Global colour authority Pantone has chosen a compassionate and nurturing soft peach shade ‘Peach Fuzz’ as its colour of the year for 2024, as it has an all-embracing spirit that enriches mind, body and soul.

Pantone has revealed yearly predictions for the colour of the year since 2000, chosen through in-depth trend forecasting, as well as socio-economic conditions, lifestyle, and political influences, such as fashion, entertainment, and travel destinations.

These colour predictions, from last year’s animated ‘Viva Magenta’ and 2022’s new shade of periwinkle blue ‘Very Peri,’ have gone on to influence new technologies, materials, textures, social media platforms and even sporting events, explains Pantone.

For 2024, the colour of the year marks its 25th anniversary, and Pantone has chosen a warm and cosy shade that conveys “a heartfelt kindness,” to compensate for what the colour authority states is a “time of turmoil” in many people’s lives. ‘Peach Fuzz’ adds a comforting presence and aims to bring “a feeling of tenderness and communicating a message of caring and sharing, community and collaboration”.

Laurie Pressman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a statement: “A cosy 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 moment by ourselves.

“Drawing comfort from Peach Fuzz, we can find peace from within, impacting our wellbeing. An idea as much as a feeling, Peach Fuzz awakens our senses to the comforting presence of tactility and cocooned warmth.”

Pantone Colour of the Year 2024 – Peach Fuzz

Pantone adds that ‘Peach Fuzz’ is “sensitive but sweet and airy,” and evokes a new modernity, while also being poetic and romantic with a vintage vibe. It is also centred on the human experience “of enriching and nurturing the mind body and soul,” as the “quietly sophisticated and contemporary” hue adds an understated lightness to the digital world.

Pressman added: “With this year’s Pantone Colour 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 colour is one whose warm and welcoming embrace conveys a message of compassion and whose cosy sensibility brings people together and enriches the soul.

“In the spirit of Peach Fuzz, we reflect back on the last 25 years of the Pantone Colour of the Year program grateful to provide an avenue where designers and colour enthusiasts all over the world can engage in a conversation about colour, be inspired by colour and showcase their creativity within their communities. We look forward to continuing this for many more years to come.”

Peach Fuzz applications in fashion and beauty

Pantone states that ‘Peach Fuzz' is softly nestled between pink and orange and is “visually arresting and inviting" and nurturing. For apparel and fashion accessories, the peach hue conveys a message of tactility and will work well with suede, velvet, quilted and furry textures, as the colour has the ability to be “luxuriously soothing and soft to the touch”.

“Peach Fuzz is an enveloping peach hue that awakens our senses to the comforting presence of tactility and cocooned warmth,” added Pantone.

For beauty, Pantone notes that the contemporary colour adds an “ethereal, reflective finish” to hair and creates a natural rosy glow, flattering complexions across a large variety of undertones. It is also a surprisingly versatile shade, as the soft peach hue enlivens the skin, adding soft warmth to eyes, lips, and cheeks “making all who wear it appear more healthy”.

The peach colour also adds a fresh and youthful vibe when paired with earthy browns and creates a more dramatic contrast when paired with deep reds and plums, meaning it will work across a wide assortment of lipstick, blush, skin tone and contouring options.

Pantone marks 25th anniversary of Colour of the Year

To highlight the comforting and tactile nature of ‘Peach Fuzz,’ Pantone has partnered with a number of brands to incorporate the colour in new ways for consumers. This includes a multi-year partnership with Motorola with the smartphone brand releasing special editions of its Razr+/40 ultra and newly launched Edge 40 neo in Peach Fuzz, while female-founded beauty brand Shades By Shan is celebrating the colour with a new lip shine, and Ruggable is incorating the soft peach hue in a new contemporary rug collection. Pantone is also working with Japanese-crafted, New York-based Ultrafabrics and Spoonflower, the print-on-demand platform for wallpaper, fabric, and home decor.