P antone’s colour of the year 2025 is Mocha Mousse, “a warming, brown hue imbued with richness”. And here’s the bombshell: it’s pretty nice. The mission of COTY is to capture the global mood and attitude, not to supply decorating inspo.
This is why, in the past, the Pantone Colour Institute’s picks veered between lurid and dreary. Last year’s sickly Peach Fuzz was the unloveliest shade in COTY’s quarter-century history — and yes, I do recall the shrieking violet of 2014, Radiant Orchid, and the icy banality of 2021’s Ultimate Grey. The choice of a comforting, cosy colour that is easy to decorate with and agreeable to have around the home is a proper curveball.
So why is Mocha Mousse being served this year? In the fashion and interiors collections, during the past 12 months, there’s been a growing trend for “quiet luxury”, with its simple shapes and subdued, earthy colours. You don’t have to be on a Loro Piana budget to indulge. Loaf and Neptune supply quiet luxe gems, from the upholstered Bagel bed to the Tussock hot-water bottle, both in Mocha Mousse-adjacent shades.
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