🔗 Share this article

For anyone who has spent a long time renting, confronted by the same standard-issue beige walls and yearning for injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's latest Colour of the Year might feel like a personal attack.

This year, the renowned color company has designated a shade of white as its flagship hue.

More specifically, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white described as "lofty" and "airy" which "acts as a symbol of tranquility in a society re-learning the importance of quiet reflection".

It marks the first time white has been honored as the Colour of the Year, and it has generated significant controversy.

According to Pantone, Cloud Dancer "transcends mere pigment, it's a mindset" and signifies a shared yearning to decelerate, recalibrate and find calm after years of aesthetic chaos.

But some critics have dubbed the decision as "Pantonedeaf", contending that championing minimalist and immaculate white spaces can seem disconnected from the smaller, lived-in homes most people call home.

Others propose that positioning white as aspirational carries racial undertones, landing uncomfortably during current political and cultural dialogues about inclusion and diversity.

Clinical or Calm?

Designer Chris Beaumont says the backlash goes beyond aesthetics, arguing that white holds cultural undertones and is seldom a innocuous choice.

"The color white sends a message," he says, shaped by a ten-year period of sparse star homes – most famously Kim Kardashian's austere home – that came to symbolize "affluence, control and distance from disorder".

He clarifies that white is "not intended to inspire but being careful not to cause upset", with Cloud Dancer embodying "austerity, moral minimalism and the notion that impartiality signifies virtue".

Beaumont points to the pandemic as a pivotal moment in how people interact with their homes.

"Overnight they became our workspaces, sanctuaries and sources of stability," he says, stating that in this context, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "further aesthetic barrenness feels rather tone-deaf".

Instead of offering calm, he believes white now threatens to intensifying "a feeling of emptiness", particularly when paired with harsh, sterile lighting.

'A Clinical Atmosphere

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

While it may work in extremely sparse or structural spaces, she says bright whites seldom foster calm in everyday living spaces.

"What looks serene in a professional photo can easily feel clinical at home," she explains.

"White can feel stark and demanding and you wouldn't wish your home to give hospital vibes."

She continues that "homes should spark joy and be warm and lived-in, and this shade feels quite distant from that."

The critic hopes that homeowners will disregard the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "unabashed dopamine décor", using colour to express individuality.

The vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute stated that people "bring different feelings" to the significance of the colour, but it was selected as it "works seamlessly with everything around it, offering a sophisticated impartiality that seems intentional and adaptable".

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

Previous selections have featured the hopefulness of Living Coral, the calm confidence of a deep blue, the vibrancy of Viva Magenta, and more recently softer, emotionally driven tones like a soft peach.

These hues extend beyond trend forecasts - they show up in fashion collections, cosmetic products, home decor, packaging and even consumer electronics, influencing how products are sold and how consumers imagine the coming year.

A style and trend expert, says Cloud Dancer is a "beautiful choice" and while it may appear simple, "this particular shade feels soft and elegant rather than stark".

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

"Should you prefer not to repaint, you can incorporate the colour into a room with pillows, throws and drapes."

Interior designer Another professional says although he was surprised that Pantone's selection this year was "fundamentally the lack of pigment", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "it is universally accepted but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its merits, noting that white can work particularly well as a background for design features like panelling and curved entries which is a "rising style in contemporary houses".

In apparel, white has long been a basic rather than a bold declaration and as a Colour of the Year it presents a unique test to designers more familiar with bold shades.

Luxury stylist A styling expert says elevating white feels "not focused on newness and more about intention", reflecting a shift towards refinement after years of trend overloads.

"White forces designers and those who wear it alike to concentrate on shape, proportion and quality, there's really nowhere to hide," she clarifies.

But she adds that it also holds assumptions around self-image, way of life and privilege, saying: "When white is viewed as something only a limited subset of people can wear well, it becomes exclusionary."

She says the fashion world is already cognizant of the problematic connotations tied to celebrating white as an ideal, especially during ongoing discussions about representation and accessibility, and the true challenge will be whether "brands engage with that complexity honestly, or simply glamorize the colour".

A Reflection of the Times

Stylist Katie Malik concedes the choice initially surprised her, considering Pantone's history of bold colours, but says it mirrors a genuine shift and fits within a wider mood of "quiet luxury