Every year for the past quarter century, Pantone has announced its colour for the coming year. For 2024, it's peach fuzz, a warm, enveloping shade of apricot.
Officially named Pantone 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, the inviting shade of peach is described as gentle, velvety and subtly sensual. Chosen for its ability to stir feelings of tenderness, peace and compassion, it aims to soothe a troubled world.
More than only naming a buzzword colour, Pantone tasks its experts with analysing cinema, fashion, art, design, travel and technology to distill the hues that carry the most influence. These are refined further via colour psychology research and forecasting tools, until only one remains that best encapsulates society's mood.
For example, this year's selection was an exuberant shade of hot pink called Viva Magenta that showcased the upbeat optimism of a world emerging from a pandemic. It oversaw the Barbiecore craze and, for a hot summery minute, it was like the world had turned this gregarious hue.
Fast-forward 12 months later, and the world is a different place. The state of bliss promised by the end of the pandemic has failed to materialise, several countries are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis and brutal wars have pockmarked our psyche. As are result, we are – collectively – more anxious and instinctively seeking out things that offer a semblance of calm.
Peach Fuzz is exactly this. It's an embrace of pigment to soothe and relax. It is gentle and warm, with a muted, almost faded charm, creating an air of familiar simplicity. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute, said the shade is "radiant with warmth and modern elegance" and "echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection".
The colour peach represents peace, harmony and love, and "resonates with compassion" while offering "a tactile embrace". In other words, as humans grapple with the rise of AI and communication platforms shatter our mental focus, this fuzzy shade of peach offers a momentary respite.
Trend forecasting company WGSN preceded Pantone when it named Apricot Crush its shade of 2024. Likewise, HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams deemed persimmon at the colour that best encapsulates the year to come.
Call it apricot, peach, persimmon, tangerine, cantaloupe, carrot or coral, all shades carry a similar air. And as a neutral, it is easy to slip into our lives with minimal fuss. Try it as shoes, a bag or as jewellery, or perhaps as blusher or nail paint. You can wear it as a top with jeans, as seen at Dries Van Noten, or opt for head to toe as at Stella McCartney.
The only way to wear Viva Magenta was to brazen it out and embrace the look-at-me energy. Peach Fuzz, in contrast, is discreet and subtle, lending an air of quietness without having to try to hard. Which is probably what we all really need right now.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Specs
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Range: 400km
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Torque: 175Nm
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
