This new year 2026, the runway will be swaying in the newly revealed ‘COLOR OF THE YEAR’ – CLOUD DANCER (Pantone11-4201). In a world, where color has become synonymous with personal expression, this is a shade that can adapt, harmonize, and create contrast, bringing a feeling of airy lightness to all product applications and environments, whether making a standalone statement or combined with other hues.
It’s a Lofty white neutral color, whose aerated presence acts as a whisper of calm and peace in a noisy world. This pantone shade cloud dancer symbolises calming influence in the society, discovering the value of quiet reflection. A Billowing white imbued with serenity, invites true Relaxation and focus, allowing the mind to wander and creativity to breathe. In motion and in pause, this Pantone shade Cloud Dancer, drifts between light and ethereal, a living calm that invites renewal, vision in serenity and creative release
“At this time of transformation, when we are reimagining our future and our place in the world, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is a discrete white hue offering a promise of clarity. The cacophony that surrounds us has become overwhelming, making it harder to hear the voices of our inner selves. A conscious statement of simplification, Cloud Dancer enhances our focus, providing release from the distraction of external influences.”
Leatrice Eiseman
Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute
ABOUT PANTONE
PANTONE recognized globally as a leading source of color expertise, Pantone Color Institute provides color insights and solutions; collaborating with their clients to strategically address color challenges and develop a color and design approach, consistent with their brand vision. Visualising what is mostly being liked by the masses and their own research teamwork, this is for the first time that this hue of white has been announced as the color of the year.
Pantone provides a universal language of color that enables color-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for the brands and the manufacturers. More than 10 million designers from the field of fashion, interior, graphic design, product design etc. and producers around the world rely on Pantone products to help define, communicate and control color from inspiration to realization – leveraging advanced X-Rite technology to achieve color consistency across various materials and finishes.
Pantone Standards feature digital and physical color specification and workflow tools. The Pantone Color Institute™ provides customized color standards, brand identity and product color consulting as well as trend forecasting inclusive of Pantone Color of the Year, Fashion Runway Color Trend Reports, color psychology and more.
Source: Pantone
THE COLOR PALETTES
Source: Pantone Website
PANTONE CLOUD DANCER COLABORATIONS
Cultivating calm and relaxation, Joybird is an interior design brand spread across the world that combines aesthetics to interior, and blends textures and visual appeal amongst its clients. The exclusive Joybird x Pantone collaboration fulfills our longing for harmony at home with invitingly tactile fabrics that evoke serenity and inspire quiet reflection.
SERENITY YOU CAN FEEL
From silky eyelash-yarns to distressed textured chenille, and dense mohair velvets, this collection combines Pantone’s colours with touchable textures to help ground your space.
COMPLIMENT YOUR TRANQUILITY
The perfect companion to this year’s hue, PANTONE 14-4510 Aquatic enhances the airy quality of Cloud Dancer for the ultimate space to unwind.
SOURCE: Joybird x Pantone Collaboration is here
Mandarin Oriental x Pantone is transforming into a place to touch the clouds with 10 unique interpretations of the campaign in its exceptional properties around the world. Discover a place to touch the clouds, where only at Mandarin Oriental can you see, feel, taste, and touch the Pantone Color of the Year 2026, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer. From curated Cloud Dancer afternoon tea sets and oxygenating spa treatments to luxurious stays high up in the clouds and Cloud Dancer post boxes for letters to Santa, there’s truly something for everyone.
SWEET FESTIVITIES
Sample Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen’s PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer themed sweet treats, including an adorably festive white-chocolate penguin.
WHITE NIGHTS
Soak up the winter sun in Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech with festive brunches at the Pool Garden and Hidden Party guest DJs, immersed in cloud-white décor and the joy of the holiday season.
SOURCE: Mandrin Oriental
The Pantone Color of the Year partnership continues this legacy, introducing a hue that embodies the limitless creative possibilities of a blank canvas where every great idea comes to life. Celebrating 70 years of imagination with Play-Doh x Pantone Color of the Year 2026, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer. A serene white that invites calm, creativity, and connection, because sometimes the best play starts with a blank canvas.
PLAY-DOH
Celebrating 70 years of imagination with Play-Doh and Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer. The serene white invites calm, creativity, and connection, because sometimes the best play starts with a blank canvas.
SOURCE: Play-Doh
When Pantone’s mastery of colour meets Motorola’s iconic design legacy, technology becomes an artistic innovation. Together, we’re redefining what it means to connect through devices that express individuality, inspire creativity, and celebrate the beauty of human connection.
MOTOROLA PANTONE
Motorola and Pantone celebrate the 2026 Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer, a billowy white hue imbued with a feeling of serenity. Inspired by peaceful energy and the beauty of new beginnings, a new Motorola device is coming soon, wrapped in Cloud Dancer.
PANTONE SHADES OF PAST 5 YEARS
"Similar to a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies our desire for a fresh start. Peeling away layers of outmoded thinking, we open the door to new approaches. An airy white hue, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer opens up space for creativity, allowing our imagination to drift so that new insights and bold ideas can emerge and take shape."
Laurie Pressman
Vice President, Pantone Color Institute
