the roman empire collapsed before making a comeback though food was scarce around eight hundred charlemagne ordered the cultivation of plants that yielded pigments that contributed to an economic upswing as towns with textile dying workshops flourished. the greatest advance was the creation of the first synthetic dye moving by british chemist william henry perkin in eight hundred fifty six his accidental discovery formed the basis for a new chemical industry and eventually for the pharmaceutical industry analysts and dies was soon dominated by three german companies. at the turn of the twentieth century they manufactured ninety percent of all synthetic pigments worldwide they made more than a million chains as prices tumbled pretty colors became affordable for ordinary people. while a huge range of hues is available nowadays a lot of people only choose clothes in the shades favored by the current global fashion trends. color is also a big part of the auto industry spend a small fortune on your new car and you want to be just right that means designers need to get it right first they need to