Trend predictions & a trip down memory lane
Put on your seatbelts bc we're taking you way back
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When Justin Timberlake wrote ‘What Goes Around’, he was talking about trends. Source? Trust me, bro. No, seriously, the 2010s are coming back. Sorry millennials. It’s just going to get worse, and for that, I apologise on my generation’s behalf, but to be fair, though, moustaches? Really? Just tattooed them? I’m Gen Z, but I’ve had the millennial humour of “but first, coffee 😍” and “pizza is bae”, and I have to admit, it’s very pick-me, BUT there’s no shame in admitting it. We’ve all had that phase, and I’m starting a support group for all of us, no judgment. Let’s talk about the millennials’ 2nd hall of shame (the 2000s being the first).
How do we know it’s making a comeback?
Well, see, Vogue talked about it back in January. But the thing is, it was just a prediction of the 2010s coming back because back then, we didn’t see even the slightest glimpse of anyone being into the idea of dressing like that. We’d see mockery but not romanticisation, which we’re seeing now. The romanticisation has been more evident in the last two weeks, with songs by The Neighbourhood and Arctic Monkeys trending again. We’re also seeing nostalgia for ‘King Kylie’ (I’ll explain, do not worry, sweet peas).
And here’s the thing: with how fast trend cycles have started to come and go, and with the 2010s being the last decade that can be aestheticised and romanticised (for a while at least), it makes sense that they’d come back into trend. Everybody was expecting it, but not as quick as it did. I’m not complaining, though. I might’ve been 10 when it first happened, but I contributed so much to those trends. I deserve a seniors’ discount. While I didn’t partake in the fashion trends, I dove head-first into the social media and music trends. Also photography, I had a massive Brandon Woelfel phase.
I’ve seen it happen first hand and the fact that I can live it again, and this time as an adult and not a child with unsupervised internet access, makes me feel giddy. I'm going back to my true self but cooler. I LOVE IT.
The different trends of the 2010s
Because we’re covering an entire decade, and much of it overlaps, I will divide it into two. Pre- and post-2015. 2015 was the year that basically got along with everyone and made the transition into the second half of the decade so much easier. These are obviously wide generalisations because even though I witnessed it, I also don’t remember a lot of niche things, but the very culture-changing and culture-resetting things are there, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters. Maybe aesthetics are the friends we made along the way. 😍
2010 to 2015: The biggest things of the time, in no particular order, to give you a little ✨nostalgia ✨ are:
Indie Tumblr kids: The Neighbourhood, Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Nothing But Thieves, Bishop Briggs, tennis skirt, converse, fishnets, Adidas, black & white and faded colour scheme loving kids. You’ve seen them; I was one of them (still am, just moved from Tumblr to Pinterest). They’d have pretty pastel skies with lyrics from Halsey or Melanie Martinez slapped on top. They’d be obsessed with blk water and having a faded, low-contrast and desaturated feed (I still love it, honestly). Troye Sivan and The 1975 were worshipped. You’d find them mainly in 2013 and 2014, and they SLAYED. They’re the original VSCO users and they set the bar so, so high. I still want my feed to look like this because, my god, was it art. Succulents were a big part of this aesthetic, too. Connor Franta, as well.
‘Hyperfeminine’: Ah yes, a predecessor to the modern-day coquette aesthetic. Their era was from 2012 to 2014. The OG beauty and fashion YouTubers were THE aesthetic. The style was so preppy, so feminine. Polka dot flowy skirts, Rilakkuma and Hello Kitty phone cases, Ariana Grande 🔛 🔝, Bethany Mota, Zoella, LaurDIY, the in-app Instagram filters before aesthetics were a thing, and then it became an aesthetic of its own. Oversaturated everything. I also clump this with the bright, neon aesthetic adopted by the same YouTubers. Meghan Rienk did the clean girl, minimalist aesthetic before we did, and for that, she deserves a salute because having an ALL WHITE FEED? IN THAT MARKET???? SLAAAAAAY. This was also very Fault In Our Stars, warm fairy lights in a mason jar with a neon-accented room. Michelle Phan was huge during this period as well.
Vaporwave: SO UNDERRATED AND NOT MUCH TALKED ABOUT, BUT HELLO IT SHAPED US. PUT SOME RESPECT ON IT. Renaissance marble statues with Japanese cityscapes AND TEXTS. Yeah, they’d use Kanji in their designs, and often they didn’t know what it meant. For all you know, the Kanji text says hibachi. But this was so revolutionary, me thinks, because it took something so far from the past, like the Renaissance busts and mixed it with hypermodern elements, AND it also had multicultural elements. I made so many vaporwave-inspired glitch edits for my senior year visual arts class lololol. I passed, though; that’s what matters. Remember, kids, grades don’t define your worth. <3
I’m so silly, you can’t take me anywhere: Cringefest. Literally, one word is enough to explain what it was. This was moustaches, big hipster glasses, just girly things, “pizza is bae”, and business casual to the club (some of those outfits ate). This eventually started to morph into the hyperfeminine trend, and that’s why there are so many overlaps. There’s not much to this one that I remember except millennials being millennials. ANYWAY MOVING ON.
So, a couple things to remember: the transition in the mid-late 2010s had multiple overlaps with the original trends. Like elements from Vaporwave were in the pastel goth and kawaii eras. VSCO feeds became even bigger. The start of our obsession with perfect feeds was here. I had a VSCO feed, too, and I was constantly looking for ways to get VSCO Pro for free because I wasn’t allowed to spend money on it. Eventually, though, got it all done with free apps, which was amazing. Ah, simpler times.
2015 to 2019: Harambe, killer clowns, flower crown filter, Trump’s election, Adidas superstars, skinny jeans, mannequin challenge, Musical.ly, Vine, One Direction went solo, salt bae, chokers, unicorns everywhere, pennyboards, VHS, sad Bart Simpson edits, VSCO girls, “sksksks” and so much more. Let’s talk about it.
King Kylie: She was the original baddie. Her feed back in the day? TO DIE FOR. So desaturated, high contrast, and faded but with like pops of colours. Her hairstyles, fashion AND Snapchat stories were the talk of the town. Her chopped lengths with blue ends. GORGEOUS. It’s something you have to see for yourself because there’s not much I can describe with just words, yanno? Go to Google and type ‘King Kylie era’, and a lot of visual aid to what I just said should come up. It was an amazing time for Instagram, tbh.
Pastel grunge: Up next on the list is pastel grunge. See, this is the one trend I vividly remember being entwined with early 2010 trends. Think holo, unicorns, aliens, chokers, water in transparent aesthetic bottles, no filter desaturated photos, etc. Firstly, this trend has layers. It’s got two distinct styles, and the second style has a lot in common with the indie Tumblr kid aesthetic. The first style is like a mix of neon, bright colours and pastels. Same symbolism but bright and cutesy. The second style is similar to indie Tumblr, it’s pretty much the same with different execution. If that was black & white, this was grey and white. So light & dark. The first and the second styles both bear resemblance to indie Tumblr but have different executions.
Miscellaneous: This is like everything in my brain from that era thrown here. Flannels, “hi sisters”, “Dramageddon", full glam makeup, Justin Bieber’s album, Selena Gomez’s music, Taylor x Kim x Kanye snakegate, Reputation, Major Lazer, PewDiePie, slime, Pinkity Drinkity, Iggy Azalea, Boom Clap and Boys by Charlie XCX and Tove Lo are just a couple of things off the top of my head. Cultural reset, honestly. And like I said, I’m so excited to see it come back omg.
What can we expect? Our predictions 👇
With old decades being recycled, we'll get "new" social media trends in pretty much every discipline, so let's talk about them. These are my predictions based on what I've seen in the past, so take it with a grain of salt.
Fashion & beauty: We're seeing more matte makeup and heavier eye looks, and although they're not full glam, we're seeing more and more experimentation. It will take a while for cut creases and thick eyebrows to return, but we're also witnessing disdain for soap/laminated brows. While wide-legged pants will stay for fashion, we'll slowly see skinny jeans make a comeback HOPEFULLY styled better. I hope it's not the Fashion Nova ultra skinny, cut-your-circulation-off skinny jeans but a more relaxed fit. AND NO JEGGINGS. 😐
Music: Well, well. So this mostly is in reference to music as trending sounds, but we're seeing a huge surge in romanticisation of The Neighbourhood and Arctic Monkeys. I can also see Major Lazer and Diplo becoming more mainstream again. Basically, all of the "pop DJs" coming back into the scene. Less and less of Lana and The Weeknd romanticisation because music is not art anymore, and musicians aren't artists anymore but only a trend you follow to look cool. 😸 Selena and Taylor have already made their comebacks; I'm hoping One Direction does too. 😸
Food: Bet you weren't expecting me to talk about food, eh? Well, expect the unexpected, my friends, because the sugary-health-hazard-secret-menu-at-Starbucks drinks are returning. Colourful foods, also back. Experimentation and fusion foods are like so in right now, queen. There's again not much to food trends right now from what I've seen, but I've seen glitter being put in drinks, which leads me to believe that the space pattern and space-inspired everything is slowly creeping its way into our lives again. But also, who eats glitter, pls?
Social media: OU, MY FAVOURITE TOPIC, SO I THINK- I think a lot of things, but social media's 2010 revolution started with photo-dumps becoming a thing because it's just so random and casual even though it's highly curated. VSCO feeds could become a thing again because of how much the 2010s are romanticised. I'm guessing people are going to ditch Lightroom presets for VSCO filters and have a filter-based feed instead of a solely colour-based feed. Clean girl feeds, but VSCO. Dark aesthetic?? YOU'RE TUMBLR GRUNGE NOW. I'm here for it. I've always been a VSCO feed girlie if I'm being honest.
Design: Graphic design trends will mostly stay the same. We'll see Vaporwave elements here and there, but overall, I believe design is one discipline where you cannot predict trends because of how many different personal styles are out there. But Vaporwave elements could be a thing, like with alien faces and unicorns. Anything mythical and mystical, basically.
Future of trends?
Straight up? Fr? I think the 20-year cycle’s KIND OF done. No more defined aesthetics because we just got the last decade back in, and now there’s no more until like 2030? 2040? Unless we bring back the older decades. I’m talking Bardcore/Medieval Core because I’m seeing some stuff floating about it + it WAS a thing for like a week. But I do think everything will exist at the same time. And because of the fleeting nature of the TikTok trend lifespan, trends will come and go constantly. Like if the 2000s are in TODAY, they’re out NEXT WEEK. Eras and aesthetics will stay, but I think people will embrace what they feel instead of what they see online and whatever’s trending because I’d honestly love that + the snooty comparison games to stop. Like I said, maybe the 20-year trend cycle (which honestly isn’t as long as 20 years anymore) will come back in the future, but for now, I think no more 20-year cycle.
As for the 2010s’ comeback? It’s in the romanticisation stage. I’ll give it a couple more weeks to a couple months until we see more elements on social media. The first change could definitely be seen in people’s approach to their Instagram’s visual identity. For fashion, we could see THOSE chokers make a comeback first or bomber jackets for fall and winter this year. So keep an eye out. If you see the influencers rock a bomber jacket, the 2010s are back.
Any questions/suggestions as to what we should cover next? Reach out to us and we’re always here to chat!
— Written by Shaurya, Trends Reporter at The Z Link
Connect with Shaurya on Instagram where she shares great content and lives her best influencer life as a fashion student in Paris. And she writes all of these great issues too. What can’t she do??? 🧐 Thank you for reading!