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A shade that manifests the power of quiet
Mint New Delhi
|December 12, 2025
Pantone's annual pick of a colour of the year might be a marketing tool but a blank canvas seems like just what we need at the moment
A Schiaparelli dress; and (right) a bag by Hermès.
Pantone, the self-styled colour expert, has announced the 2026 Colour of the Year: Cloud Dancer (Pantone 11-4201, to be specific). It is a soft, billowy off-white that the platform describes as “a symbol of calming influence in a frenetic society” as well as “a blank canvas” on which we can all start again. It is the first time Pantone has chosen white since it began naming a colour of the year in 1999.
Many people have reacted with surprise. Others with disdain, calling it a non colour, scrolling past it on social media, or even reading political undertones into a pale white being elevated to a trendsetter.
While Colour of the Year is more of a marketing tool for the company, could there be something poetic in the choice? After a chaotic, oversaturated fashion season, a blank canvas feels not just appropriate but necessary. Perhaps a reminder that noise is not necessary to stand out?
This story is from the December 12, 2025 edition of Mint New Delhi.
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