🔗 Share this article

For those who has spent years renting, staring at the same standard-issue beige walls and dreaming of injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might be perceived as a direct affront.

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

To be precise, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "lofty" and "airy" which "serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society re-learning the worth of stillness".

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

Per Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a mindset" and reflects a shared yearning to slow down, recalibrate and find calm after years of aesthetic chaos.

But some critics have branded the decision as "out of touch", suggesting that championing sparse and pristine white spaces can seem far removed from the more compact, lived-in homes the majority occupy.

Others propose that presenting white as an ideal introduces racial undertones, causing discomfort within ongoing societal conversations about race and representation.

Clinical or Calm?

Designer Chris Beaumont says the counter-reaction transcends surface appeal, stating that white holds deeper meanings and is rarely a neutral choice.

"White is a signal," he says, shaped by a decade of minimalist celebrity interiors – most notably Kim Kardashian's austere home – that came to epitomize "wealth, control and distance from disorder".

He clarifies that white is "not intended to inspire but taking care not to cause upset", with Cloud Dancer personifying "restraint, virtuous simplicity and the idea that impartiality signifies goodness".

Beaumont references the global health crisis as a defining period in how people perceive 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 aesthetic barrenness seems rather disconnected".

Instead of offering calm, he believes white now threatens to amplifying "a sense of emptiness", particularly when combined with harsh, sterile lighting.

'A Clinical Atmosphere

Lara Clark, a Surrey based interior designer, agrees and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "firmly in the bin for me".

While it may suit extremely sparse or structural spaces, she says pure white shades rarely foster calm in real homes.

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

"White can feel harsh and unforgiving and you wouldn't wish your home to give clinical feelings."

She adds that "homes should elicit happiness and feel warm and welcoming, and this shade seems quite removed from that."

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

A representative of the Pantone Colour Institute stated that people "bring different feelings" to the meaning of the colour, but it was chosen as it "integrates perfectly with everything around it, providing a refined neutrality that feels deliberate and adaptable".

Beginning in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has become a significant trend indicator.

Past choices have featured the hopefulness of a vibrant pink-orange, the calm confidence of a deep blue, the energy of a bold pink-red, and more recently softer, feeling-based tones like a soft peach.

These hues don't just live on style predictions - they show up in clothing lines, beauty launches, interiors, packaging and even consumer electronics, influencing how products are marketed and how consumers envision the year ahead.

A style and trend expert, says Cloud Dancer is a "beautiful choice" and while it may appear simple, "this specific hue feels gentle and refined rather than severe".

In contrast to those who say the colour is boring, the expert sees it as "flexible" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and living areas where you want a serene, restful ambiance".

"Even if you prefer not to repaint, you can introduce the colour into a room with cushions, throws and curtains."

Interior designer James Mellan-Matulewicz 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 merits, noting that white can work particularly well as a backdrop for architectural details like panelling and arched doorways which is a "growing trend in modern homes".

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

Luxury stylist A styling expert says championing white feels "less about novelty and more about intention", indicating a shift towards refinement after years of trend overloads.

"White forces designers and those who wear it alike to concentrate on form, scale and craftsmanship, there's really no room for error," she clarifies.

But she adds that it also carries presumptions around body confidence, way of life and privilege, saying: "If white is viewed as something only a narrow group of people can wear well, it becomes exclusionary."

She says the fashion world is already aware of the uncomfortable undertones associated with lauding white as an ideal, especially amid ongoing conversations about representation and approachability, and the real test will be whether "brands engage with that nuance authentically, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Societal Shift, Not a Fad

Style consultant Katie Malik concedes the choice initially shocked her, considering Pantone's history of vibrant hues, but says it mirrors a authentic change and fits within a wider mood of "quiet luxury