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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Jessica Salter

How swamp, olive and brat came to rule 2024

From left, Cynthia Erivo, Loaf's Easy Glider sofa, Charli xcx, shelled pistachios, and a model on the runway at the Prada spring/summer 2025 show in Milan.
From left, Cynthia Erivo, Loaf's Easy Glider sofa, Charli xcx, pistachios, and ]the Prada spring/summer 2025 show. Composite: Kevin Mazur; Will Heath/NBC; MirageC; Daniele Venturelli/WireImage/Getty

As with many of this year’s big political predictions, the pollsters got it wrong. Pantone declared last December that “peach fuzz” – a honeyed-take on the previous Barbified year – would be the colour of 2024. Instead, this has been the year of green in all its glory.

I thought I was being original when I re-covered my sofa in a velvet moss green only to discover that the rest of middle England were also at it. John Lewis reported that sales of green sofas shot up by 32% this year. Sofa company Loaf says similar – it launched the colour “pressed olive”, which has been its most popular to date. Independent fabric brand Colours of Arley say “lime” and “swamp” were its most-requested shades, while fashion designerturned ceramicist Henry Holland says he has spent the year “constantly remaking [olive] green-and-white striped mugs and chalices to keep [them] in stock”. Even 1970s avocado bathroom suites were back and, by autumn, Pinterest reported that searches for green home decor had risen by almost 3,000% in a year.

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