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For anyone who has spent a long time renting, confronted by the same landlord-approved beige walls and yearning for injecting personal style to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might be perceived as a personal attack.

This year, the renowned color company has chosen a shade of white as its premier hue.

To be precise, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "lofty" and "billowy" which "serves as a emblem of tranquility in a society re-learning the importance of introspection".

It marks the first time a pure white has been picked as the Colour of the Year, and it has generated significant controversy.

As stated by Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a philosophy" and embodies a shared urge to decelerate, recalibrate and achieve serenity after years of visual overload.

But some commentators have dubbed the decision as "Pantonedeaf", contending that championing sparse and pristine white spaces can seem distant from the more compact, messier homes most people call home.

Additional critics argue that positioning white as an ideal carries racial undertones, creating unease amid ongoing political and cultural conversations about race and representation.

Sterile or Serene?

Designer Chris Beaumont says the backlash transcends aesthetics, arguing that white holds deeper meanings and is rarely a innocuous choice.

"White is a signal," he says, influenced by a decade of minimalist celebrity interiors – most famously Kim Kardashian's stripped-back home – that came to epitomize "affluence, order and removal from chaos".

He clarifies that white is "not intended to inspire but being careful not to offend", with Cloud Dancer representing "austerity, moral minimalism and the concept that neutrality signifies virtue".

The designer cites the pandemic as a defining period in how people perceive their homes.

"Almost instantly they became our workspaces, sanctuaries and sources of stability," he says, adding that against this backdrop, pushing the Colour of the Year towards "further visual emptiness feels rather tone-deaf".

Instead of offering calm, he believes white now threatens to amplifying "a sense of emptiness", particularly when combined with harsh, sterile lighting.

'Hospital Vibes'

Lara Clark, a UK-based design expert, agrees and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "completely rejected for me".

Although it may work in highly minimal or structural spaces, she says pure white shades rarely create calm in everyday living spaces.

"What looks serene in a styled shoot can easily seem sterile at home," she explains.

"White can feel stark and unforgiving and you don't want your home to emit clinical feelings."

She continues that "living spaces should elicit happiness and be warm and welcoming, 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 "have varied interpretations" to the meaning of the colour, but it was chosen as it "integrates perfectly with everything around it, providing a sophisticated impartiality that feels deliberate and adaptable".

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

Past choices have included the hopefulness of a vibrant pink-orange, the calm confidence of Classic Blue, the energy of a bold pink-red, and most recently softer, feeling-based tones like a soft peach.

These hues extend beyond style predictions - they appear in fashion collections, beauty launches, interiors, packaging and even technology, influencing how products are marketed and how consumers imagine the coming year.

A style and trend expert, says Cloud Dancer is a "elegant choice" and while it may appear simple, "this particular shade seems gentle and elegant rather than stark".

In contrast to those who say the colour is boring, the expert sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "bedrooms and communal spaces where you want a peaceful, restful ambiance".

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

Interior designer Another professional says although he was taken aback that Pantone's pick this year was "fundamentally the absence of colour", it is a bit like a basic flavor, in that "it is universally accepted but it's not a top choice".

He can see its benefits, explaining that white can work particularly well as a background for architectural details like panelling and arched doorways which is a "growing trend in contemporary houses".

In apparel, white has long been a basic rather than a bold declaration and as a Colour of the Year it poses a unique test to designers more familiar with vibrant colors.

Fashion consultant A styling expert says championing white feels "less about novelty and more about intention", reflecting a movement towards sophistication after years of trend overloads.

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

But she adds that it also carries presumptions around self-image, lifestyle and advantage, saying: "When white is treated as something only a narrow group of people can wear well, it becomes exclusionary."

She says the fashion world is already aware of the uncomfortable undertones associated with lauding white as an ideal, especially during ongoing conversations about representation and accessibility, and the true challenge will be whether "companies engage with that nuance authentically, or simply aestheticise the colour".

A Cultural Mood, Not a Trend

Style consultant Another expert concedes the choice at first surprised her, considering Pantone's history of vibrant hues, but says it mirrors a genuine shift and fits within a wider mood of "quiet luxury