From fashion to home décor, design experts explain why the warm pastel shade is everywhere right now.
As the dark, bland palette of winter gives rise to pops of color and longer days, Spring design is in full bloom. A quarter into the year and it appears we’re already resigned to let the Pantone color of the year—mocha mousse—melt away with the snow. In its place, another color named after a decadent food has taken center stage—butter yellow.
The delicate pastel yellow is everywhere right now, but it’s been quietly ascending over the past year. Timothée Chalamet made a statement dressed head-to-toe in the buttery shade on this year’s Oscars red carpet, while Sabrina Carpenter was spotted in butter yellow at New York’s Governor’s Ball and Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood party last year. Sophie Turner and FKA Twigs have both graced the cover of British Vogue in butter yellow, and numerous other celebrities have been spotted wearing the shade, including Rihanna, Aubrey Plaza and Hailey Bieber. More recently, the color has appeared on the runways of high fashion houses, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace and Jil Sander.
Like melting butter, the shade’s popularity is trickling down to mass fashion retailers, such as Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch, and into home design, with KitchenAid announcing butter yellow its 2025 “Color of the Year.” CB2 senior director of design and development, Andrea Erman says they’ve seen an uptick in sales of butter yellow textiles, such as their Seda silk curtains. Similarly, design studio Nivak Remas has seen a rise in butter yellow requests for a variety of settings. “Whether through upholstery, accent décor, or painted finishes, butter yellow is being embraced as a way to add warmth without overwhelming a space,” says Nivak Remas co-founder Kevin Chan. “We’ve also noticed its presence in spa and wellness environments, where it fosters relaxation and lightness.”
Its relaxing effect might explain why butter yellow is so popular at this particular moment.
