There’s been a steady drip, drip, drip of coffee’s influence on the fashion scene for a while now – see the one-upmanship over how you take your flat white (and where) – but Pantone’s latest Colour of the Year confirmed it recently. Chosen by a secret cabal of representatives from various nations’ colour standards groups twice a year since 2000, Pantone’s Colour of the Year celebrates a particular shade they feel will capture the zeitgeist for the year ahead – a tone that’s trending in pop culture, in design and, of course, in fashion. For 2025, that’s “Mocha Mousse”, described by Pantone as “a warming, brown hue imbued with richness which nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort”. The translation? An earthy, creamy tone sitting somewhere between dark and light brown.
Of course, we’re not saying the shade is revolutionary; it likely forms the staple of your weekend wardrobe. But brown in formal settings is a different beast entirely. Suiting and seriously glamorous evenings are embracing all spectrums of the coffee shop menu this year. If you look at the red carpets, for example, shades of brown are definitely percolating and bubbling away. After years of jewel tone and slimmer-than-slim black suits, men in the public eye have embraced a new era of casual tailoring. Dressed-up but not buttoned-up is the order of the day, with more relaxed cuts for suiting in softer, more neutral shades.
American actor Colman Domingo is a prime example. Earlier this week, he arrived at the Critics Choice Awards (at which he was nominated for best actor for his role in Sing Sing) in a head-to-toe Hugo Boss ensemble in a rich shade of syrupy, warming cocoa – a sharp double-breasted suit slipped over a molten-chocolate silk shirt with a co-ordinating brown neck scarf tied nonchalantly around his neck. And it’s not the first time he’s embraced all things barista. Earlier in the month at the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, he wore a look by LA brand Amiri that layered a maroon leather blazer over a rich brown cotton dress shirt with a wide cream tie. Last month at another event in New York he wore a chest-baring double-breasted pinstripe Burberry suit in a shade I can only describe as caffe latte.
The British are also embracing the full coffee-chocolate spectrum in their styling too. Hot on Domingo’s heels at the the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, Daniel Craig arrived in a louche, and very un-Bond, three-piece Giorgio Armani suit in a colour sitting somewhere between mink and chocolate Angel Delight. Delicious.
Elsewhere, White Lotus alum Leo Woodall has been a strong proponent of the trend on the press rounds for his role in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, wearing both a totally tonal Caramac-coloured look from Loro Piana (complete with Adidas’ Ristretto trainers) in Rome, and a dark roast slouchy corduroy Loewe suit in London.
“Subtle tones of brown are something that can be a little more adventurous for men than the typical black tuxedo, without going too crazy,” says celebrity stylist Christopher Brown, who masterminds Woodall’s red carpet looks. “The luxury with brown is there are so many different tones that tell a different story. For example, with a darker brown corduroy, you can reference the Seventies for a throwback feel, while a lighter, creamier mocha colour feels more contemporary – it’s a colour we’ve been seeing on the European catwalks.”
To quote a Hamlet monologue that all three of these men have probably recited at some point during their careers, ay, there’s the rub. Much like those pillowy swirls of Angel Delight, brown is a colour inherently connected to the 1970s – and, in menswear, usually with memories of an elbow-padded blazer on a frazzled geography teacher. A smarter way in is to lean in to the heritage, but err more into the decade’s more decadent side. Less detention, more disco – opt for a velvet tuxedo in the shade for that after-dark feel, if you’re particularly brave, or for a more everyday in a lustrous silk tie in a chestnut tone, or plush corduroy trousers that have a luxurious amount of heft to them.
“Brown is definitely working its way onto the business and wedding tailoring circuit,” says Jake Grantham, the owner of buzzy Marylebone tailoring house Anglo-Italian. “Dressing environments are becoming less predictable, so a soft shade of brown – contemporary and cold in tone rather than the yellowish shades of yesteryear – is receiving plenty of interest in the shop.”
Having recently returned from the Pitti Uomo trade fair in Florence, Grantham notes that while blue and black have always been the default colours for suiting in Britain, more of his customers have started to take a leaf out of their more peacocking Italian counterparts’ style books to add a brown two-piece into their regular officewear rotation. “It’s not unusual to see Milanese men propping up the espresso bar on their way to work in these chocolate and coffee shades of suits – they’re still formal and respectable but have an unexpected dash of character.”
So how to embrace these colours, especially if the whole head-to-toe thing is a bit too bold for your day-to-day? When it comes to casual wear, stylist Brown recommends a long coat as a great investment: “It’s something that can be teamed with the most simple wardrobe pieces like jeans and a hoodie to really elevate a look.” Consider, too, blending brown with complementary tones; a nutmeg-hued jacket with a plum-toned polo neck, for example. Olive and russet tones also look great alongside it.
But the real key is not to overthink it. “The key to wearing this colour is remarkably simple,” assures Grantham. “Whether a jacket or suit, just wear taupes and browns in the same way you’d wear navy – these tones pair just as well with blue striped or plain white shirts, dark ties and brown or black shoes.” And a double espresso on your coffee break, of course.