Pantone chooses a mellow brown as Colour of the Year 2025

In recent years, Pantone has opted for a cosy peach, an animated red and a periwinkle blue as its Colour of the Year. For 2025, the global authority on colour, has selected ‘Mocha Mousse,’ a mellow brown infused with a sensorial and comforting warmth to appeal to consumers' desires for comfort and wellness.

Officially known as Pantone 17-1230, ‘Mocha Mousse’ is a warming rich and soft brown hue that nurtures a delectable quality of cacao, chocolate and coffee, and was chosen for its ability to transport senses “into the pleasure and deliciousness it inspires”.

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a statement: “Underpinned by our desire for everyday pleasures, Pantone 17-1230 Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. It's sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time, an unpretentious classic.

“Mocha Mousse extends our perceptions of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace the aspirational and luxe. Infused with subtle elegance and earthy refinement, Mocha Mousse presents a discrete and tasteful touch of glamour. A flavourful brown shade, Mocha Mousse envelopes us with its sensorial warmth.”

Pantone names ‘Mocha Mousse’ as Colour of the Year 2025

The brown hue also embraces the growing movement towards aligning ourselves more closely with the natural world, adds Pantone. As ‘Mocha Mousse,’ characterised by its organic nature “honours and embraces the sustenance of our physical environment”. Pantone also believes that the evocative soft brown finds “harmony and balance” between the demands of modernity and timeless beauty.

Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, added: “The everlasting search for harmony filters through into every aspect of our lives, including our relationships, the work we do, our social connections and the natural environment that surrounds us. Harmony brings feelings of contentment, inspiring a positive state of inner peace, calm, and balance, as well as being tuned in with the world around us. Harmony embraces a culture of connection and unity, as well as the synthesis of our mental, spiritual and physical well-being.

“With that in mind, for Pantone Colour of the Year 2025, we look to a colour that reaches into our desire for comfort and wellness, and the indulgence of simple pleasures that we can gift and share with others.”

‘Mocha Mousse’ is a luxury and aspirational brown

Pantone states that ‘Mocha Mousse’ will offer the fashion industry a “rich neutrality,” extending the perception of brown from an earthy tone to more luxurious and aspirational and that its sensorial warmth will appeal across soft touch weaves, buttery leathers and suedes, cushy velvets, cashmere, angora and shaggy, and furry knits that “envelope and embrace”.

At the same time, with its lightweight appearance, Pantone believes that ‘Mocha Mousse’ also lends itself to diaphanous and floaty chiffons, silky textures, satins and jersey fabrics that add fluidity and draped elegance.

For accessories, the soft brown hue can blend with any colour, perfectly enriching any ensemble “with a touch of warmth and refined luxury”. Soft pieces, from chunky knits to plush scarves, will embrace the cosy comfort the colour brings, while hard accessories, such as eyewear, structured bags and metallic jewellery, will utilise the colour with gloss or matte finishes to introduce “an elevated sophistication”.

For hair and beauty, the warming glow of ‘Mocha Mousse’ awakens the inherent radiance of individual skin tones across a wide variety of undertones, offering “a new subtle sophistication, promoting a pure and organic approach to luxury”. Pantone adds that it is also a versatile shade that works well in matte and sheen applications, lends itself to blending with many other colours, and also serves as the perfect base layer for metallic gloss finishes.

Pantone’s 2025 Colour of the Year collaborations

Alongside the Colour of the Year announcement, Pantone revealed new collaborations with a range of companies, including fashion, technology, home furnishings and furniture, home fragrance and beauty.

Motorola is once again releasing renditions of its devices that embody the Pantone Colour of the Year meaning, launching ‘Mocha Mousse’ versions of its flip Razr 50 Ultra and Edge 50 Neo smartphones. Both devices feature a vegan leather inlay embedded with coffee grounds to perfectly match the colour of the moment to create a “warm and comforting essence”. The new phones will be available in January 2025.

Japanese-crafted, New York-based Ultrafabrics, whose clients include Fitbit, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren, and other luxury brands, is partnering with Pantone for the third year. They will work together to celebrate the essence of ‘Mocha Mousse’ through a series of interactive events, exclusive colour palettes, and colour customisation across the Ultrafabrics range.

Pantone has also collaborated with beauty membership platform Ipsy, to bring to life ‘Mocha Mousse’ with limited-edition products featuring the warm brown shade. The collection, dropping in April 2025, will feature a range of “affordable luxuries” from a make-up bag crafted in soft vegan leather to premium brushes and sponges.

Home fragrance brand Pura has explored how colour can be translated into fragrance in collaboration with Pantone and will be celebrating the Colour of the Year 2025 with a new collection featuring its best-selling Pura 4 diffuser, matched to the hue, and two custom scents - Mocha Moments and Mocha Suede, for a full sensory experience.

Mara Dumski, chief fragrance experience officer at Pura, said: “This collaboration provides an innovative approach to experiencing colour through scent, aligning Pura's immersive sensory experience, quality fragrances and smart technology, with Pantone's colour authority and design influence. A perfect match!"

Pantone collaborates with Pura, Motorola, Ipsy, and Joybird

Pantone is also teamed up with Joybird, a subsidiary of La-Z-Boy, who has incorporated the ‘Mocha Mousse’ shade with its top-selling performance fabric, Royale, available in more than 300 of Joybird’s silhouettes, including sofas, sectionals, sleeper sofas, upholstered bed frames, accent chairs, ottomans, pillows, and slipcovers. The collection will be available in spring 2025.

Gifty Walker, director of merchandising and sourcing at Joybird, said in a statement: “The Joybird x Pantone collection evokes a sense of tranquillity to deliver a harmonious home. Imagine a familiar space where the soft cushions hug you and the world fades away. Imagine a place where you can indulge in comfort, where your senses find peace.

“Joybird has been rooted in colour since its inception, which makes presenting the Pantone Colour of the Year 2025 through our furniture and decor the perfect pairing. Much like our brand, our customers are unique and bold in their own ways. The Joybird x Pantone collection inspires a home that supports connections, radiates warmth, and adds approachable sophistication to any space!”

Other collaborations can be seen with Spoonflower, which has unveiled exclusive designs for print-on-demand wallpaper, fabric, and home décor, while Society6, an artist-driven e-commerce retailer selling wall art, home decor, accessories, and apparel, has embraced the brown hue with more than 75 premium products, including art prints, throw pillows, curtains, rugs, iPhone cases, and bedding, and Libratone has incorporated ‘Mocha Mousse’ with its UP headphones.