Capturing the cultural zeitgeist and trends for the year ahead is a tricky business. But every year, the Pantone Color Institute chooses a color to do precisely that. And it has settled on a shade of white, “Cloud Dancer,” as its Color of the Year for 2026.
(CNN) — Capturing the cultural zeitgeist and trends for the year ahead is a tricky business. But every year, the Pantone Color Institute chooses a color to do precisely that. And it has settled on a shade of white, “Cloud Dancer,” as its Color of the Year for 2026.
The institute, which is considered a leading authority on color, forecasting trends and advising brands, described the shade as “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity.”
As technology’s grip on daily life tightens, Cloud Dancer represents a “calming influence in a frenetic society, rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the institute, told CNN.
The color is “associated with new beginnings” and “signifies our desire for a fresh start,” Eiseman said.
For the institute’s team of experts, everything is filtered through the lens of color. So every year 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, told CNN.
To choose a color of the year, they sift through current cultural, political and style references, settle on a color family and then focus on the precise shade — paying close attention to its name, too.
“The color name is critical. The minute you hear a name describing color, you instantly conjure up an image,” Pressman said.
This precise shade of white, with its “equal balance of cool and warm undertones,” was carefully 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 said.
While different shades of white have long been ubiquitous in fashion, Cloud Dancer specifically embodies billowing silhouettes and natural fabrics like feathers, Eiseman said.
Some of these trends are already in evidence. Plenty of feathers featured at this year’s Met Gala, including, most memorably, on the 18-foot-long train of Diana Ross’ extraordinary white dress. Emma Stone’s Louis Vuitton dress at the Venice Film Festival featured a bubble hem, while singer-songwriter Rosalía favored floaty, clean, white designs while promoting her critically acclaimed album “Lux” last month.
And in interior design, Eiseman describes Cloud Dancer as being “clarity without coldness, structure without severity,” pairing well with natural materials like wood and stone.
Previous choices 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.
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