🔗 Share this article

Hi there! I can't wait to find out what color is set to be 2026. What's the scoop?

Get ready, as every year since 1999, Pantone chooses a defining hue. This choice is a reflection of the zeitgeist—shaping everything from our collective sentiment and our wardrobe selections to how we design our living spaces. The previous year's hue was the deep beige "Mocha Mousse," preceded by the gentle and peachy "a fuzzy pastel."

This year's announcement, however, is somewhat unexpected. It is "Cloud Dancer," labeled as a "ethereal and neutral white."

Laurie Pressman, VP of the Pantone Color Institute, commented that it is "a key structural color … permitting all colors to shine."

Interesting, Cloud Dancer… hold on, just white? Could they be trolling us? Can white truly be considered a distinct hue?

How does one describe the color of clouds? Milk? While some consider white as a color, every hue is fundamentally a spectrum of light waves. You can find it in a set of colored pencils, so in everyday terms the answer is yes.

If Pantone is pulling our leg is trickier to figure out. The company states, Cloud Dancer pairs effortlessly with other colors, avoids sensory overload, embodies understated style, and projects subtle elegance.

Feedback online, on the other hand, has proven more critical. Several voices have suggested Pantone of being completely "out of touch." Fashion and trend forecaster Mandy Lee labeled it "a let-down." Others have drawn parallels to coded promotion of problematic concepts seen in recent advertising.

Okay, one would hope they're cheerfully oblivious that the timing is awkward to be explicitly championing pure white... Therefore, how might someone who doesn't follow a catwalk apply this news in my world? My kitchen ceiling is my ceiling with white, does that qualify?

That definitely qualifies. This applies equally to your earbuds, tiles, or favorite mug.

It's interesting you mention runways, because many recent shows have been bold and fuzzy, featuring plant-based feathers on the runway.

All-white outfits were present, as per usual, in luxury shows—from simple silk T-shirts to sleek suits. Celebrities and public figures have also been seen in pristine white outfits at prestigious shows.

The positive takeaway is: you probably already possess pieces in this "understated" designated shade. In the words of Pressman, Cloud Dancer "embodies a greener option for the environmentally aware," which essentially suggests avoiding the need to purchase new items at all.

SO, a style movement for the inherently lazy. A blank page, in a manner of speaking. A cocoon of monochromatic zen within the clutter. Alright, I'm sold. Will you be creating a whiteout for your wardrobe?

Definitely not. Do you know how hard it is to get out tomato sauce stains from a white shirt? I don't need additional cleaning headaches in 2026.

I do own a pair of once-white Birkenstocks, and those remain perpetually fashionable.