"The Pantone Color Institute has long positioned itself as an arbiter of taste and trend forecasting, commanding attention from designers, marketers, and luxury brands alike. Each carefully curated annual color release captures the emotional and cultural zeitgeist of its moment. From there, the influence ripples outward, shaping design, fashion, and consumer culture on a global scale. Cloud Dancer, the chosen shade for the year ahead, is one that's defiantly quiet."
"A clean, diffused white with none of the clinical chill of gallery walls, nor the creamy warmth of linen. It sits somewhere in-between, embodying what Pantone describes as "a conscious state of simplification." Boldly, it's the first time white has ever been chosen. Its presence in the coveted Color of the Year slot is a subtle admission that maximalism, in all its joyful excess, has finally run its course."
"It has marched across homes in dizzying prints and cacophonous color clashes, layering rooms so thickly with personality they were left with little space to breathe. It has been weaponised in advertising, UX, and particularly on social media, a hyper-connective space where the algorithm rewards spectacle and overstimulation. In many ways, maximalism has mirrored the chaotic pulse of modern life. And like modern life, it has reached a point of fatigue."
Pantone selects Cloud Dancer, a clean, diffused white that balances neither clinical chill nor creamy warmth, as the Color of the Year. The shade embodies "a conscious state of simplification" and marks the first time white occupies this role. The choice signals that maximalism's exuberant excess has waned, with loud, layered interiors and spectacle-driven design giving way to desires for clarity and calm. Cloud Dancer offers a refuge of visual cleanliness that promotes wellbeing and lightness without erasing presence. Stripped-back palettes can still support texture, warmth, and intentional layering to maintain comfort and personality.
Read at Elite Traveler
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