"Transformative Teal" Is 2026 Color of the Year According to WGSN and Coloro
It’s a bolder choice compared to Pantone’s muted "Cloud Dancer."
by Jam Nitura
Published on Dec 6, 2025
WGSN and Coloro have crowned “Transformative Teal” as the 2026 Color of the Year. They reinforced their 2024 prediction shortly after Pantone gave the designation to “Cloud Dancer,” a billowy, balanced white, met with more than a few raised eyebrows. If you’re one such critic who prefers a bolder shade to define your 2026, then fret not because you do have a second option.
“Transformative Teal” Is 2026 Color of the Year
Transformative Teal is described as a fusion between “dependable dark blue and aquatic green.” Marked by a sense of freshness, calm, and restoration, it also symbolizes change and redirection as more consumers are projected to demand ecological responsibility from companies over the next year.
According to WGSN, “old ideas will be challenged as people demand urgent changes to how we treat our societies, organise our industries, and cooperate with our environments.”
Aside from signaling a major eco-conscious shift, Transformative Teal came to the fore after the global trend forecasting company saw an increase in green and blue purchase-related search results last year. Teal, in particular, stood out with a 9% search increase year-over-year on Google Trends.
WGSN and Coloro vs. Pantone: What’s the Difference?
WGSN is the world’s leading consumer trend forecaster. Their findings help guide businesses across various sectors, including fashion and beauty, in steering their future direction, to better appeal to their customers’ demands. Their collaboration with the color system Coloro predicts the defining color of a certain year in advance. In fact, they already named the 2027 Color of the Year, Luminous Blue, back in 2025, while Transformative Teal was decided in 2024.
Pantone, on the other hand, chooses their Color of the Year depending on the current global mood. It should represent the zeitgeist as “reflected through the language of color.” In brief, WGSN and Coloro’s COTY look to the future, while Pantone’s is indicative of the now.
At the end of the day, trends are merely trends. Whether you’re filling your wardrobe with Transformative Teal or your adhering to the tranquil, minimalist movement of Cloud Dancer, how much they inform your personal style is wholly up to you.