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For anyone who has spent a long time renting, staring at the same landlord-approved magnolia walls and yearning for adding some actual personality to their home, Pantone's new Colour of the Year might be perceived as a personal attack.

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

To be precise, the shade is called Cloud Dancer – a white touted as "lofty" and "airy" which "serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society re-evaluating the importance of stillness".

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

Per Pantone, Cloud Dancer "is not just a colour, it's a mindset" and embodies a shared desire to decelerate, reset and seek peace after years of aesthetic chaos.

But some commentators have dubbed the decision as "insensitive", suggesting that promoting sparse and pristine white spaces can seem distant from the more compact, messier homes everyday individuals occupy.

Others contend that framing white as aspirational risks racial undertones, creating unease amid current societal conversations about race and representation.

Sterile or Serene?

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

"White is a signal," he says, shaped by a decade of minimalist celebrity interiors – most notably Kim Kardashian's austere home – that came to represent "affluence, order and removal from chaos".

He clarifies that white is "not intended to inspire but taking care not to offend", with Cloud Dancer embodying "restraint, moral minimalism and the notion that impartiality denotes virtue".

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

"Suddenly they became our offices, refuges and emotional anchors," he says, stating that against this backdrop, directing the Colour of the Year towards "more aesthetic barrenness feels rather disconnected".

Rather than offering calm, he contends white now risks intensifying "a sense of desolation", especially when combined with cool, clinical lighting.

'A Clinical Atmosphere

An interior designer, a UK-based interior designer, agrees and says Cloud Dancer "doesn't really read as a colour" and is "completely rejected for me".

Although it may suit highly minimal or architectural spaces, she says bright whites rarely create calm in real homes.

"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 don't want your home to emit hospital vibes."

She adds that "homes should elicit happiness and feel warm and welcoming, and this shade feels quite distant from that."

The critic expresses a desire that homeowners will disregard the Pantone Colour of the Year in preference for "full-scale dopamine décor", using colour to showcase personality.

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

Beginning in 2000, Pantone's Colour of the Year has evolved into a powerful trend indicator.

Past choices have featured the optimism of Living Coral, the serene assurance of Classic Blue, the vibrancy of a bold pink-red, and more recently softer, emotionally driven tones like a soft peach.

These colours don't just live on trend forecasts - they appear in clothing lines, cosmetic products, interiors, packaging and even technology, shaping how products are marketed and how consumers imagine the coming year.

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

Contrary to those who say the colour is boring, Robinson sees it as "adaptable" and says it's best used in "sleeping quarters and living areas where you want a serene, restful ambiance".

"Even if you don't want to repaint, you can introduce the colour into a room with pillows, throws and curtains."

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 a basic flavor, in that "everyone likes it but it's not a top choice".

He can see its merits, noting that white can work particularly well as a background for architectural details like wall molding and curved entries which is a "rising style in modern homes".

In apparel, white has long been a basic rather than a statement and as a Colour of the Year it presents a different challenge to designers more accustomed to vibrant colors.

Luxury stylist A styling expert says championing white feels "not focused on newness and more concerned with purpose", indicating a shift towards refinement after years of trend overloads.

"White forces designers and wearers alike to focus on form, scale and craftsmanship, there's really no room for error," she explains.

But she continues that it also carries assumptions around self-image, way of life and privilege, stating: "If white is treated as something only a limited subset of people can wear well, it becomes divisive."

She says the fashion world is already cognizant of the uncomfortable undertones tied to celebrating white as an ideal, particularly amid continuing conversations about representation and approachability, and the true challenge will be whether "companies address that complexity authentically, or simply glamorize the colour".

A Reflection of the Times

Style consultant Another expert admits the choice at first surprised her, considering Pantone's track record of bold colours, but says it reflects a genuine shift and fits within a wider mood of "quiet luxury