By Rachel Kurzius
The Washington Post
Savoring a sumptuous treat. Sinking into a soft, shaggy chair. Communing with nature. Doing all of the above while looking elegant and refined. Pantone hopes its 2025 selection for color of the year, “Mocha Mousse,” will fulfill people’s need for harmony between comfort and glamour.
“We’re living in a time where there’s so much going on that is more serious, let’s say, and at the same time, we don’t want any heaviness,” says Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “We want some peace. We want to feel content … So there’s an airiness and a light feeling to this color. Yeah, it’s a brown, but it’s not a heavy brown.”
Even the visual depiction of the warm brown shade — a drool-worthy whipped dessert dolloped into a luxe glass dessert cup — is all about conveying a sense of lightness.
Pantone’s elevation of Mocha Mousse is the latest indicator that cultural ideas about brown have been shifting. Historically, the color has rarely been viewed as a marker of sophistication and wealth – it’s often been seen as dirty or drab. But the rise of “quiet luxury” and brown’s connection to craftsmanship have led to a change in its fortunes.
The Pantone Color Institute’s color word-association studies have borne out this observation. “Now it’s much more acceptable as a luxurious color, as in a beautiful pair of brown boots or in a patina on the floor in an apartment that has a beautiful sheen to it,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “It does give that comforting presence, but luxe on one hand and very natural on the other.”
Mocha Mousse mostly sidesteps one of the biggest ongoing debates in design: minimalism and neutrals vs. bold maximalism. It provides a “rich neutrality,” says Eiseman, meaning that it is a salvo in favor of neutrals, though she adds it can also serve as a “foundational shade [that] creates the base upon which to layer” a more vibrant look.
Pantone makes its annual selection by asking “what qualities are people looking for that color can answer?” says Pressman, who says Mocha Mousse is a natural progression from the past few years’ choices. Viva Magenta in 2023 was all about carving a “bold new path,” she says.
That said, “life is a little lonely if you’re on your own,” Pressman adds, so 2024’s Peach Fuzz was supposed to evoke coziness and kindness. And now, with Mocha Mousse, it’s all about “a holistic view of bringing together your mental and your spiritual, your physical well-being and filling yourself up.”
Pantone’s tradition of naming a Color of the Year began as the year 2000 beckoned, Eiseman says. “People would call or they’d send emails to Pantone saying, ‘What’s the color of the new millennium?’ And that, you know, it raised a question.” In late 1999, Pantone simply fired off a press release declaring “Cerulean Blue” its very first Color of the Year.
Now, it’s a juggernaut — and much more calculated. They decide on the color by the spring, because Pantone coordinates with a slew of companies that release associated products on the day they announce their choice. This year, for instance, there are two home fragrances from Pura tied to the shade —Mocha Suede and Mocha Moments. Other offerings include wallpaper, furniture, makeup, headphones, jewelry and even a Motorola Razr phone that has vegan leather embedded with coffee grounds.
Make sure you really love whatever Mocha Mousse merch you select, though, because one of our only certainties is that this time next year, a new shade will step into the spotlight.
