What Is a Colourway? One Design. Every Part in the Right Colour.

A colourway is one colour version of a product design. The shape, materials and construction stay the same, but the colours of the parts change: a shirt sold in navy, white and sage has three colourways. Brands use colourways to offer choice without designing a new product each time.

Every colourway adds its own colours, approvals and sizes, so a small mistake on one part is repeated across every unit of that colour. The word is spelled "colorway" in American English. In footwear, a colourway often has its own name, such as a nickname for a sneaker in a special colour mix. In fashion, it is usually named after its main colour.

Apparel. A colourway sets the body fabric, contrast fabric, thread, buttons, zip tape, labels and any print colours.

Footwear. A colourway sets the upper, lining, laces, sole, midsole, logo and stitching, and often several materials per part.

Home and consumer goods. A colourway may set the finish of a product, its handles or lids, and its packaging.

Beauty. The word is used less, but shade ranges and packaging colour versions follow the same logic.

A colour is a single shade, such as one specific blue.

A colourway is a full combination of colours across every part of one design.

A SKU (stock keeping unit) is one sellable version of a product, for example a shirt in blue, size M.

So one design with three colourways and five sizes gives fifteen SKUs. Each new colourway adds a full set of sizes to make, stock and sell.

Think of a colourway spec as the colour instructions for every single part of the product. A good one leaves nothing to guesswork. For each colourway, list:

Most brands keep this in the colourway section of the tech pack, next to the bill of materials. Our guide to what a tech pack is shows where it fits.

The colour was described in words, so each mill matched its own idea of olive.

Use colour standards for every colour, never names alone.

Thread, zip tape and labels were left unspecified, so the factory picked its own.

Give every small part a colour in the spec, not just the main fabric.

Monitors show colour differently, so a colour approved on a laptop looks different in the swatch.

Approve physical swatches, in good light.

The colourway changed after orders went out, so the work was redone and fabric was wasted.

Lock colourways before orders go out, and change them only with a clear approval.

A colour change was sent in a separate email, and the factory never saw it.

Keep colour changes on the product itself, where the factory looks.

Imagine Leila, who runs product at a small sneaker brand. For example, a new court sneaker in a "Sage" colourway:

There is no single right number. It depends on how the style sells, how much stock you can carry and your supplier's minimums. Ask four questions:

With a few styles, a spreadsheet next to the tech pack may be enough for now. As the range grows, every colourway has many components, each with its own approval, and keeping that in sync by hand is where errors start. A PLM (product lifecycle management) system keeps colourways on the product record, next to the tech pack, the materials list and the approvals. If PLM is new to you, start with what PLM is.

Polluxa PLM is product lifecycle management software for fashion, footwear, beauty, consumer goods and manufacturing brands. For fashion teams, it keeps seasons, line plans and colourways in one place.

See how it works in our overview of PLM software for consumer brands.

When you want to see colourways on your own products, book a demo.

A colourway is one colour version of a product design. The design stays the same, but the colours of its parts change. A trainer sold in black, white and red versions has three colourways.

Both are correct. "Colourway" is the British spelling and "colorway" is the American spelling. They mean the same thing.

A colourway is a colour version of a design. A SKU is one sellable unit, such as a shirt in one colourway and one size. One colourway usually covers several SKUs, one per size.

Most brands use the main colour plus a short code, such as "Sage" or "Navy/White". Footwear brands sometimes give special colourways a name of their own. Whatever you choose, use the same name across design, sourcing and sales.

Each colour is approved through a lab dip or strike-off from the supplier, checked against your colour standard. The full colourway is then checked on a sample before bulk production starts.