:focal(910x607:911x608)/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/51/73/5173307c-ef8c-4f0a-8dc2-4ae1425e600a/pan_coy_categories_place_fieldsoftflowers_2023_11-21.png "Peach Fuzz Is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2024 (1)")
A soft, pinkish-orange hue called “Peach Fuzz” is Pantone’s pick for the 2024 color of the year, the company announced last week.
Officially called “Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz,” the color is “velvety,” “gentle” and “subtly sensual,” according to the design and color authority.
Pantone is best known for its color-matching system, created in the 1960s, that numbers and organizes hues with a distinct chip format. The company also runs the Pantone Color Institute, which selects the color of the year and conducts color trend forecasting research.
This year’s choice “echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a statement.
“We chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” she adds. “A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.”
Peach Fuzz is Pantone’s 25th color of the year. The annual announcements began in 1999 to “engage the design community and color enthusiasts around the world in a conversation around color,” per astatement from Laurie Pressman, the Pantone Color Institute’s vice president.
Every year, a team of color experts examines movies, art, fashion, design, travel destinations, technologies and more to figure out which colors are influencing the world in the current moment. They also use forecasting tools, color psychology research and other sources to predict upcoming trends. From all that research, they narrow down the options to just one color that they feel sets the tone for the year ahead.
Peach Fuzz is less bold thanlast year’s choice, a bright, pink-red shade called “Viva Magenta.” But the world felt different in 2023, when Pantone “celebrated coming out of the malaise of the last year,” as Eiseman tellsCNN’s Leah Dolan. Viva Magenta was intended to evoke verve, power and grace as the world emerged from the pandemic and continued to grapple with social unrest, as NPR’s Rachel Treisman wrote last year.
Heading into 2024, however, Peach Fuzz “arrives at a dark time amid a tumultuous war and a tense election year,” as Angelica Villa writes for ARTnews. The more muted hue is meant to reflect the “need for some quiet, some peace, some respite,” Eiseman tells CNN.
Where will Peach Fuzz show up in 2024? Rugs, wallpaper, fabric, makeup, tea and more—which are all examples of products released in conjunction with Pantone’s announcement. The color is already showing up in fashion, with celebrities likeTaylor Swift and the Rock wearing Peach Fuzz to various events, notesUSA Today’s Emily DeLetter.
“It feels like another rediscovered neutral that’s meant to seep its way into every surface of our lives,” said Jeremy Allen, the art director for theNew York Times Styles Desk, in a conversation with colleagues.
Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.
/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/headshot/SarahKuta.png "Peach Fuzz Is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2024 (2)")
Sarah Kuta | READ MORE
Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.
