On the 4th December 2025, Pantone announced that their highly anticipated ‘Colour of the Year’ for 2026 was PANTONE 11-4201, Cloud Dancer. In a throwback to our post during the announcement, we noted that this decision from Pantone has historically received mixed responses, and three months later designers have finally put their finger on what makes this year so different.
In an interview with the BBC, designer Chris Beaumont said “White is a signal, most notably by Kim Kardashian’s stripped-back home, that came to represent wealth, order and distance from chaos.”
Lara Clarke, an interior designer, says Cloud Dancer “doesn’t really read as a colour.” “What looks serene in a styled shoot can easily feel clinical at home.”
Style trend expert Victoria Robinson says the colour is “a beautiful choice, this particular shade feels soft and elegant rather than stark.”
Evidently, a real mixed-bag of responses has been generated by Pantone, but ultimately getting people talking about colour lets us engage in new conversations surrounding creativity, trends, fashion, technology and design.
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