Who said anything about 2016?
Yeah and then they said
“2016 is back”
exactly that’s what I'm saying, EW
Maybe we’re just nostalgic And That's all.
We get it. We saw it, we’re over it. Well not really over but you’re wrong. 2016, the last real year before it all went to shit. Something in the chasm shifted that year, maybe that’s why we’re nostalgic for 2016. The word online seems to be that 2026 is the year we run it back to 2016. What happened in 2016 that made it such a pivotal moment in everyones life? At least it seems like it was. The joke online is that Harambe’s death opened up a portal that transported us into a new timeline. THIS timeline. The one where everything lacks color and originality. 2016, the year of the VSCO girl, hydro-flasks (?), shit; the Arctic Monkey’s even rebranded to a version where Alex Turner appealed to the masses. An early teen in 2016 all I can remember was riding my bike, and doing cartwheels down a hill with my sister. Pop culture was sort of a miss for me because I wasn’t really interested in anything outside of Tumblr, the word ‘aesthetic’ and cutting my hair even shorter than it already was. All of this to say, what if we’re just nostalgic and that’s it.
we aren’t gong back to 2016. All media points to something else, something bigger. 2016 marked a year where life was fun. It sure felt like it. When buzz words I hate (e.g., “whimsy” and “yearning”) are trending, there are a few things we’re bringing back from 2016, and its not the clothes. Its the sentiment.
hm, no shit?
So where are we in this timeline? 2016 was fun, carefree. Following the bloom of the gloom and recessions, people are looking for refreshers on what it means to have fun. Something eye catching. Bold. Color in the way we see life. We weren’t in a recession in 2016, we were freshly out of one. When we look at 2026 and consumer reports, one is true for then (2016), and now. We aren’t spending money, and when we aren’t spending money we’re doing something else. Something better. Living. Ass deep in a recession, people don’t want to focus on the oppressive news. Mark my words, we’re way too early to the party if it’s 2016 we’re dreaming of. We won’t be hitting 2016 for at least 2 more years. The real tea is that we’re in a 2007/2008 timeline with heavy 80’s influence. Music is getting fun. The beats fast, the nights progressively more fuzzy and drunk. If you didn’t know, ((you know because you’re smart and I believe in you)) trend cycles are closely correlated to economic spending and recessions happen almost every 10 years on the dot. After 10 years of a hyper digital focus, we’re pivoting to analog. Tangible forms of media. Magazines, the rise of Bob Baker’s Marionette theater. If you’re reading this, don’t worry, you’re early to the party.
The 80’s was big hair, shoulder pads, bright pink blush and blue eyeshadow. Trends are to become more extravagant, you’re dressing up, being more expressive in the way you look. culturally what does it all mean? There’s a radical revolt. A race to find creative ways to break from the economic constraints we feel. They did it during the 1920’s stock market crash. Women were drawing lines on the back of their legs to replicate the seams of the stockings they couldn’t afford. You can’t stream creative thought without lack. Trying to recreate 2016 directly is lazy, reductive and blah. Lack creates want. It forces you to come up with something new. New idea’s, new ways to be entirely. Boredom creates baby. After an oppressive run on minimalism, rugged strikes a new. The need for tangible media forms, a desperate call to bring back the sparkle of the night.
All of this to say: we’re getting it wrong, because we’re really in the thick of 2007-10 if we’re talking the general public day to day fashion. Kitsch recreations and creative media forms in culture. 80’s textures and night life ((shows like I love LA are reminders of this)). We’ll be seeing tighter silhouettes, bigger glasses,fitted pants. Not skinny, mostly flared, straight or tapered. The jump in fashion from wayyyy baggy to skinny is just unrealistic. It’s too fast. Music parallels with the economy is something to note too. More synths (Doja cat’s new single and collab with META I meeeannnnnn come onnnnn) It’s more fun, quite literally upping the color on sound and fun aligns more closely with recession core from 2007-2013 but with major 80’s iconography. Obnoxiously bright colors, shoulder pads, high necks, and big glasses linger. The “2016 revival” is a mislabel. THE DRAMMAAAA. Bring back the Glamour. Trust me (I have no clue what Im talking about), I know ((I'm just really good at pattern recognition)).
In an age of bland oppression, prolonged uncertainty, digital saturation, and cultural fatigue we look to 2016. for its light hearted nature. The devastating cultural standardization of an era that silences differences, we welcome a new era that begs for the coloring of a new page. Culture that feels felt, not optimized and we’re like souerrrrr totally obsessed!
ok, hanging up now.
-Z you later
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