Pantone, a global color authority and provider of professional color language standards and digital solutions for the design community, has introduced Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer as the Pantone Color of the Year selection for 2026. An ethereal white hue, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer provides a calming influence in a frenzied society rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection.
Similar to blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies a desire for a fresh start. Pantone says the color encourages relaxation and focus that allows the mind to wander and creativity to breathe.
“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,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “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.”
Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, adds that Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer exemplifies, “our search for balance between our digital future and our primal need for human connection.”
Pantone offers several applications of its Color of the Year 2026. Pantone says Cloud Dancer offers versatility, providing scaffolding for the whole color spectrum.
With apparel, Pantone 11-4201 is a great anchor for monochromatic dressing and acts as a conscious statement of simplification, whether worn in a classic button-down T-shirt or in activewear. Textures ranging from down- and foam-filled cloth to fluffy and hairy furs to plush and lofty wools all incorporate this color. This color also lends itself well to floaty chiffons and fluid jersey fabrics that are easy to wear and move in.
Pantone says Cloud Dancer also mixes effortlessly with every color, offering quiet sophistication. Soft pieces from chunky knits to natural fibers wrap and conform, while hard structured accessories including fine and fashion jewelry, eyewear, belts, hand bags, footwear and sneakers introduce an understated sophistication.
Just as in fashion, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer displays a state of simplification, encouraging relaxation and quiet focus. Pantone says the color invites a space where function and feeling intertwine to build atmospheres of serenity and spaciousness. A key structural color, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer brings a feeling of airy lightness to all product applications and environments, whether used on its own or with other hues.
Some products have already embraced the 2026 Pantone Color of the Year. As part of its ongoing multi-year partnership with Panton, Motorola is introducing a special edition of the Motorola edge 70 in Pantone Color of the Year 2026, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer.
Play-Doh has also announced plans to partner with Pantone this year. The maker of popular modeling compound plans to offer a new Play-Doh x Pantone Color of the Year 2026 Cloud Dancer option for customers.
Some other companies and brands partnering to debut Color of the Year 2026 products include Post-it, Pura, Mandarin Oriental and Joybird.
