COTY season is here — that time of year when paint companies, after months of tea-leaf and tarot-card reading, announce their respective Color Of The Year. Those divining the new hues consider the social mood, political climate, economy, world events, travel trends and the color of the inside of their eyelids, before extracting from their voluminous color-wheels the one color they think consumers will crave — or perhaps the ones they want them to crave — in the coming year. Anyway, it’s a moment.
And while I recognize the COTY for the marketing ploy it is — a way to get consumers to redecorate and repaint — I also see nothing wrong with that. Personally, I look at these annual picks the way I look at my horoscope: fun but not life-changing. I also like to study the collective color picks to see what the forecasters are trying to tell us.
In past years, the messages have been clear. Three years ago, when we were in the throes of lockdown, most COTYs were some shade of green, a reflection of our desire for healing, for balance and to get out of the house. Other years, we’ve seen strong waves of watery blues, indicating a yearning for cleansing, clarity and calm.
This year, the direction is not so clear. We’re still waiting on a few big dogs, like Benjamin Moore, PPG Paints and Dunn-Edwards. But of the paint companies that have announced 2025 COTY picks, two chose a deep reddish brown, two opted for soft greenish-blue and a fifth went with a bold blue the color o.