https://www.pantone.com/articles/color-of-the-year/color-of-...
http://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/macos-cat...
I was kind of wondering why that was suddenly a thing. I don't know if that was somehow directly or indirectly motivated by pantone, but it certainly has been a headscratcher for me for some time and this could answer why that is happening.
There are some downstream effects, but they are overwhelmingly not relevant to fashion design, no matter what their marketing material claims.
Pantone sells color chips. They are not designers, and they do not make or sell fashion.
The color of the year is just a marketing stunt which the media laps up, but the fashion industry completely ignores.
I did repaint my bedroom with an accent wall that's just about the exact shade of blue that is their 2020 color of the year. Not because Pantone told me to, but maybe because their selection of that color led it to be more prominently placed/advertised when I started picking new paint colors.
Tough to say, and your question is too oversimplistic to make sense as part of the discussion.
"Twice a year Pantone hosts, in a European capital, a secret meeting of representatives from various nations' color standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a color for the following year."
"OVER 20 YEARS OF INFLUENCING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PURCHASING DECISIONS"
https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-archive