Pantone has announced its Color of the Year for 2024: Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, a velvety peach shade in between pink and orange. The launch also marks the 25th anniversary of the Pantone Color of the Year program.
“A cozy peach hue softly nestled between pink and orange, Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz brings belonging, inspires recalibration, and an opportunity for nurturing, conjuring up an air of calm, offering us a space to be, feel and heal and to flourish from whether spending time with others or taking the time to enjoy a moment by ourselves,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a statement. “Drawing comfort from Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, we can find peace from within, impacting our wellbeing. An idea as much as a feeling, Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz awakens our senses to the comforting presence of tactility and cocooned warmth.”
The color, the statement continued, evokes a “new modernity.” The contemporary peach hue has a “gentle lightness [that] is understated but impactful, bringing beauty to the digital world.”
The Pantone Color Institute kicked off the Color of the Year in 1999 with Pantone 15-4020 Cerulean Blue, the Pantone Color of the Year is meant to reflect the mood and attitude of consumers.
“With this year’s Pantone Color of the Year 2024, we see an increased focus on community and people across the world reframing how they want to live and evaluating what is important—that being the comfort of being close to those we love. The color is one whose warm and welcoming embrace conveys a message of compassion and whose cozy sensibility brings people together and enriches the soul,” said Laurie Pressman, VP of the Pantone Color Institute. “In the spirit of Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, we reflect back on the last 25 years of the Pantone Color of the Year program grateful to provide an avenue where designers and color enthusiasts all over the world can engage in a conversation about color, be inspired by color and showcase their creativity within their communities. We look forward to continuing this for many more years to come.”
Ultrafabrics
Fabric company Ultrafabrics, also celebrating its 25th anniversary, is Pantone's official interiors partner for the 2024 Color of the Year.
Kimberle Frost, a consultant with Ultrafabrics, compared Peach Fuzz with last year's vivid Viva Magenta hue, describing it as “more of a challenge” than Viva Magenta. “It's so light,” she said of the color, describing it as chameleon-like in the way it complements darker tones. Frost is developing a “warm and grounded” palette of colors that compliment Peach Fuzz, including an apricot “that's a little deeper,” a bright mustard, a light ivory and “even a deep merlot color.” By partnering Peach Fuzz with neutral tones, she added, the gentler pink becomes a pop of color.
Ultrafabrics' AI-generated Peach Fuzz-colored image of a bird in its next is meant to evoke the hue's sense of sanctuary, Frost said—which fits in well with hospitality. “We’re seeking sanctuary,” she said, and added that she is seeing “restorative color palettes” in hospitality settings “because people are searching and want to be home. And I don't think that's going to change, either, because I think we now are demanding those kinds of environments to be a little bit more calming and restorative.” Ultrafabrics’ material is soft, she added, “so it lends itself to this kind of restorative feeling of the built environment.”
Frost expects to see Ultrafabrics’ Peach Fuzz materials used in upholstery and headboards in hotel spaces, and also noted it could be used for acoustical applications. “It has a leather-like quality that's very elevated.”
“As Ultrafabrics celebrates its quarter century as a successful business, we are thrilled to be working with Pantone for the Pantone Color of the Year 2024 as the expert in the interior environment,” said Nicole Meier, director of branding at Ultrafabrics. “Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz is everything that our fabric is about: haptics, warmth and comfort. This color, and its meaning, could not be more perfect for us this year.”
Barry Silverman, vice president of marketing and branding at Ultrafabrics, said last year’s brand partnership was successful and inspired a number of specifiers and designers. “This coming year, while celebrating both the brands’ mutual milestones, we will continue to explore the intersection of color, culture, and emerging technology that will engage our audience.”
“The Pantone Color of the Year 2024 in its essence fosters community and collaboration. We are excited to continue our work with industry leader Ultrafabrics to explore the application of the Pantone Color of the Year 2024 in the interior design world and beyond,” said Elley Cheng, vice president and general manager of Pantone.