Color derived from metallic nanostructures are often more efficient, more robust to environmental changes, and near impossible to damage or bleach due to overexposure. The embodiments combine these advantages with the millisecond re-configurability of liquid crystals to actively control a reflective color of a metallic nanostructure. Of the current technologies that boast active color tunability, many are pigmentation based (e-ink in e-readers) and/or need seconds to change color (photonic ink, electrochromic materials). Speed is an advantage of the embodiments and is comparable to current liquid crystal displays (˜120 Hz). Traditional LC displays use static polymer films (color filters) and white back light to generate color. Being able to actively tune the color from a single metallic nanostructure allows for smaller pixel size, increased resolution, and decreased fabrication cost compared to a conventional RGB color pixel without needing external white light source for extremely low power operations.