The world doesn’t stop for a pandemic, despite how much Covid-19 seems to have tried. Like every year, new trends have come and gone over social media, maybe even faster than before. People have been desperately searching for new content to keep them afloat during quarantine.
The past year has been interesting to say the least, but if there’s one good thing that came of humanity’s solitude, it’s that creativity is flourishing. The chaos of this year has allowed us to come down to earth and take some time for ourselves in some ways we may have found odd before. Throughout quarantine, it’s become somewhat of a trend to pick up new hobbies like embroidery, gardening, art and music (and, a little local-promotion here, check out some of your fellow students’ art in our Viking Gallery!)
“I’ve picked up drawing again. I sort of gave up on drawing a while back because life got too busy I guess. And now that quarantine happened, I’ve found myself drawing little things everywhere again. And it’s kinda relaxing and cool. And so I decided to try to draw a landscape or background drawing again. That’s what I used to draw the most, and it still turned out pretty good. I was surprised that I still had a little bit of talent left,” senior Serenity Dean said.
Picking up a new hobby could not only entertain Gen Z, but it’s also an incredibly healthy way to fight stress. With the overwhelming pressure in America’s economy to constantly use our skills for profit, having hobbies has gone out of style, and it’s something that many students may not have done since childhood.
The biggest trends of 2021 have seemed to be fashion trends. Although we haven’t had many opportunities to show off our fashion in person, new fashion trends have been cycling through faster than ever. The strange thing is that although they’re called ‘new’ trends, the clothes and styles themselves certainly aren’t. Vintage fashion has become mainstream.
“What’s super cool and convenient about old styles coming back is the fact that lots of that clothing still exists… Being able to rewear old clothing with a modern twist is really a pinnacle of fashion trends, not only having such a wide range of styles but also being better for the earth,” Sangwin said. Sangwin is a future apparel/fashion design major. One example of vintage clothes making a return is a fashion trend called Y2K, which emulates the extreme styles of the 90s and early 2000s.
On the more extreme side of things, many people are noticing some unusual outfits on social media like TikTok. These are ‘-core’ outfits. Cottagecore, fairycore, and goblincore are some examples of the more unique sides of the online fashion community. These are fashion ideals that are uniquely based around nature. The concept of cottagecore centers on the idea of an idealized life in nature. Fairycore focuses on the innate, ancient magic hidden in the earth. While these two focus on the beauty of nature on the surface, gremlincore has a more gothic approach that worships things beneath this image of beauty. Things like worms, animal bones and various shiny things they find on the ground are things that followers of this trend enjoy.
In general, though, everyday fashion is a bit tamer than these.
“Softcore, streetwear, [and] Grunge aesthetic is what you’ll mostly see kids wear at school and [on] Instagram. Now you’ll also see baggy clothing. [For instance] jeans [are] either rolled, cropped, or loose. But a lot of TikTok users are agreeing that skinny jeans are ‘out of style’ and personally I rock the skinny jeans to this day,” sophomore Srdjan Lopez said.
Teens shouldn’t take the fashion trends to heart. If you like skinny jeans, go ahead and wear skinny jeans! And, some of these new trends do more than make you look good! Dressing in vintage fashion is a great way to help the environment.
“Fashion is one of the biggest contributors of waste due to fast fashion and excess unused textiles. Sustainability and recycling of clothing has become increasingly important,” Sangwin said.
Plus, it could be good for your wallet as well. Thanks to “fast fashion”, where companies pump out as many styles and pieces as fast as possible, clothes are becoming lower quality. Ever notice that your favorite sweater became unwearable in less than a year, yet decades old clothes are still circulating in thrift shops? Vintage clothes last longer than the clothes being made in this day and age, which means you won’t be rushing to replace them as soon.
Overall, the new trends have been interesting. It’s great that what’s popular is also great for the environment. Maybe the increased interest in vintage clothing will encourage fast fashion brands to make their products more sustainable as well.