In May this year, a video was uploaded to YouTube featuring two 20-something men meeting up with someone to find their “personal colour”. The pair, Ten and Yangyang of boy band WayV and its parent group the K-pop act NCT, are far from the only ones trying to determine the best colours that suit them. The two were working with Seryeong Lee, a dedicated colour specialist for the past 12 years at Seoul-based colour styling salon Color Place. Other clients include South Korean actresses Han Ye-seul and Han Chae-young, as well as Gyeongree, formerly of K-pop girl group 9Muses. “Colour can influence impressions and change lives,” Lee tells the Post . “The world of personal colour isn’t just about looking for matching colours. In this age when personal branding is becoming a commodity, it is very important to quickly identify personal colours that help you create your own values, as humans have a desire to be recognised by people.” Lee sees colour as integral to personal branding. To her, the most basic elements of image branding are posture , expression and voice training, while the last step – colour – helps a person stand out from a crowd of similarly prepared people. Her brand of styling doesn’t just relate to what clothes and make-up suit a person. At Color Place, Lee also emphasises the less overt choices that impact people’s image, helping clients choose the best shades for things like glasses frames and eyebrow tints. “Colour can be a strategic weapon,” says Alyssa Chen, the general management of Colour Me Beautiful HK, the Hong Kong branch of a popular international styling brand. She’s also the founder of her own image styling brand, Fashion with Attitude. About 60 per cent of her clients reach out for colour consulting alone. Typically, Chen says women approach her for colour consulting rather than for a total wardrobe and style overhaul because “a lot of people think they know how to dress already”. Eighty to 85 per cent of her clients are women. “Women are more adventurous. We don’t mind trying a lot of different colours. Before a lot of clients come to me, they have their own instinct on what really suits them, they just need some validation or professional advice to make them happy.” Men, on the other hand, usually connect with her for one of two reasons – someone close to them pushes them into a consultation, or they’re told during corporate training to have a makeover. Lee and Chen both agree that colour styling is more important than ever because of the rise of social media. “The awareness of personal image is really awakening in recent years,” says Chen. “We are in this culture when we have to interest people in a really quick time. People are aware of how colour can change [things] instantly. Colour is so rich, it has so many stories.” Because so many people have bonds with colours, either on a personal or cultural level, Chen thinks colours are an approachable way for people to change up their style. For her, the most successful colour styling sessions stem from a person’s determination to see change and willingness to take action afterwards to truly reorient their outfits. Chen likens personal styling on social media to the modern-day elevator pitch – a way to introduce oneself to an online audience at a single glance. “Nowadays, people know that people judge their personal image. Colour is definitely one of the elements that [helps] people differentiate themselves from all the competitors.” Colour stylists typically base their work on the science of colours and their complements, and how their clients relate to certain colours or shades, with seasonally based colour palettes helping to guide many individuals. Just as colour preferences differ between people, so too do styling philosophies. Chen is personally an adherent of “ dopamine dressing”, or dressing with colours that make you happy while you’re wearing or interacting with them. Good memories, good times and good energy are important for one’s relationship with colour styling, she says. Lee, meanwhile, speaks about the ancient Greek idea of prosopon, or self-manifestation of an individual, as an important part of her work. Lee believes in finding the right colours to wear in a way that suits the natural palette of a person and the identity they’ve developed. As she believes colour is tied into the identity of a person from birth, Lee doesn’t think the “personal colours” that suit an individual change over time. “Once in a lifetime, that’s enough if you get it right,” she says. According to Lee’s understanding, though an individual’s skin tone may darken when tanned or lighten when not, it does not change their overall look because it is made up of a combination of factors that include their aura, image, air, energy, vitality and eye colour. “More and more, I think it’s like a journey of self-discovery,” says Chen of helping someone discover their distinct colour palette and style, since colour is so impactful and can change moods so intensely. “You may think you know colour very well, but it sometimes can surprise you and open up a lot of different possibilities. You can use colours to accentuate what you like and to hide what you don’t. It’s not just about appearance, but also what’s inside.”