In a year of political turmoil, DEI rollbacks and Sydney Sweeney’s controversial “good genes” campaign for American Eagle, the folks at Pantone have chosen to make the color of the year — wait for it — white.
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More specifically, the trend-setting color brand named PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer its color of the year, calling it, “a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection.”
The response online has been anything but calm, with discourse ranging from “this is boring” to “this is tone deaf at best and a dog whistle at worst.”
In an article subtitled, “Maybe DEI is really over,” Vanity Fair style correspondent José Criales-Unzueta writes:
The whole thing sounds like it was lifted from a late-night show comedy skit. After a year of efforts by the Trump administration and corporations to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, alongside aggressive immigration crackdowns, it feels bold, and dare I say out of touch, to utter the words “white is the color of 2026.”
Checking out Instagram, there were plenty of reaction videos, along with alternatives to Pantone’s mayonnaisey pick, including “Dumpster Fire Orange” and a plethora of green shades, which were popular predictions in the days ahead of the announcement.
Other responses leaned less on the political and more on the boring aspect of choosing white as the color of the year. At a time when home design is (finally) emerging from “flipper gray” in every home, there seems to be a desire to bring color back into the design world on all fronts.
That was reflected in the color of the year choices from many other design houses, most of which went in a completely different tonal direction — and which tended to lean into warm, earthy, natural colors. These included:
- Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2026: Silhouette AF-655, which takes its inspiration from “a renewed interest in suiting and classic silhouettes, and the growing interest in the brown color family.”
- Sherwin-Williams & HGTV by Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year 2026: Universal Khaki, characterized as “an anchoring mid-tone tan that’s earthy and simple but also feels quietly luxurious.”
- Krylon Color of the Year 2026: Coffee Bean, which is “not quite black, not quite brown, Coffee Bean strikes the balance between warm and edgy.”
- Behr Color of the Year 2026: Hidden Gem is described “as a smoky jade that embodies an air of mystery and sophistication.”
- Glidden Color of the Year 2026: Warm Mahogany, which is either “brown with red undertones, or red with brown undertones — however you look at it.”
- Valspar Color of the Year 2026: Warm Eucalyptus, “a rich sage green with warm undertones.”
While Pantone hasn’t officially responded to the online criticism of this year’s color choice, Pantone VP Laurie Pressman reportedly told Marie Claire, “Skin tones did not factor into this at all. With Peach Fuzz and Mocha Mousse, people were asking if this was about skin tones. And I think we were going, ‘Wow, really?’ Because, for us, it’s really about, at such a basic level, what are people looking for that colour can hope to answer?”
Of course, from a marketing standpoint, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and the controversy may be part of the point. All in all, this year’s controversial choice provides a useful reminder that when it comes to style and design, personal preference may be the best arbiter of good taste.
