They are colors that do not hide. They are colors that reveal, that enhance. That make contrasts more distinct. They establish relationships of brightness and of saturation. They elude all that is anecdotal. That is how they became codes.
CHANEL colors embrace singularity, rather than striving for multiplicity and ending up purely decorative.
One might recall—to borrow a principle from Kandinsky—the “inner necessity” of each color. Rouge Noir is not a burgundy or a garnet. The objective nature of its name mirrors the creation of the N°5 fragrance. Red’s intensity is tempered by black’s depth. Dense, they do not blur together, but insteadseamlessly complete one another. Rouge Pirate is an internal dialoguebetween two primary colors: a red infused with blue. Blanc White, radical,is a touch of graphic purity reminiscent of op art. Gold, Gabrielle Chanel’sByzantine muse, a notion of light. Silver, a sprinkling of constellations. 
Beige is not a «nude,» not an absence but an affirmation: natural is a style. Black, a fundamental element of the House, unapologetically bowls overanything in its way to emphasize what is most essential.
Every CHANEL color is a code that sets the tone for all the world’s hues.