to pull us in. JCK‘s Karen Dybis noted its prevalence at this year’s jewelry shows in Las Vegas and made the case for orange as a summer color, despite its close association with autumn and Halloween (pumpkin spice season, that is). Further driving the theory that orange is indeed summer’s hottest hue has been the rise of the Aperol Spritz—not the cocktail, but the color.

That was all well and good enough to improve orange’s popularity, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway now that Taylor Swift has announced her next album.

This is Taylor Swift we’re talking about, not just any ordinary celebrity, so when she declares something hot, consumers respond, well, swiftly.

A countdown clock on a background of orange ticked away on Swift’s website until 12:12 a.m. on Aug. 12, when the announcement was made—momentarily crashing the site, thanks to fans’ overwhelming response.

Orange was everywhere. It light up the Empire State Building, as well as Kansas City’s Union Station. Google served up orange confetti and a flaming orange heart if someone typed “Taylor Swift” in the search engine. X changed its logo to a glittery orange X (does this surprise anyone else?). As expected, there was a massive brand adoption of the shade across social media.

So this new Swift era is orange—and whether or not you’re a fan, your era might just be orange too. Because the singer’s influence is unavoidable, and if you allow yourself to embrace this cultural phenomenon, you might just be glad that’s the way it is.

Here are some of the latest orange jewels, so you can stock up for album release day on Oct. 3, but also for the holidays, where orange might feel like a nice break from the traditional shades of winter.