🔗 Share this article

For anyone who has spent years renting, staring at the same standard-issue magnolia walls and longing for adding some actual personality to their home, Pantone's latest Colour of the Year might seem like a personal attack.

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

In detail, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "elevated" and "billowy" which "serves as a emblem of tranquility in a society rediscovering the value of stillness".

It signifies the initial instance white has been honored as the Colour of the Year, and it has generated significant controversy.

Per Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a state of being" and reflects a collective yearning to slow down, recalibrate and find calm after years of visual overload.

But some critics have labelled the decision as "insensitive", suggesting that elevating sparse and pristine white spaces can feel distant from the more compact, lived-in homes the majority occupy.

Additional critics propose that presenting white as an ideal carries racial undertones, landing uncomfortably amid continuing societal conversations about race and representation.

Sterile or Serene?

Interior expert One design critic says the criticism transcends surface appeal, noting that white holds deeper meanings and is seldom a innocuous choice.

"The color white sends a message," he says, shaped by a decade of minimalist celebrity interiors – most famously Kim Kardashian's stripped-back home – that came to represent "wealth, control and distance from disorder".

He explains that white is "not intended to inspire but being careful not to cause upset", with Cloud Dancer representing "austerity, virtuous simplicity and the notion that neutrality denotes virtue".

The designer cites the global health crisis as a defining period in how people perceive their homes.

"Overnight they transformed into our offices, refuges and sources of stability," he says, stating that in this context, directing the Colour of the Year towards "further aesthetic barrenness seems rather disconnected".

Rather than offering calm, he believes white now risks intensifying "a feeling of desolation", especially when paired with cool, clinical lighting.

'A Clinical Atmosphere

Lara Clark, a Surrey based design expert, concurs and says Cloud Dancer "is not perceived as a colour" and is "firmly in the bin for me".

While 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 readily seem clinical at home," she explains.

"The color white may seem harsh and demanding and you don't want your home to emit clinical feelings."

She adds that "homes should elicit happiness and be inviting and welcoming, and this shade feels quite removed from that."

Beaumont hopes that homeowners will reject the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "full-scale joyful interior design", using colour to showcase personality.

A representative of the Pantone Colour Institute stated that people "have varied interpretations" to the meaning of the colour, but it was selected as it "works seamlessly with everything around it, providing a sophisticated impartiality that seems intentional and versatile".

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

Previous selections have featured the hopefulness of a vibrant pink-orange, the calm confidence of a deep blue, the vibrancy of Viva Magenta, and more recently softer, feeling-based tones like Peach Fuzz.

These colours don't just live on style predictions - they show up in clothing lines, cosmetic products, interiors, product wrapping 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 elegant rather than severe".

Contrary to those who say the colour is dull, Robinson sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "sleeping quarters and living areas where you want a peaceful, restful ambiance".

"Even if you prefer not to repaint, you can introduce the colour into a room with pillows, blankets and drapes."

Design expert Another professional says although he was surprised that Pantone's pick this year was "essentially the absence of colour", it is a bit like a basic flavor, in that "it is universally accepted but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its benefits, noting that white can work especially effectively as a background for architectural details like panelling and arched doorways which is a "rising style in contemporary houses".

In apparel, white has long been a staple rather than a statement and as a Colour of the Year it poses a unique test to designers more familiar with vibrant colors.

Fashion consultant Oriona Robb says elevating white feels "less about novelty and more concerned with purpose", reflecting a movement towards refinement after years of fad saturation.

"White forces designers and wearers alike to focus on shape, scale and craftsmanship, there's really no room for error," she explains.

But she continues that it also carries presumptions around self-image, lifestyle and privilege, saying: "If white is treated as something only a narrow group of people can pull off, it becomes divisive."

She says the industry is already cognizant of the problematic connotations tied to lauding white as an ideal, especially during ongoing conversations about representation and approachability, and the real test will be whether "companies address that complexity authentically, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Reflection of the Times

Stylist Katie Malik concedes the choice initially surprised her, considering Pantone's track record of vibrant hues, but says it mirrors a genuine shift and fits within a broader sentiment of "quiet luxury