Every year since 1999, the Pantone Colour Institute―a global colour expert―releases a colour of the year, which captures the prevailing cultural mood and sets the tone for the year ahead. From fashion, food and home decor to art, entertainment and architecture, Pantone’s colour of the year is an attempt to highlight the relationship between culture and colour. Two years ago, for example, the colour chosen was ‘Viva Magenta’, one that vibrated with “vim and vigour”. Pantone called it a hybrid colour that comfortably straddled the physical and virtual worlds, with the line between the two blurring in our lives. It also offered assurance and motivation in a world riven by the pandemic, an unstable economy, social unrest and climate change. In the year of the ‘Y2K revival’ (a term for trends of the late 1990s and early 2000s, such as the colour pink, making a comeback), and with Barbiecore having taken off in 2022, Pantone probably made the right choice.
Last year’s pick, however, was more controversial. The reaction to the colour, ‘Peach Fuzz’, was mixed, with netizens calling it bland and boring. “Perfect colour to make me [look] sallow and pale,” responded one user to a New York Times piece on the colour. “Kind of like I can wear it to my own funeral.” Another commented: “Good heavens! My very old bathroom tiles may be fashionable again.” Users described it as “retro to the max”, “sad sack of a colour” and “regurgitated salmon”. The one person it looked good on, however, was music sensation Taylor Swift, and it was the fullest sense in which Pantone got it right, as it was raining Swift here, there and everywhere. Indians, too, weren’t too pleased as the colour was a wash-out for their skin tones.
With our darker complexion, we might have more reason to cheer this year, the pick being ‘Mocha Mousse’. It seems in two years the world has taken an about-turn, from the bold assertiveness of ‘Viva Magenta’ to the simple comfort of ‘Mocha Mousse’. Pantone described the colour as a “warming, brown hue imbued with richness”. “It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort,” it stated. The colour, according to Pantone’s executive director Leatrice Eiseman, elevated browns from being “humble and grounded” to “aspirational and luxe”.
An elegant space crafted by Sansaar, a D’decor brand.
So, did Pantone get it right this time? The answer seems to be in the affirmative. Pop culture heralded the trend with earth-toned films like Dune 2 (which received five Oscar nominations this year) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Kardashian clones, especially among the Gen-Z, pushed hard for neutrals, and the fashion royalty listened, with the Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025 collections of Gucci, Max Mara, Coach and Dries Van Noten featuring couture in chocolate brown and toffee beige. According to Vogue, traditionally this colour has been associated with pants, but in 2025 it will be seen in chiffon dresses, asymmetrical skirts and trench coats. Hermes, too, sent its models down the runway in shades of beige and brown.
“I think it is a gorgeous colour that goes well with the Indian skin,” says Delhi-based fashion designer Mandira Wirk. “You can accessorise it with beautiful golds and bronzes, and colour-block it with a nice burgundy. It is such a lovely, neutral colour that all age groups can carry, not just the young. I can see even my mother looking beautiful in it. It will look good in saris, dresses and pant-suits, and goes well with Indian and western silhouettes. I think it will be big on runways this year, as there is a lot of talk around it and many celebrities are wearing it. It is such a versatile colour. India is known for its vibrancy, but this will always be a primary colour for us.”
In home décor and interiors, too, ‘Mocha Mousse’ seems to be a hit. Sarah Arora, creative director at Sansaar, a D’décor brand launched last year, says that Pantone’s choice of ‘Mocha Mousse’ reflects a shift towards warmth, sustainability and natural beauty. “I love this choice since the colour resonates globally and is not restrictive in any area of design,” she says. “In an increasingly complex world, this colour brings satisfaction, authenticity and simplicity.” The colour’s versatility, she feels, makes it ideal for various styles, whether it is rustic, modern or minimalist. It also complements the trends of eco-conscious design―since it can be paired well with natural materials like reclaimed wood, stone and organic textures―and biophilic design, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor spaces with more emphasis on indoor plants, natural light and organic materials.
Drenched in brown: Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler in Dune: Part Two.
According to Mandana Karimi, interior stylist designer and founder of Organised Closet Design, ‘Mocha Mousse’ is a beautifully grounded choice that mirrors a growing global shift towards warmth, stability and a return to nature. “This velvety shade of brown evokes a sense of comfort and timeless elegance, making it a versatile player in interiors,” she says. “It’s a colour that speaks to coziness, yet it is sophisticated enough to anchor modern, minimalistic spaces.”
Even in the culinary world, one of the trends, according to ADM’s ‘Flavour and Colour’ Report 2025, is adaptive eating, or consumers adapting their eating habits to their chosen lifestyles. The colour inspirations for this trend are shades of brown―golden maize, ripe apricot and terracotta. Not everyone agrees, though. “I don’t get inspired by these kinds of trends,” says Chef Manish Mehrotra, the man behind the award-winning restaurant brand Indian Accent. “They don’t drive business anymore. Social media might exalt stupid things like a dosa ice-cream. But people won’t come to your restaurant for that. Who’s going to go for a ‘Mocha Mousse’ tandoori chicken, for example? Around 10 years ago, there were things like a trending vegetable of the year. Now, people are going back to basics. They are looking for more purity, for good, straight-forward dishes.”
Pantone markets its colour of the year as one that captures the global zeitgeist, but the defining mood of today seems to be elusive. On the one hand, humankind is advancing at a frenetic pace, especially with technological innovations and the possibilities of AI and machine learning. On the other, the law of entropy seems to be ironclad, with climate change, war and global instability signalling a downward spiral. At a time when the future seems more uncertain than ever, perhaps the soothing shade of ‘Mocha Mousse’ is more about what we need than about what we have. If Red Bull can give you wings, a cup of mochaccino can give you the hope to survive.