His royal badness just got his own custom color.
Prince, the late musician who died just one week after his final public concert in Atlanta , is being honored with a custom shade of purple from global color authority, the Pantone Color Institute and the Prince Estate.
The purple shade, Love Symbol #2, was inspired by the custom-made Yamaha purple piano which was scheduled to tour with Prince on his "Piano and Microphone" tour before his death on April 21 last year at age 57.
Prince was consistently associated with the color purple throughout his career, but particularly in 1984 after the release of the album "Purple Rain."
In interviews, he explained his connection to the color purple in eschatological terms -- when blood mixes with the blue sky at the end of the world, it would rain purple, he said, our cue to be with the ones we love and let God guide us through.
Of course, there was also the theory that Prince's fondness for purple was more practical. It's the color worn by the Minnesota Vikings, the hometown football team of the Minnesota native.
Though we can expect a range of purple shades to be used in reference to Prince, Pantone's Love Symbol #2, is the official shade of purple across the brand he left behind.
Having a standardized color allows for Prince's purple to be consistently replicated across any branded products related to the artist. His estate is reportedly discussing product collaborations with different partners that would incorporate the color.
“The color purple was synonymous with who Prince was and will always be. This is an incredible way for his legacy to live on forever,” said Troy Carter, Entertainment Advisor to Prince’s Estate.
Prince had worked closely with Yamaha to create the custom piano that inspired the color Love Symbol #2. The company had three months to create and deliver the piano to Prince's home in Minnesota. Prince had based the color for the piano on a couch in his home.
On April 12, Prince shared his beloved creation via social media, but never had the chance to take it on the road.
He is known to have played the piano publicly only once, during an April 16 music party at Paisley Park in which he dramatically unveiled the piano featuring his symbol above the Yamaha brand -- the only time the company allowed another symbol on one of its products.
Prince played chopsticks and classical music on his new piano and told the crowd to wait a few days before wasting any prayers on him.
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