TRENDS
CLOUD DANCER
Brands Bask in Pantone’s 2026 Shade of Serenity FTER THE EARTHY WARMTH
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the mood of the moment, are already leaning in. From Play-Doh pots in creamy porcelain tones to Post-It’s elevated Neutrality Collection, the shade is finding its way into everyday rituals with surprising elegance. Mandarin Oriental’s spa and afternoon tea experiences will be wrapped in this minimalist hue—proof that even luxury hospitality sees serenity as the next frontier of indulgence. Spotify, for its first collaboration with Pantone, translates the color into sound, offering curated playlists that echo its tonal calm and emotional clarity. Tech isn’t far behind. Motorola extends its partnership with Pantone through a Cloud Dancer edition of its Edge 70—a smartphone distilled to sleek, quiet refinement. In an age of overstimulated screens and loud design statements, its restraint feels radical. Behind the annual reveal is Pantone’s year-long study of cultural
rhythm: shifts in taste, longing, visual appetite, digital fatigue, and the return to tactile living. Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, calls Cloud Dancer a bridge—“a balance between our digital horizon and our primal need for genuine connection.” It is not just a paint chip or runway swatch, but an aesthetic reset: a crisp, untouched surface offering creative permission. Pantone’s influence continues to extend beyond palettes and product drops. From shaping Tiffany Blue to defining Coke Red, the brand has long been the quiet architect of visual culture. Now, with physical activations and immersive campaigns, Pantone is no longer simply forecasting trends—it’s curating how we experience them. Cloud Dancer, in the end, is more than white. It is pause, perspective, and possibility—an unpainted moment in which design can exhale again. EC
of last year’s Mocha Mousse, the design world is shifting its gaze toward something quieter,
softer, and profoundly more spacious. Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer, arrives as a breath of air in an overstimulated era—a white that isn’t sterile nor stark, but “billowy and balanced,” imbued with calm intention. According to The Pantone Color Institute, its selection speaks to a society relearning thoughtful pace, measured pleasure, and the luxury of simplicity. As with every Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer is less prediction and more cultural mirror. It sets the emotional register for beauty, interiors, fashion, retail, and tech. While Mocha Mousse draped runways and living rooms in nostalgic warmth, Cloud Dancer invites a different frequency: soft edges, quiet palettes, and unhurried design. And brands, ever attuned to
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