The new wife of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and I have something in common. Jodie Haydon and I have both worn Pantone’s Colour of 2026 in the past few days and probably didn’t realise we were at the pointy end of a trend tsunami.

You have most likely nailed this fashion moment too, since the self-appointed judges at colour management company Pantone have made white the colour of the year for the first time in the award’s 26-year history. Rather than call it white, it is officially Cloud Dancer, Pantone 11-4201.

“An ethereal white hue, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer serves as a symbol of calming influence in a frenetic society rediscovering the value of measured consideration and quiet reflection,” the Pantone press release says.

“Similar to a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies our desire for a fresh start.”

Or does it signal giving up? Following on the heels of 2025’s Mocha Mousse and 2024’s Peach Fuzz, Cloud Dancer seems like a swing and a miss. It’s guaranteed to show up on the runway on wedding dresses to rival Haydon’s exquisite Romance Was Born creation, plain T-shirts, like those in Demna’s new collection for Gucci and the shirts of nearly every suited businessperson.

Unlike Mocha Mousse, which was an accurate depiction of runway trends, with brown seeping into most people’s wardrobe’s during the year, making it to the Oscars red carpet on the suits of Andrew Garfield and Succession’s Jeremy Strong, and trickling down as far as the Brownlow red carpet, white hasn’t packed the same punch.

The international runways have been filled with optimistic colours with more drive than the neutral appeal of Cloud Dancer. Naming cerulean blue as the colour of 2026 would have been perfect timing for the upcoming release of the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.

Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly has fresh material for a new monologue dedicated to the colour following sightings at the spring/summer 2026 collections on the runways at Valentino, Fendi, Dior and Miu Miu.

Coral was another standout at Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks in September and October, with Balenciaga and Chanel going bold with the red shade that flirts outrageously with orange.

Even chartreuse, a difficult colour to pull off, with Nicole Kidman at the 1997 Oscars in a Dior dress offering a rare exception to the rule, would have given the awards some edge, having been seen at Loewe and Valentino’s shows.

Along with signalling a fresh start, white also signals wealth. Keeping your Cloud Dancer items from being taken over by grey urban grit or sunrise perspiration stains takes a lot of laundry detergent or dry cleaning.

There are also uncomfortable political connotations to making Cloud Dancer the colour of the year with the disturbing rise of white nationalist groups around the globe.

If Pantone was unable to take a colour stand this year, they might have been better taking a year off and waving the Cloud Dancer-coloured flag.

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