The 2025 Pantone Color of the Year is the same shade as espresso martinis, cozy cashmere, lingering autumn leaves, and, well, me.
Mocha Mousse marks the second year in a row the Carlstadt-New Jersey-based color experts picked a Color of the Year that doubles as a nude. But this nude is as warm as it is harmonious.
It’s the color of this winter’s deliciously trendy espresso martini and the swanky, wooden bar it’s often served on.
It’s as warm as a favorite cozy cashmere shawl and as familiar as the crunch of lingering autumn leaves.
And it defines all that is my — and many other women of color’s — brown girl beauty.
Mocha Mousse is Pantone’s 2025 Color of the Year, and I couldn’t be more excited. The warm tone that is modern when paired with white, feminine when synced with rose, and earthy when matched with olive is among the most versatile hues on the Pantone color wheel. It’s a funky neutral that, like navy, has “new black” vibes.
That it’s the same hue that I long for in a tinted glossy lipstick, a streak-free foundation, a sexy patent leather pump, and, yes, even a Band-Aid, is gloriously secondary.
“Mocha Mousse embodies the sweetness and warmth of hot chocolate,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “It grounds us, bringing us to a place of comfort, pleasure, health, and happiness. It’s a sweet treat.”
Pantone’s choice of Mocha Mousse marks the second year in a row the Carlstadt, N.J.-based color experts picked a hue that doubles as a nude.
Peach Fuzz — a soft orange bathed in white — was Pantone’s 2024 pick. A color identical to Peach Fuzz was considered Crayola’s signature fleshy hue until 2020, when it released its Colors of the World Skin Tone Crayons, featuring shades ranging from ebony to ivory. Pantone described Peach Fuzz as warm with an all embracing spirit that enriches our mind, body, and soul. The gentle color inspires compassion, tickles our passions, promotes wellness, and makes for a pretty drink — peach Bellini or old-fashioned.
Mocha Mousse is about all of that, Pressman added, with a dose of deep harmony. Not only do we want to be healthy, relaxed, and full of life, but we want to be all those things in the company of others and share our sweet treats with them — like a peanut butter cup. Mocha Mousse is light, airy, rich, and indulgent.
“Peach Fuzz was about realizing how much we missed people, the importance of sharing, caring, community, and collaboration,” Pressman said. “2025 was an extension of that plus harmony. Harmony brings us a feeling of contentment, inspiring inner peace, calmness and balance with others.”
The 2025 Color of the Year is Pantone’s 26th. Back in 1999, when Pantone chose cerulean as its first color of the year for 2000, fashion was much more trend driven and prescriptive, meaning designers rushed to make goods in the designated hue by spring. Makeup artists worked the color into the following season’s palette. Fashionistas’ wardrobes didn’t feel complete without at least a pop of Pantone’s designated hue.
These days, Pantone’s COY is more a reflection of the world’s mood. Pantone’s experts keep their eyes on runways, restaurants, and modern interiors, choosing a color that illustrates how we are collectively feeling. In 2021, Pantone chose two colors — a bright Illuminating yellow and a stormy Ultimate Gray, representative of our dual realities: hopeful and sad.
In 2022, Pantone created a brand new color, Veri Peri, in honor of the new reality we were living post-COVID. Viva Magenta, the 2023 COY, was a deep burgundy chosen for a fiery new beginning. It, however, didn’t make its fashion splash until this fall and now it’s everywhere.
Per usual, Pantone partnered with lifestyle brands to show how Mocha Mousse will look in our everyday lives. Among them are Joybird, a national boutique furniture store with a location on Walnut Street, that will feature the warm brown on couches, recliners, and accent walls. Other brands include Motorola, which will release its retro Razr in a sleek dark chocolate version. And Post-it will launch a COY collection — goodbye loud neon, hello soft ginger.
Shades of brown, blush, and ivory are my absolute favorite, whether in textured sparkles or tissue thin fabrics. But a woman who can wear head-to-toe brown is rare and extra-confident. Layering brown is not for the fashion novice because in an attempt to display a depth of color, one can easily look washed out. With that in mind, Pantone released a palette of companion hues that look great with Mocha Mousse. Going for a monochromatic look? Try Safari, Cream Tan, or Chocolate Martini. Seeking some contrast? Pair Mocha Mousse with Cornflower Blue or Rose.
One can only hope that with Mocha Mousse as the color of the year, my ongoing hunt for sheer pantyhose in coveted coffee, a roomy leather tote in woodsy oak, or a glossy caramel lipstick — items my fashion dreams are made of — will soon be over.