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For many people who has spent years living in rental properties, staring at the same standard-issue beige walls and dreaming of injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might seem like a direct affront.

This time around, the renowned color company has selected white as its flagship hue.

In detail, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white described as "lofty" and "airy" which "serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society re-learning the value of stillness".

It marks the first time a pure white has been picked as the Colour of the Year, and it has sparked considerable debate.

Per Pantone, Cloud Dancer "transcends mere pigment, it's a mindset" and signifies a widespread urge to slow down, reset and seek peace after years of visual overload.

But some commentators have dubbed the decision as "out of touch", suggesting that championing sparse and immaculate white spaces can feel distant from the more compact, lived-in homes the majority occupy.

Additional critics argue that presenting white as aspirational carries racial undertones, creating unease amid continuing political and cultural discussions about inclusion and diversity.

Clinical or Calm?

Interior expert One design critic says the criticism transcends surface appeal, stating that white bears deeper meanings and is rarely a neutral choice.

"The color white sends a message," he says, influenced by a ten-year period of sparse star homes – most famously Kim Kardashian's austere home – that came to epitomize "wealth, control and distance from disorder".

He clarifies that white is "not intended to inspire but taking care not to cause upset", with Cloud Dancer representing "austerity, virtuous simplicity and the idea that neutrality denotes virtue".

The designer cites the pandemic as a turning point in how people perceive their homes.

"Suddenly they transformed into our workspaces, refuges and emotional anchors," he says, stating that against this backdrop, directing the Colour of the Year towards "further visual emptiness feels rather out of step".

Instead of providing calm, he believes white now risks intensifying "a sense of bleakness", especially when paired with harsh, sterile lighting.

'Hospital Vibes'

Lara Clark, a Surrey based design expert, agrees and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "firmly in the bin for me".

While it may work in extremely sparse or structural spaces, she says bright whites rarely create calm in everyday living spaces.

"What looks serene in a professional photo can easily feel sterile at home," she clarifies.

"The color white may seem harsh and demanding and you don't want your home to emit a medical atmosphere."

She adds that "homes should spark joy and feel inviting and lived-in, and this hue feels quite removed from that."

The critic expresses a desire that homeowners will disregard the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "full-scale joyful interior design", using vibrant hues to showcase individuality.

The vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute stated that people "bring different feelings" to the significance of the colour, but it was selected as it "integrates perfectly with everything around it, offering a refined neutrality that feels intentional and versatile".

Since its launch in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has evolved into a powerful industry signal.

Past choices have featured the hopefulness of a vibrant pink-orange, the calm confidence of a deep blue, the energy of a bold pink-red, and more recently softer, feeling-based tones like a soft peach.

These colours extend beyond trend forecasts - they appear in clothing lines, beauty launches, home decor, packaging and even consumer electronics, influencing how products are sold and how consumers envision the coming year.

Victoria Robinson, says Cloud Dancer is a "elegant choice" and while it may appear basic, "this particular shade seems soft and elegant rather than severe".

In contrast to those who say the colour is dull, the expert sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and living areas where you want a peaceful, calming ambiance".

"Should you don't want to redecorate, you can incorporate the colour into a room with cushions, blankets and drapes."

Interior designer Another professional says although he was taken aback that Pantone's selection this year was "fundamentally the lack of pigment", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "everyone likes it but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its merits, explaining that white can work especially effectively as a backdrop for design features like wall molding and arched doorways which is a "growing trend in contemporary houses".

In apparel, white has long been a staple rather than a statement and as a Colour of the Year it poses a different challenge to designers more familiar with bold shades.

Luxury stylist Oriona Robb says elevating white feels "less about novelty and more about intention", indicating a movement towards sophistication after years of fad saturation.

"White forces designers and those who wear it alike to focus on form, scale and quality, there's really nowhere to hide," she explains.

But she adds that it also carries assumptions around self-image, lifestyle and advantage, saying: "If white is treated as something only a limited subset of people can wear well, it becomes divisive."

She says the industry is already cognizant of the uncomfortable undertones tied to lauding white as an aspirational standard, particularly during continuing conversations about inclusion and accessibility, and the true challenge will be whether "brands address that complexity authentically, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Societal Shift, Not a Fad

Stylist Katie Malik concedes the choice at first shocked her, given Pantone's track record of vibrant hues, but says it mirrors a genuine shift and fits within a broader sentiment of "quiet luxury