The Pantone Color Institute has unveiled its Color of the Year for 2026: Cloud Dancer. Which is a fancy term for a basic, nondescript shade of white that looks more like a light gray.
Pantone’s Color of the Year isn’t chosen at random. It’s supposed to reflect the cultural zeitgeist. Every year, Pantone analyzes fashion, design, pop culture and the overall direction the world is heading. The color they pick is supposed to be a statement of how we’re living or what we’re craving.
So when Pantone chooses white for the first time in history, what exactly does that say about the state of the world?
From warmth to bland in one year
Cloud Dancer is a downgrade from the color Pantone picked for 2025. Mocha Mousse is a warm chocolate brown that reflects the comfort the shade is supposed to convey. It’s meant to represent the simple pleasures we can share with others. It made sense for a time when people were looking for softness amid constant stress.
Is white even a color?
Part of the backlash is philosophical. Many people are asking whether white even counts as a color at all. When Cloud Dancer was announced on the TODAY show, Al Roker summed up the public reaction by stating, “otherwise known as white.”
The decision to declare white as the color of the year is bolder than the shade of white they picked. It doesn’t challenge or inspire anyone.
The current climate makes it worse
This decision is hard to swallow when you factor in timing. It’s a little troubling that Pantone would make Cloud Dancer the color of 2026 at a time when white nationalism is on the rise. Whether Pantone was trying to send a message doesn’t matter. The fact that nobody stopped to consider the symbolism is a problem.
Pantone said that skin tones didn’t play a part in the decision. Maybe that’s true but intent doesn’t erase its impact. Tensions around race, power, and identity are already high. Choosing white as the color to represent the collective mood is extremely tone-deaf.
Cloud Dancer as a sign of the times
2025 has been a rough, even depressing year for some people. People are worried about the economy. AI and how it’ll impact everything. Billionaires gaining more political power. The demise of democracy.
It would have been nice to see Pantone pick a more vibrant color. Maybe purple which represents spirituality and wisdom. Red symbolizes courage, bravery and passion. Yellow is associated with optimism and energy.
Hell, black would have been a choice over white! At least black is tied to luxury, power, and sophistication.
Cloud Dancer doesn’t represent reflection or a calming influence. It’s a reminder of how the world has been stripped of its vibrancy.
