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For anyone who has spent a long time living in rental properties, confronted by the same landlord-approved beige walls and longing for injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might seem like a personal attack.

This year, the influential color company has designated white as its flagship hue.

In detail, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white characterized as "elevated" and "airy" which "serves as a emblem of calming influence in a society rediscovering the importance of quiet reflection".

It signifies the initial instance a pure white has been honored as the Colour of the Year, and it has generated significant controversy.

According to Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a philosophy" and signifies a shared yearning to slow down, recalibrate and find calm after years of visual overload.

But some commentators have branded the decision as "Pantonedeaf", arguing that elevating sparse and immaculate white spaces can seem disconnected from the more compact, messier homes most people call home.

Additional critics contend that presenting white as aspirational carries subtext related to race, creating unease amid ongoing political and cultural conversations about race and representation.

Soothing or Stark?

Designer One design critic says the counter-reaction goes beyond aesthetics, arguing that white carries cultural undertones and is seldom a neutral choice.

"The color white sends a message," he says, shaped by a decade of sparse star homes – most notably Kim Kardashian's stripped-back home – that came to epitomize "affluence, order and distance from disorder".

He explains that white is "not about inspiration but being careful not to offend", with Cloud Dancer embodying "austerity, moral minimalism and the idea that neutrality denotes virtue".

The designer cites the global health crisis as a defining period in how people relate to their homes.

"Almost instantly they became our offices, refuges and sources of stability," he says, stating that in this context, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "further visual emptiness feels rather out of step".

Instead of providing calm, he believes white now threatens to amplifying "a feeling of desolation", especially when combined with harsh, sterile lighting.

'Sterile Sensations

An interior designer, a Surrey based design expert, agrees and says Cloud Dancer "is not perceived as a colour" and is "completely rejected for me".

Although it may suit extremely sparse or architectural spaces, she says pure white shades seldom foster calm in everyday living spaces.

"What looks serene in a professional photo can readily seem sterile at home," she explains.

"The color white may seem harsh and unforgiving and you wouldn't wish your home to emit a medical atmosphere."

She continues that "homes should spark joy and be warm and lived-in, and this hue seems quite distant from that."

The critic hopes that homeowners will disregard the Pantone Colour of the Year in favour of "full-scale joyful interior design", using colour to express personality.

The vice president of the Pantone Colour Institute commented that people "have varied interpretations" to the significance of the colour, but it was selected as it "integrates perfectly with everything around it, offering a sophisticated impartiality that feels deliberate and versatile".

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

Past choices have included the optimism of a vibrant pink-orange, the calm confidence of a deep blue, the energy of a bold pink-red, and more recently softer, emotionally driven tones like Peach Fuzz.

These hues don't just live on style predictions - they appear in clothing lines, cosmetic products, interiors, product wrapping and even technology, influencing how products are marketed and how consumers envision the year ahead.

A style and trend expert, says Cloud Dancer is a "beautiful choice" and while it may appear basic, "this specific hue seems gentle and elegant rather than severe".

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

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

Interior designer James Mellan-Matulewicz says although he was surprised that Pantone's pick this year was "fundamentally the absence of colour", it is a bit like vanilla ice cream, in that "it is universally accepted but it's nobody's favourite".

He can see its merits, noting that white can work especially effectively as a background for design features like wall molding and arched doorways which is a "rising style in contemporary houses".

In fashion, white has long been a basic rather than a bold declaration and as a Colour of the Year it poses a different challenge to designers more accustomed to bold shades.

Fashion consultant A styling expert says elevating white feels "less about novelty and more about intention", reflecting a shift towards sophistication after years of fad saturation.

"White forces designers and those who wear it alike to focus on shape, proportion and craftsmanship, there's really nowhere to hide," she clarifies.

But she adds that it also holds assumptions around self-image, way of life and advantage, saying: "When white is treated as something only a limited subset of people can pull off, it becomes divisive."

She says the fashion world is already aware of the problematic connotations tied to celebrating white as an aspirational standard, particularly during ongoing conversations about representation and approachability, and the true challenge will be whether "companies engage with that nuance honestly, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Societal Shift, Not a Fad

Style consultant Another expert admits the choice initially surprised 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