🔗 Share this article

For anyone who has spent years renting, confronted by the same standard-issue beige walls and dreaming of injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might seem like a direct affront.

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

More specifically, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "lofty" and "airy" which "functions as a emblem of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection".

It marks the initial instance white has been picked as the Colour of the Year, and it has sparked considerable debate.

As stated by 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 visual overload.

But some critics have labelled the decision as "insensitive", arguing that elevating sparse and pristine white spaces can seem distant from the more compact, lived-in homes most people inhabit.

Others argue that presenting white as an ideal carries racial undertones, landing uncomfortably amid continuing societal discussions about race and representation.

Clinical or Calm?

Designer One design critic says the counter-reaction transcends surface appeal, stating that white bears cultural undertones and is rarely a innocuous choice.

"White is a signal," he says, shaped by a decade of sparse star homes – most notably Kim Kardashian's stripped-back home – that came to epitomize "wealth, order and distance from chaos".

He elaborates that white is "not about inspiration but being careful not to offend", with Cloud Dancer embodying "restraint, virtuous simplicity and the notion that impartiality signifies virtue".

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

"Almost instantly they transformed into our offices, refuges and emotional anchors," he says, noting that in this context, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "more visual emptiness seems rather out of step".

Instead of providing calm, he believes white now risks intensifying "a feeling of bleakness", especially when paired with cool, clinical lighting.

'Hospital Vibes'

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

Although it may work in extremely sparse or structural spaces, she says bright whites rarely create calm in real homes.

"An image of tranquility in a styled shoot can easily seem sterile at home," she clarifies.

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

She continues that "homes should spark joy and be warm and lived-in, and this hue seems quite removed from that."

The critic expresses a desire that homeowners will reject the Pantone Colour of the Year in preference for "unabashed joyful interior design", using colour to showcase personality.

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

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

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

These colours don't just live on style predictions - they appear in clothing lines, cosmetic products, interiors, packaging and even technology, shaping how products are sold and how consumers envision the year ahead.

Victoria Robinson, says Cloud Dancer is a "elegant choice" and while it may seem basic, "this specific hue seems gentle and refined rather than stark".

Contrary to those who say the colour is dull, Robinson sees it as "flexible" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and living areas where you want a peaceful, calming atmosphere".

"Even if you don't want to repaint, you can introduce the colour into a room with cushions, throws and curtains."

Design expert Another professional says although he was surprised that Pantone's selection this year was "fundamentally the absence of colour", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "everyone likes it but it's not a top choice".

He can see its benefits, noting that white can work especially effectively as a background for design features like wall molding and arched doorways which is a "growing trend in contemporary houses".

In fashion, 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 Oriona Robb says elevating white seems "not focused on newness and more about intention", reflecting a movement towards refinement after years of fad saturation.

"The color white compels designers and wearers alike to focus on form, proportion and quality, there's really nowhere to hide," she explains.

But she adds that it also holds presumptions around self-image, lifestyle 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 aware of the uncomfortable undertones tied to lauding white as an aspirational standard, particularly during ongoing discussions about inclusion and accessibility, and the real test will be whether "companies address that complexity honestly, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Cultural Mood, Not a Trend

Style consultant Katie Malik admits the choice at first shocked her, given Pantone's history of bold colours, but says it reflects a genuine shift and fits within a broader sentiment of "quiet luxury