From fashion to beauty, a clean palette is in …
A FRESH START
When deciding on the Colour of the Year 2026, a shade designed to tie into the zeitgeist and reflect the sentiment of what is happening in the world right now, the team at Pantone settled on Cloud Dancer, a natural white, with equal undertones of coolness and warmth. This is the first time Pantone has chosen a white as its colour of the year – and perhaps unsurprisingly, the decision has sparked some controversy online.
Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute explained the choice: “We come up with the concepts based on what we are feeling, what people are telling us and what we are seeing happening in the world around us. There’s this need to refresh and to restart, to let our imagination soar. Cloud Dancer is about expressing our aspiration for a future free from toxicity and excess.”
A blank slate, the shade signifies an escape from the digital demands and overstimulation of modern life, and is meant to signal balance, reset, security, and creativity, and a calming influence. We see it as a quiet emblem of hope in an increasingly volatile world, and welcome it as a harbinger of a clean start in 2026.
CLEAN CLOTHES
Loewe
This took on a whole new meaning at Fashion Week this season. Totems of the everyday paraded down the runways in Paris and Milan during the SS26 shows, with garments that resembled those you might find in your cleaning cupboard. There were yellow opera gloves at Prada that could be mistaken for Marigolds, feather duster-style skirts at Matthieu Blazy’s debut for Chanel, and red and white tea towel stripes draped into dresses at Loewe. The fashion press noted how it harked back to Jeremy Scott’s Windex look for Moschino SS16 (worn by Bella Hadid) and corresponding fragrance, with a campaign fronted by Linda Evangelista.
Prada
Mrs Prada’s SS26 collection, entitled “At Work”, paid tribute to housekeepers, waitresses, nurses and all types of female labourers. She sent denim and frilly leather floral pinnies, as well as Hilda Ogden-style retro floral housecoats, parading down the catwalk. “The apron is my favourite piece of clothing; it is something I have been obsessed with from before even my earliest collections,” said Mrs Prada. “The apron fascinates me as an emblem. It symbolises women, from factories through to serving to the home. It is about protection and care.”
Miu Miu
But perhaps the most unlikely, most talked-about piece of clothing at Milan Fashion Week was Miu Miu’s household hero: the housecoat. Not to be mistaken as an emblem of the growing conservative TradWife movement, instead Miu Miu’s aprons are “a symbol of the effort and hardship of women”, wherever they choose to work.
CLEAN PALETTE
Paris-trained Irish designer Sharon Wauchob began her career at Louis Vuitton before founding her eponymous label in 1998. She is known for her minimalist aesthetic defined by her use of a neutral palette of black, cream and white. Her outstanding SS26 collection masterfully balances femininity and experimentation has just landed at Net-A-Porter. See also Toteme’s soft black and white collection for SS26, with clean lines and draped fabrics – a simple palette certainly makes getting dressed each morning easier.
CLEAN MAKE-UP
We’re aspiring to the fresh, luminous beauty look championed at Chanel’s Métiers d’Art show. Think light, transparent, glow-giving textures – it’s about taking time over your skincare base, and being sparing with foundation.
The key tool? Chanel’s Baume Essentiel Transparent, surely the most useful thing in any make-up bag. Even when you’re feeling less than luminous, this glowy stick highlights cheekbones, giving the impression you’re standing in the most flattering of lights. Sublimage Essence de Teint, by the way, is the best foundation you’ll ever use: it looks as though you woke up with glowy skin. More widely accessible, Poco Beauty’s Universal Glow delivers a natural fresh finish. The light-as-air lip colour used is Chanel Rouge Coco Baume in Sweet Treat. Similarly, La Mer’s cult lip balm now comes in a stick version, The Lip Treatment, with or without tint. In 2026: less is more.
CLEAN NAILS
Just as the make-up we wear all day should be kind to our skin, we are increasingly aware of treating our nails well, keeping them chemical-free. It makes sense to take breaks from gel nails, and even regular polish, to avoid dryness and damage to our nails, and to avoid the harshest chemicals in polishes. (The EU recently banned a chemical known as TPO.) The “cleanest” polishes? Check out brands such as Nailberry and CND Shellac. We rate Manucurist Active Smooth, a “treatment polish”, a sheer nail perfector that contains nail-nourishing sweet almond oil, raspberry extracts and AHA.
A neutral, glossy polished finish is flattering for all seasons. Star manicurist Harriet Westmoreland’s aesthetic is cool, clean and chic. Her own nail line features the Vanilla Gloss collection, with quietly luxurious skin tone shades. See also elegant Rose Coquille by Hermès. For good nail health, we really rate the Perfectil range of supplements.
SEE MORE: 6 New Scents We Want To Wear In 2026
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