Le Creuset is celebrating 100 years of colour innovation by partnering with the Pantone Color Institute to honour its iconic Flame shade and introduce the centenary hue Flamme Dorée. Inspired by molten ore, Flame revolutionised cookware design in 1925. The collaboration highlights a century of colour leadership and creative storytelling.
As Le Creuset marks its 100th year, the iconic French cookware brand is turning back to the colour that started it all—Flame. To commemorate the centenary milestone, Le Creuset has partnered with the Pantone Color Institute, bringing together two global authorities in colour innovation to honour the brilliant orange hue that reshaped the world of cookware design. The collaboration celebrates not only the legacy of Flame but also the newly introduced Flamme Dorée, a shimmering anniversary shade created to symbolise a century of design leadership, creative expression and bold colour storytelling.
When Flame was introduced in 1925, the kitchens of the world were nothing like the vibrant, style-driven spaces they would later become. Cookware existed purely for function, defined by muted metals, dull finishes and plain utilitarian forms. Le Creuset, a newcomer to the market at the time, made a decision that would alter the aesthetic landscape of domestic cooking: colour would not simply embellish cookware—it would define it. Inspired by the fiery glow of molten ore inside a cast iron crucible, Flame was born as an audacious experiment that dared to imagine the kitchen as a space capable of warmth, personality and artistry. The glowing orange shade instantly distinguished Le Creuset from every other brand, signalling that design was central to how the world should experience cooking and the spaces that supported it.
Colour soon became Le Creuset’s language. In the decades that followed, the company transformed kitchen design globally by embracing the emotional power of colour—its ability to evoke memory, spark creativity, and create a sense of place. Flame established not just a product line but a design philosophy, one that encouraged buyers, cooks and collectors to see cookware as an extension of lifestyle and culture. From rustic kitchens in rural France to modern culinary spaces across continents, the shade became one of the most recognisable colours in the culinary world. Its influence travelled far beyond the stovetop, shaping trends in home décor, gift culture, food photography and even the way families imagined the rituals of cooking and gathering.
A hundred years after Flame first entered the market, Le Creuset continues to lead the evolution of colour in cookware. The brand’s palette has expanded into hundreds of shades—ranging from tranquil pastels and deep heritage tones to modern, trend-responsive hues—each one curated to complement changing tastes, global design movements and shifting lifestyles. Yet Flame has remained the brand’s soul, a symbol of the fiery craftsmanship at the heart of its cast iron heritage. To celebrate this legacy, the company has turned to an organisation that shares its devotion to colour as a creative force: the Pantone Color Institute.
Pantone, widely regarded as the global authority on colour forecasting, cultural interpretation and design storytelling, has become a powerful voice in shaping how industries understand and use colour. From fashion and branding to interior design and digital media, Pantone’s yearly Colour of the Year has evolved into a cultural moment—a shade selected not only for its aesthetic relevance but for what it reflects about global moods, aspirations and creative momentum. The partnership between Le Creuset and Pantone brings together two pioneers who have shaped the emotional, psychological and expressive role of colour in everyday life.
Central to their collaboration is the introduction of Flamme Dorée, a centenary shade created to capture the evolution of Flame over the last hundred years. While the original Flame celebrates the primal glow of molten cast iron, Flamme Dorée represents the brand’s modern chapter—a shimmering, luminous interpretation that suggests renewal, celebration and the timeless allure of craftsmanship. Together, the two hues form a narrative that spans a century and highlights how colour has remained an essential element of Le Creuset’s identity. Flame and Flamme Dorée become symbolic markers of past and future, tradition and reinvention.
Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, has long championed the importance of understanding colour not merely as decoration but as cultural expression. In the lead-up to Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year reveal, Pressman emphasises how colour choices resonate globally, reflecting shifts in design, mood, and social behaviour. In her upcoming webinar on the Pantone Color of the Year, she offers insights into how each selected shade encapsulates the spirit of its moment—how it mirrors influences across lifestyle, creativity, global events and the broader design ecosystem. The session promises to explore how curated colour palettes can inspire designers, artists and brands to use colour not simply as a visual tool but as a meaningful language in their work.
For Le Creuset, the partnership with Pantone underscores its continued leadership in shaping how the world experiences colour in the kitchen. Over the last century, the brand has proven that cookware can carry cultural meaning and emotional resonance, moving far beyond its functional role. Flame was not just a colour; it was a declaration that cooking could be joyful, expressive, and aesthetically vibrant. Today, Flamme Dorée extends that message into a new era, linking past and future while reaffirming the brand’s enduring connection to design innovation.
The centenary celebration also reflects a broader moment in global design culture, wherein brands are increasingly conscious of the role colour plays in storytelling. Whether in fashion runways, home interiors, advertising campaigns or digital platforms, colour has become a universal code that helps articulate identity and aspiration. By partnering with Pantone, Le Creuset is not merely commemorating its history but situating itself at the intersection of tradition and contemporary design—showing how a single shade born in a French foundry in 1925 can still shape creative expression a hundred years later.
As Le Creuset and Pantone prepare to unveil the full scope of their centenary collaboration, the message is clear: colour continues to inspire, connect and define the way people experience the world. Flame’s legacy endures because it represents more than a hue; it represents an idea—bold, transformative and enduring. A century after its introduction, it still burns brightly, guiding the brand into a future where colour remains a powerful, universal form of storytelling.
