Pantone has unveiled its color of the year 2025, continuing its annual tradition of predicting the hue that will influence design trends worldwide. The pick for next year is “Mocha Mousse,” also known as PANTONE 17-1230, a soft, creamy brown that reflects a return to nature, according to the brand. Typically, the company selects a shade that it believes will reflect the cultural zeitgeist in the coming year. The color of the year 2024 was “Peach Fuzz”, a peachy orange shade.
“Mocha Mousse” is described by Pantone as “a soft and evocative brown that transports our senses to the pleasure and delight it inspires.” In addition, the company stated in its press release, the shade “nourishes with its suggestion of the delicious quality of cocoa, chocolate and coffee, appealing to our desire for comfort.”
Pantone’s Color of the Year program, now in its 26th year, began with 1999’s “Cerulean Blue,” a soothing sky blue. Since then, the selection has become an indicator of emerging trends in industries, from fashion and interiors to technology and art. Other recent colors of the year included “Viva Magenta” (2023), a vibrant purple-red, and “Very Peri” (2022), a dark periwinkle blue.
Pantone, whose color system is widely used by designers around the world, is seen as an authority on the definition and naming of shades. The company will collaborate with brands such as Motorola and Joybird to create “Mocha Mousse” products such as mobile phones and furniture. Tonight, Pantone announced, the London Eye will also light up the London skyline in a “Mocha Mousse” shade to celebrate the color’s unveiling.
In a press release, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, noted the color’s lofty yet peaceful qualities: “Sophisticated and exuberant, yet an unpretentious classic, PANTONE 17-1230 ‘Mocha Mousse’ expands our perceptions of browns to be humble and grounded to embrace aspiration and luxury… A tasty shade of brown, [the color] envelops us with its sensory warmth”.
