PANTONE names “Mocha Mousse 17-1230” Colour of the Year for 2025. Thanks. But honey, you’re late with this one.

Celebrities and runways looks in brown over the years.

“I do think brown is a fashion neutral that’s often overlooked — but one that’s especially popular with Italian brands, and their focus on leather, cashmeres and other plush materials.”

- Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director, The New York Times

We weren’t interested in a Pantone trend report, but reading the NYT’s style desk debate about Pantone's colour of the year, mocha mousse, sparked an important discussion. According to the team, this is the first time that Pantone, a company famous for its Pantone Matching System, has chosen brown as the lead hue for the year. (Slate did a piece about the company's so-called "Colour of the Year" callout, which began as a rouse in 2000.)

Suppose you’re working in fashion, media, design, or something that puts you at the forefront of what’s fresh and new; placing yourself at the receiving end of a trend seems counterproductive.

We were unfazed when the mocha mouse drink (er, hue) got a shoutout. Given the black celebrities alone rockin’ all shades of brown on red carpets, music videos, album covers, and photoshoots, we’d say Pantone’s been asleep all along.

We’ve been on.

Friedman's observation about brown (above) is not new. Though she’s commenting on the hue’s position from a fashion standpoint, what she says is symbolic in all facets of life. Then, of course, you’ve got the Vogue editions and WWD writing reports about how to wear the colour and whether it’ll sell.

Whatchu mean?

You can pair brown with anything from pink to red to orange to blue (editors also report a cyclical denim trend), since we don’t always want to default to our usual greys and blacks.

Another factor is that the hue represents dirt, nature, and earth. That’s obvs. Considering the current state of our planet (and humanity), the hue strikes us as a neutralizer. Well, we’ll just have to find out if it works.

Seems like a shoo-in, though.

Ciao Edie!