Pantone's Color of the Year Sounds About White

"Dancer Gia Bella is among three artists tapped to ring in Pantone's 2026 color of the year. (all images courtesy Pantone Color Institute, unless otherwise stated) In sharp contrast with last year's " Mocha Mousse," the Pantone Color Institute revealed today that, for the first time,the color of 2026 is a white hue. The Institute describes "Cloud Dancer" as "a discrete white hue offering a promise of clarity," but in today's polarized sociopolitical climate, this selection offers disengagement at best and channels rage-bait at worst."

"Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman explained in the press announcement. "A conscious statement of simplification, Cloud Dancer enhances our focus, providing release from the distraction of external influences." But it's not so simple. Let me be clear, announcing white as the color for 2026 can easily be interpreted as yet another piercing dog whistle closing out ayear that, in conjunction with other ongoing horrors, brought us:"

Pantone selected Cloud Dancer, a discrete white hue, as the 2026 color of the year, framing it as a promise of clarity and simplified focus. The Institute positioned the hue as a blank canvas that reduces distraction and enhances inner voices. Public reaction ranged from skepticism to accusations that the choice signals disengagement or operates as a racialized dog whistle amid a polarized sociopolitical climate. Social media described the color as sterile, lifeless, and conservative, and compared it to a recession indicator. Critics noted the irony that whiteness as a new sheet depends on sourced natural materials, complicating purity claims.

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