If you’re keen to discover the key colour trends of 2025, first consider these sage words from Miuccia Prada, who presented a medley of shades both at her Prada show she co-created with Raf Simons and at Miu Miu: “Basically it seems that we are directed by algorithms, so anything we like and anything we know is because other people are instilling it into us”. Essentially, every time we look at something or are served something online – in this context, a colour – we should consider whether we’re drawn to/against it because a) our subconscious has absorbed social cues that influence our decision-making or b) because we genuinely like/dislike it.
To Miuccia’s point, b is kind of redundant, since “anything we like and anything we know” is often built upon a list of external influences, making it difficult to discern which colours we actually like, let alone those that we want to dress in. It’s worth asking yourself: why do you like a particular shade? For example, don’t buy a “trending” tomato-red coat if it doesn’t gel with anything else you own, but do, however, appreciate the colour’s impact on your mood or how it can transform an outfit.
Read more: The Key Spring/Summer 2025 Trends To Know Now
The colour swatches to ponder ahead of the new year? Pantone declared “Mocha Mousse” the Colour of The Year 2025 which, when it was first revealed, I assumed was a seasonal addition to the Starbucks menu, but apparently it “captures the global zeitgeist” and answers “our desire for comfort” in its references to chocolate, coffee and indulgence.
On the other end of the spectrum, there was a punchy tomato shade that Matthieu Blazy explored on the Bottega Veneta runway – it was also the colour of a giant book he made in collaboration with Richard Scarry – pops of pink that materialised in Pieter Mulier’s salmon-hued, swirled-shearling coat seen at Alaïa (look 12) and the Prince purples that cropped up at Simone Rocha, Saint Laurent and in the collection of London-based brand, Talia Byre.
Below, delve deeper into the key colours to look out for next year.
Decoding “Mocha Mousse”
The accompanying video for Pantone’s Mocha Mousse gives “food advert” rather than fashion. But in a runway context, the mood has been realised in toffee-coloured suede bags at Miu Miu, slouchy leather jackets and suiting at Saint Laurent and a palette of beiges and browns at Hermès.
Tomato-red
One of the key colours of the season was emblazoned across the gigantic intrecciato book that Matthieu Blazy made in collaboration with Richard Scarry, aptly dubbed Biggest Word Book Ever!. On his Bottega Veneta runway, Blazy explored the tomato spectrum via shoes, bags and splices of colour in his prints (Nicolas Ghesquière did similar at Louis Vuitton), as well as a delicately sequinned dress – worn turned down as a skirt – that comprised one of the closing looks. Speaking of finales: Miuiccia Prada took her Miu Miu bow in a gold-buttoned coat that echoed the pithy reds she put on the runway.
Five-a-day tangerine
Staying in the fruit bowl, Matthieu Blazy posited a handful of looks in tangerine and clementine colours, crafted from oscillating fabrics that elevated their brazenness. At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson did the opposite, rendering the shade in rigid sequins and super-short minidress worn with brogues.
Pretty in…
Candy floss! Bubblegum! Think of a shade of pink and you’ll have found it on the spring/summer runways. Dance studio-ready shades arrived as leggings, cardigans and ribboned thong-toe pumps at Ferragamo, meanwhile Simone Rocha realised ballet pinks in layered tutus and gossamer-thin dresses across womenswear, and sheer tailoring in menswear.
Turquoise infusion
One particular skirt single-handedly sold me the colour turquoise: look 21 at Miu Miu, which comprised a leather two-tone skirt of turquoise and chocolate, worn with a spliced strapless grey bodysuit and a jangling belt. Rather than being fussily overdone, I love how it feels like an outfit someone has thrown together.
All that glitters
2025’s new gold hue comes courtesy of Matthieu Blazy, as seen at the end of his resort 2025 look-book, which captures either a very high-waisted maxi skirt or dress (the image is hard to decipher). No matter, the gold sequins – a similar yellowy shade to the foiled looks in Chanel’s pre-fall collection, his next endeavour – are enough to entice. To discover what the top-half looks like, we’ll have to rely on one of his many A-list fans to take it for a spin.
Chartreuse green
By way of styling genius Harry Lambert, Emma Corrin was the first to wear one of Anthony Vaccarello’s perfectly-imperfect spring/summer 2025 looks; a mishmash of glittered mesh and lace that were the antithesis of the crafted suiting that initially stole the show. Emma’s came in a dehydrated-grass green, though slightly more watery (zingier chartreuse) shades were seen at Dries Van Noten and Gucci pre-fall.
Purple nostalgia
Defer to London-based designer Talia Byre for inspiration on how to embrace the bright, in-your-face purple that did the rounds this season (also seen at aforementioned colour trend-setters Miu Miu, Prada, Simone Rocha and Saint Laurent). Byre’s take on purple comes with diagonal stripes which, for spring/summer, took form as an oversized rugby shirt (her signature), long-sleeved tops and three-quarter length trouser-shorts.
School shades
Whether it’s loafer and sock pairings, preppy staples like varsity jackets and polo tops, or silhouettes that mimic uniforms, fashion is experiencing a scholarly mood for 2025. As far as colours are concerned, charcoal grey, librarian mottled browns, navy and crisp whites are rubbing shoulders with the aforementioned colourful flourishes. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made a definitive statement for The Row pre-fall and chose to omit colour completely from the collection – in recent seasons, they have dabbled in bright shades without drawing attention away from their famously muted palettes – which brought an academic, but not stiff, quality to their designs.
Red snake
Red snake is not a colour, but it’s a combination worth mentioning in this line-up, given its ubiquity at the shows. I recently saw Luca Guadagnino’s Queer (no spoilers coming), which featured a scene with a snake that echoes the snake-print Liberta and Sardine bags that debuted at Bottega Veneta resort; the snake-print bag a model clutched at 16Arlington and the roomy buckled handbag seen on Dries Van Noten’s runway. Three’s a trend.
