How Nostalgia Could Change the Speed of Trends
Time stopped in 2020. With the outbreak of COVID-19 and the staying-at-home era, the impossibility to plan in advance erased the concept of linear time. There was suddenly no clear idea of the future. And precisely because of that, we looked for our identity in the past. Our archives emerged: yearbooks, albums, notebooks, calendars; even childhood friends reappeared to tell us that they had found us in their own exercise of personal archaeology.
While it’s been a while since the trend of nostalgia accounts took to Instagram—e.g. the glorious ’90s Anxiety—the phenomenon gained more significance in the context of isolation. We started finding those images not only fun but comforting and reassuring. Experts say that yearning—especially in moments of unclarity—can be grounding.
Our idea of the future was not the only aspect deeply affected by quarantine: Human contact was one of the main areas of disrupt. Thus, collaborative projects emerged all over the world, in many cases taking advantage of recovered documents. The generalized sentiment of longing articulated the voice of this particular moment of both extreme connectivity and isolation.
For many millennials, this is the first global sanitary and political crisis that we face as adults, so it’s not surprising that the artistic projects that serve as a mirror of the present take inspiration from the aesthetics of the ’80s, ’90s, and early ’00s. They bring back analog memories from this generation’s childhood.
Just a couple of days ago, Hulu announced Pen15’s second season to be launched in September. This show takes place in Y2K, and functions as a time capsule, not only in terms of costume design but in its careful reconstruction of early-2000s technology and suburban interiors.
Meanwhile, The Babysitters’ Club adaptation just came out on Netflix, and one of its achievements is a production design inspired in the ’90s. Although the show is set in modern times, the references work as some sort of pastiche that even manages to include the iconic clear telephone we all wanted back in the day. The merging of old elements in a new context is always refreshing, and it’s been the choice of inspiring design stores like Coming Soon NY, where longing becomes a statement.
Instagram accounts like 𝙹𝙿𝙴𝙶𝙵𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚂𝚈 are good starting points to rethink the speed of trends. This compilation of interior design from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s shows a variety of styles that—although sometimes a little kitschy—make us wonder how we got to hate them at some point. Its sources also enhance the sense of homage to what’s considered outdated, as the imagery comes from scans of old printed media. The effect of reliving the past with future lenses might help us change our perception of aesthetics. If that’s the case, nostalgia can ultimately help us fight against planned obsolescence.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
