Capturing the cultural zeitgeist and tendencies for the 12 months forward is a tough enterprise. But yearly, the Pantone Color Institute chooses a coloration to do exactly that. And it has settled on a shade of white, “Cloud Dancer,” as its Color of the Year for 2026.
The institute, which is taken into account a number one authority on coloration, forecasting tendencies and advising manufacturers, described the shade as “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity.”
As know-how’s grip on day by day life tightens, Cloud Dancer represents a “calming influence in a frenetic society, rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection,” Leatrice Eiseman, government director of the institute, informed NCS.
The coloration is “associated with new beginnings” and “signifies our desire for a fresh start,” Eiseman mentioned.
For the institute’s crew of specialists, the whole lot is filtered by the lens of coloration. So yearly since 1999, the program has sought to “highlight how what is taking place in our macro-culture at a moment in time is expressed through the language of color,” Laurie Pressman, the institute’s vice-president, informed NCS.
To select a coloration of the 12 months, they sift by present cultural, political and magnificence references, decide on a coloration household after which concentrate on the exact shade — paying shut consideration to its identify, too.
“The color name is critical. The minute you hear a name describing color, you instantly conjure up an image,” Pressman mentioned.
This exact shade of white, with its “equal balance of cool and warm undertones,” was rigorously chosen, she added.
“Had we gone for a white that was more optically bright, not only does it take away from the natural feeling and honesty and authenticity that we’re looking for … it almost speaks to sterility and isolationism, because it’s cold,” she mentioned.
While completely different shades of white have lengthy been ubiquitous in trend, Cloud Dancer particularly embodies billowing silhouettes and pure materials like feathers, Eiseman mentioned.
Some of these tendencies are already in proof. Plenty of feathers featured at this 12 months’s Met Gala, together with, most memorably, on the 18-foot-long train of Diana Ross’ extraordinary white costume. Emma Stone’s Louis Vuitton costume at the Venice Film Festival featured a bubble hem, whereas singer-songwriter Rosalía favored floaty, clear, white designs whereas selling her critically acclaimed album “Lux” final month.
And in inside design, Eiseman describes Cloud Dancer as being “clarity without coldness, structure without severity,” pairing effectively with pure supplies like wooden and stone.
Previous selections for Pantone’s Color of the Year included 2025’s Mocha Mousse, “a mellow brown infused with a sensorial and comforting warmth,” and Peach Fuzz, “a light, fruity tone that conjures peace and serenity,” in 2024.