Pantone's Colour of the Year is giving me the ick

Like death and taxes, the December announcement of Pantone's Colour of the Year is one of life's certainties. Each year the colour authority reveals the hue set to dominate the twelve months ahead – as well as announcing a bunch of products in said shade, naturally. Last year's colour, Peach Fuzz was a somewhat bodily affair. And so is this year's, although this time it's perhaps not quite as intentional.

The colour Pantone has excreted selected for 2025 is Mocha Mousse, a shade of brown that "nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort." But if your initial reaction to the colour was actually one of discomfort, you're not alone. You don't need a PHD in colour theory to see what it resembles.

"Underpinned by our desire for every day pleasures," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute. "Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. Sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time an unpretentious classic, Mocha Mousse extends our perceptions of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace aspirational and luxe."

As in previous years, Pantone has partnered with various brands, rendering their products in the Colour of the Year. This means you can, among other things, write a note on your Mocha Mousse Post-It, check a text on your Mocha Mousse Motorola smartphone, and kick back on your Mocha Mousse Joybird sofa.

Look, I'm not going to spell out what people on Instagram and X are saying it looks like. You know what it looks like. And to be honest, with the marketing images mostly comprised of extreme close-ups of (what I hope is) brown mousse, I'm starting to wonder if Pantone knows too. It's certainly a bold choice, but hey, whether 2025 turns out to be filled with "connection, comfort and harmony", or absolute crap, at least Pantone will be able to say it called it.