2026 Color of the Year connects with natural fibers
Photography by Gail Zucker
When I saw that Pantone selected Cloud Dancer, a soft, billowy white, as its 2026 Color of the Year, I couldn't help but smile. This feels like our moment.
This balanced white with equal parts cool and warm undertones is exactly what we see every day in our regional fleeces at the Northeast Fiber Exchange, at festivals’ fleece shows, and on member farms. From creamy ivory Romney wool to light tan (moorit) Cormo, charcoal Shetland to the luminous white of Border Leicester, from beige-toned alpaca to the pure white of Angora mohair—our fiber animals have been creating this year's most celebrated palette all along.
“Cloud Dancer represents a desire for fresh starts and quiet reflection - exactly the values our farmers and makers embody in their work.”
Even better, Pantone's accompanying color palettes pair Cloud Dancer with powdered pastels, earthy tones, muted greens, moody blues, and natural browns. These are the exact shades we can achieve through natural dyeing! The "Comfort Zone" palette with its natural rose and sand tones, the "Powdered Pastels" collection—we can create all of this with dye plants growing right here in the Northeast. Think dusty rose from madder root, soft yellow from goldenrod, gentle blue from our native indigo, and warm peach tones from coreopsis and marigolds.
Pastel and neutral tones compatible with Cloud Dancer.
Image by Pantone.
Cloud Dancer represents a desire for fresh starts and quiet reflection - exactly the values our farmers and makers embody in their work. The color emphasizes natural shades, celebrating the organic authenticity that defines what we do.
This is a real opportunity for us. As the design world embraces Cloud Dancer's serenity, let's tell the story we've been living: our animals, our plants, our region have been creating these beautiful, sustainable palettes all along. We don't need to chase trends—we ARE the trend.
