"Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year is a white. In Pantone language, that's code 11-4201-aka Cloud Dancer. Pantone-which operates somewhere between a trend forecaster and social psychologist-argues that Cloud Dancer is part of a great cultural reboot. In the era of AI, everything feels like it's changing on a daily basis, and the overstimulation of the internet is only increasing as we go."
""We're trying to frame this [era] in a more positive way, looking at this as a transitional time, because it really is," says Laurie Pressman, VP at the Pantone Color Institute, who notes the color is "a blank slate opening the door to creativity and innovation." The word "cloud" refers to not just Cloud Dancer's color, but also its real world texture. Often presented in voluminous textiles, on the runway and in living rooms,"
Cloud Dancer is Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year (code 11-4201), presented as a white that balances warm and cool tones. The color functions as a blank slate and a symbolic response to rapid cultural shifts and AI-driven change. It aims to evoke a tangible, paper-like white rather than the luminous glow associated with digital prompts. The name 'cloud' references both the color's soft texture and voluminous textile applications across runways and interiors. The tone is positioned as timeless, genderless, and versatile, working alone or paired with many colors while nodding to a sensory counterpoint to intangible data centers.
Read at Fast Company
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]