🔗 Share this article

For anyone who has spent a long time renting, staring at the same standard-issue beige walls and yearning for adding some actual personality to their home, Pantone's latest Colour of the Year might be perceived as a personal attack.

This time around, the influential color company has designated a shade of white as its premier hue.

To be precise, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "elevated" and "billowy" which "serves as a emblem of tranquility in a society re-evaluating the importance of stillness".

It represents the initial instance a pure white has been honored as the Colour of the Year, and it has raised more than a few eyebrows.

According to Pantone, Cloud Dancer "represents more than a hue, it's a mindset" and reflects a widespread desire to decelerate, reset and achieve serenity after years of aesthetic chaos.

But some commentators have dubbed the decision as "out of touch", contending that elevating sparse and immaculate white spaces can feel disconnected from the more compact, lived-in homes the majority occupy.

Others propose that framing white as aspirational introduces subtext related to race, causing discomfort during continuing political and cultural discussions about inclusion and diversity.

Soothing or Stark?

Designer Chris Beaumont says the counter-reaction goes beyond aesthetics, stating that white carries cultural undertones and is rarely a innocuous choice.

"White is a signal," he says, shaped by a ten-year period of sparse star homes – most famously Kim Kardashian's stripped-back home – that came to symbolize "affluence, control and distance from disorder".

He elaborates that white is "not intended to inspire but being careful not to offend", with Cloud Dancer embodying "restraint, virtuous simplicity and the idea that impartiality denotes virtue".

The designer points to the pandemic as a defining period in how people interact with their homes.

"Overnight they transformed into our offices, refuges and emotional anchors," he says, stating that against this backdrop, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "more visual emptiness feels rather tone-deaf".

Instead of offering calm, he believes white now threatens to intensifying "a sense of bleakness", especially when combined with cool, clinical lighting.

'Sterile Sensations

An interior designer, a Surrey based interior designer, concurs and says Cloud Dancer "is not perceived as a colour" and is "completely rejected for me".

While it may work in highly minimal or architectural spaces, she says pure white shades rarely create calm in everyday living spaces.

"An image of tranquility in a professional photo can readily feel sterile at home," she explains.

"The color white may seem harsh and demanding and you don't want your home to emit hospital vibes."

She adds that "homes should elicit happiness and feel inviting and lived-in, and this hue seems quite distant from that."

The critic hopes that homeowners will reject the Pantone Colour of the Year in preference for "unabashed dopamine décor", using colour to showcase personality.

The vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute commented that people "bring different feelings" to the significance of the colour, but it was selected as it "integrates perfectly with everything around it, providing a refined neutrality that feels deliberate and adaptable".

Since its launch in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has become a powerful industry signal.

Previous selections have featured the hopefulness of a vibrant pink-orange, the serene assurance of Classic Blue, the energy of Viva Magenta, and more recently more gentle, feeling-based tones like a soft peach.

These colours extend beyond trend forecasts - they appear in clothing lines, beauty launches, interiors, packaging and even technology, influencing how products are marketed and how consumers imagine the coming year.

Victoria Robinson, says Cloud Dancer is a "elegant choice" and while it may appear basic, "this particular shade seems soft and elegant rather than stark".

Contrary to those who say the colour is boring, the expert sees it as "flexible" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and communal spaces where you want a serene, calming atmosphere".

"Should you don't want to repaint, you can incorporate the colour into a room with pillows, throws and curtains."

Interior designer Another professional says although he was taken aback that Pantone's selection this year was "essentially the lack of pigment", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "everyone likes it but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its benefits, explaining that white can work particularly well as a background for architectural details like panelling and arched doorways which is a "rising style in modern homes".

In apparel, white has long been a basic rather than a statement and as a Colour of the Year it poses a different challenge to designers more accustomed to bold shades.

Fashion consultant Oriona Robb says elevating white feels "less about novelty and more concerned with purpose", reflecting a movement towards sophistication after years of fad saturation.

"White forces designers and wearers alike to focus on form, proportion and quality, there's really nowhere to hide," she clarifies.

But she continues that it also holds presumptions around body confidence, way of life and privilege, stating: "If white is viewed as something only a limited subset of people can pull off, it becomes divisive."

She says the industry is already cognizant of the problematic connotations associated with celebrating white as an aspirational standard, particularly during ongoing discussions about representation and approachability, and the true challenge will be whether "companies address that complexity honestly, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Cultural Mood, Not a Trend

Style consultant Another expert admits the choice initially surprised her, given Pantone's history of bold colours, but says it reflects a authentic change and aligns with a broader sentiment of "quiet luxury