If 2025 Had a Colour, It Was Unmistakably Orange!!
From red carpets and runways to race tracks and iPhones, orange was everywhere in 2025!
Collage by Maria Isabella Tovar Dias
If 2025 had a colour, it was 100% ORANGE. The bold, bright, and loud shade didn’t appear just once or twice, but had its moment multiple times across the year. From red carpets and album covers to product launches, movie branding, and mirror selfies ;), orange was featured across multiple culturally significant moments, ultimately shaping the visual identity of 2025.
Going back to the start of the year, in January 2025, Zendaya quietly announced her engagement, stepping onto the Golden Globes red carpet in a burnt-orange Louis Vuitton gown. The moment dominated headlines, making it one of the most memorable red-carpet moments, not just because of our excitement about the news, but also because of the visual statement it made, setting the tone for the year ahead!
Of course, it did not take long for the runway to echo what culture was already signalling. Moving away from the more neutral tones seen in recent years, fashion houses like Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Dries Van Noten have chosen orange as a key colour for their collections. Prada also unveiled their Spring/Summer 2026 collection on a glossy orange runway in Milan, transforming orange from a styling choice into a deliberate immersive environment.
The music industry followed suit. Karol G’s latest album, ‘Tropicoqueta’, released in summer 2025, was drenched in sun-baked orange tones – from its cover art and promotional visuals to music videos, orange vinyls, baby tees, and phone cases. The colour became central to the album’s visual identity, exuding self-assured, playful femininity and nostalgia. Orange has always been a summer staple, but this year it went beyond seasonal expectations. According to Madé Lapuerta, the creator of ‘Data but make it fashion’, following the album’s release, the colour saw a reported 55% surge in popularity compared to the same period last year.
In the world of sports, orange quickly became associated with performance and success thanks to McLaren’s dominance during the 2025 Formula 1 season. Securing the Constructors Championship and Lando Norris going on to win the Drivers’ Championship in Abu Dhabi, their papaya orange branding became synonymous with victory. Expanding beyond just being a team colour, it evolved into a cultural symbol. Their repeated presence across promotional content, race-day imagery and digital campaigns ensured that orange didn’t just appear in our feeds but dominated them throughout the year (and I’m not complaining).
By September, orange had officially gone mainstream. Apple introduced the iPhone 17 Pro Max in orange, one of just three colour options, cementing the shade’s widespread appeal. No longer confined to cultural industries like fashion, music, and sport, orange entered everyday.
Perhaps the boldest use of orange came from Timothée Chalamet and his campaign for ‘Marty Supreme’. In an 18-minute Zoom where he casually ran through his “marketing plans,” Chalamet, inspired by Barbie’s pink, declared the film’s colour would be ping-pong orange. And he went all in. Attending a surprise screening of the movie trailed by ping-pong ball-masked henchmen. A ping-pong orange ‘Marty Supreme’ blimp drifting across Los Angeles. Chalamet standing atop the Las Vegas Sphere, transformed into a glowing ping-pong ball. And, of course, he sent out Marty Supreme track jackets, designed in collaboration with Doni Nahmias, A24, and his stylist Taylor McNeill, to cultural greats like Justin and Hailey Bieber, Kid Cudi, Tom Brady, Central Cee, Kendal Jenner and more. By the time Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner arrived head-to-toe in cosmic orange at the LA premiere, the bold choice was hardly surprising. Orange had transcended being just a colour; it had become a mood, a moment, and an integral part of the ‘Marty Supreme’ universe. The genius? Orange was already everywhere. Chalamet didn’t start the trend; he simply hijacked it.
Ultimately, with orange cutting across so many cultural industries, it becomes difficult to dismiss its dominance as a coincidence. Despite quiet luxury skyrocketing in recent years, it began to fade towards the end of 2024, and society appeared to crave something bolder. A return to visibility, expressiveness, and loud luxury. In place of muted, neutral pallets and understated patterns, colour became a statement and orange’s emergence this year is the clearest symbol of that shift. So, when Pantone chose ‘Cloud Dancer’ as the colour for 2026, it almost feels tone-deaf – a retreat from the energy and splendour that defined the past year.
Admittedly Orange is a hard colour to wear; it polarises and flatters selectively, preventing it from becoming a wardrobe staple. But that’s exactly what gave it power in 2025. It didn’t need to be wearable; it needed to be seen. From iconic fashion runways and red carpet looks announcing big news, in championship-winning teams and in blockbuster film rollouts, the colour orange truly owned the year, proving that a single colour can grow into a cultural language of its own, powering markets and inspiring communities.