2020s Reaction against the 2010s

Technology is also making a slight turn from previous trends, divorcing itself from the vision of the ultra-minimalist homogenous design language of the 2010s. Increasingly we will be seeing more Y2K/2000s inspired tech design and more colourful/individual models.


        

In the car world, there is a massive shift happening. EVs are exploding in production, nearly every respectable care make has several EV lines. Design-wise, cars are also witnessing a change: manufacturers are offering more colours and design is heading to a more sleek/angular or round/eco design.

        

Preface:

The 2010s can be defined by many things, and to some it can seem like a void, a historical anomaly. With most of the decade being dominated by younger millennials in pop culture, trap in hip hop, the collapse of rock, the rise of youtubers, ultra-minimalism in design, and Tumblr/Instagram-esque fast fashion, it can often feel like a fever dream. To many, especially older millennials/Gen Z who preferred the maximalist/humanist 2000s, revolting against the 2010s is the new cool. Many aesthetics that dominated the 2010s are already seen as relics of the past, while others will still take years before they’re seen as dead. This thread is meant to compile an incomplete list of consumer aesthetics that are being replaced with completely different ones. A few of these new aesthetics already have names and are already catalogued, but most are still in their infancy and have yet to take a fully polished feel. Overtime I will update this thread so be sure to check it out! I should thank users 10slover as well as John Titor for inspiring this thread.

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The 2010s, the dying incumbent:

As many of you know, the 2010s can’t possibly be generalized up by three words, but we if I had to I’d say this: smartphones, minimalism, and millennials. That’s not to say that those will completely go away in the 2020s, on the contrary, millennials will still enjoy new success in pop culture and smartphones are very likely to still be mainstream for the rest of the decade. Minimalism has many utilitarian uses as well. However, the aesthetics that were birthed by them in the 2010s will be increasingly obsolete. Windows and Mac have abandoned ultra-minimalism, millennials are working with gen z to create updated pop cultural guidelines, and smartphones are reaching a peak in many markets. To sum it up, the status quo of culture is about to be turned upside down.

A growing list of increasingly obsolete 2010s aesthetics and their successors:

80s Nostalgia/Vaporwave/Bi-lighting:

The first to go is 80s nostalgia from the lens of the millennial. Vaporwave started in the late 2000s and early 2010s, becoming very popular with millennials. Compounded with the boom of online music culture: soundcloud, YouTube, bandcamp, and Tumblr, it spearheaded a lot of aspects of pop culture that we enjoy today. Today, as a genre vaporwave has no foothold in pop culture, but a lot of the charactaristics that defined it; namely 80s nostalgia, synthwave, ‘bi-lighting’, etc. are still quite popular. Stranger Things, The Weeknd’s latest album, and Jack Antonoff’s production credits are signs that 80s nostalgia hasn’t fully been abandoned yet.


      
      

The Replacement: Neo-Y2k, McBling, and 70s/2000s nostalgia

A pseudo-Y2K aesthetic has already been well known for 2-3 years now, but more polished forms of Y2K styles will reach the mainstream soon. The main pole of nostalgia is shifting from the 80s to the 2000s with 1970s touches here and there. This time, it’s being told by the children of Gen X. Double the nostalgia.

Neo-Y2K:

          

McBling/Hyperbling:

          


Minimalism/Flatdesign:

Minimalism and flat design arose in the early 2010s as a reaction against the over-saturation of skeuomorphism and humanist design in the late 2000s. Since 2012, it has been the norm for modern UI and graphic design, but that is slowly changing.

          

The Replacement: Neo-Skeuomorphism, Polychrome, Maximalism

Neo-Skeuomorphism is defined as an updated form of Skeuomorphism, with softer gradients, and a more delicate approach compared to the extremity that was late 2000s skeuomorphism. This is a rising aesthetic so there aren't too many examples so far. Polychrome is an aesthetic that can best be described as extreme vibrant colors, liquid textures, and 3D art blended into one. This aesthetic has been around 2017, but it is quickly evolving into its own world with many styles.

          

Rising Aesthetic: Gen Z Soft Club

Like their parents, Gen Z are obsessed with curating well-polished aesthetics. One of these that are seemingly blowing up at of nowhere is something that seems as a successor of Gen X Soft Club. This Aesthetic can be summed up as the coming of age of Gen Z, taking cues from their Gen X hero's of the 90s and 2000s. The music form of this aesthetic goes really well with the rise of underground dance music, bedroom pop, and drum and bass. The following pics could be categorized as Gen Z Soft Club:

          





Next Nostalgia: Japanese Superflat:

Like I said before, the pole of nostalgia is shifting (or for many has already been shifted) from the 80s/90s to the 2000s. Part of this is the resurgence of a Japanese design style called Superflat. This is my prediction based on what I see a lot of underground Gen Z artists are basing their next aesthetics on. Notice the heavy relationship with music culture and the art world.

          

Mid/Late 2010's Millennial Instagram Fashion:

These looks have been quite dead for lots of people, but for most this is still what's on their minds when they think 'youth' fashion. Many millennials still dress/shop like this, with brands like H&M and Zara catering to these tastes.

          

The Replacement: Early 20s Gen Z Tik Tok Fashion:

This is not a prediction, this is already happening albeit with a slow adoption rate. Loose pants and flared jeans are in, tight denim and Zara-esque fashion is out. Many Gen Zers are opting for Depop and Goodwill instead of just buying clothes from fast fashion brands. Shein has replaced Fashion Nova for a while. These looks will most likely be out of fashion in some form in 2023. I think this is the 2020s equivalent of 2010 Tumblr fashion, dated by 2013, but laid the groundwork for a lot to come.

          

! This thread is going to continuously update, stay tuned Feel free to add on or debate on anything I've might've posted, thanks for reading !

really? i think a lot of the new cars, especially the electric ones, are starting to have a more modern and sleek look. i love on the east coast and see a lot of new cars and some teslas on the road and i always think they look kind of like robots lol

Update Part 1: A resurgence of indie sleaze (2002-2009), british gen x soft club (1994-2001), and JP superflat aesthetics is starting to influence a lot of the current generation's innovators; this will trickle down to GP in the next few years. You might see a lot of people blending the three with updated tastes, resulting in a uniquely 2020s aesthetic. I had previously predicted some of this several months ago, but blogs and publications are beginning to pick up on them, and the present influences are slowly becoming more obvious. With that being said, I am not a fan how writers and publications are beginning to treat forecasting aesthetics as a social currency. These publications are milking the hell out of consumer aesthetic forecasting.