Five key trend colors that will drive creative forces in the year 2025 –a time of continued disruption, volatility and uncertainty– have been revealed, including Future Dusk identified as the Color of the Year.
WGSN, the global authority on consumer and design trends, and Coloro, the global authority on the future of color, also unveiled other key colors for spring/summer season 2025 which are Transcendent Pink, Aquatic Awe, Sunset Coral, and Ray Flower.
According to WGSN Insider, Future Dusk is a dark, moody and intriguing hue sitting between blue and purple. It has a sense of mystery and escapism, and provides a move on from the powerful dark purple of Midnight Plum –a key color from its autumn/winter (A/W) 2024-2025 forecast.
“Future Dusk’s surreal and otherworldly qualities align with the influence of the second space age, giving it a celestial appeal. It also feeds into themes of transition –whether it be moving from dark to light, or dusk to dawn– making it perfect for a period of immense change. It offers a fresh take on dependable dark blue and manages to feel simultaneously familiar and futuristic,” it said.
Transcendent Pink is a barely-there hue that feels more like an elevated neutral than a traditional pink, giving it a grounding and balancing appeal.
“What truly underpins Transcendent Pink beyond its sense of stability and cocooning quality is that it is very versatile and in certain usage and context like tech that you can see on the screen or virtual worlds… This color can importantly stand across genders, age groups, demographics and even seasons which makes it a commercially dependable choice,” Coloro head of Creative Content Caroline Guilbert said in a webinar.
Another key color is Aquatic Awe, a transformative turquoise that celebrates the strange and wondrous aspects of nature but also has a synthetic quality that connects with digital themes.
This duality bridges fantasy with reality, calling to mind bioluminescent sea life, fragile ocean ecosystems and immersive virtual spaces.
“This color aligns with evolving approaches to wellness, whether achieved through physical or virtual applications. It is also influenced by a growing focus on bio-synthetic streams, where bio-manufacturing and lab-grown materials are used as a more resource-efficient alternative to natural materials,” WGSN Insider said.
Guilbert said Sunset Coral embodies positivity and it is an invitation to embrace simple joy of life.
“It encourages (us) to slow down and reminds us of the influence of finding purpose and pleasure in every moment. And when it comes to applying it to design and product, we really thought that Sunset Coral captivates the eye and provokes a sense of excitement. So embrace the energizing quality of this color for cosmetics and packaging…,” she added.
WGSN head of Color Urangoo Samba said Ray Flower is a radiant yellow with a warm and inviting quality.
“This color has an inherently optimistic and wholesome quality that aligns with a growing focus on more radically considerate approaches to sustainability, where the environment is treated as a co-client in design, production, and nature is treated as a board member in business,” she said.