Once the province of philosophers and 19th century dandies, the study of aesthetics has become a pandemic-era obsession—especially among the sort of mood board-loving young people who hear the word “academia” and instantly think of Jude Law period flicks and dimly lit neo-Gothic libraries. The epicenter for discussion, for those who really love to nerd out, is an online community called Aesthetics Wiki. Since 2018, day in and day out, a revolving door of volunteers has been fastidiously classifying and cataloguing pretty much every genre of visual self-expression in history, from classics like “hellenic” and "baroque” to neologisms like “forestpunk” and “christcore.”
Advertisement
Aesthetics Wiki covers fashion trends, home decor styles, and music-adjacent subcultures like hyperpop and vaporwave—but some entries refer to little more than a kind of image a lot of people are posting, which is probably why a FAQ on the wiki defines the word “aesthetic,” simply, as “a collection of visual schema that creates a ‘mood.’” It’s the largest and most exhaustive archive of its kind on the internet—and, with its leaderboard of the most popular pages, a pretty good barometer of the visual-culture trends that are capturing the youth imagination at any given time. According to a representative from Fandom, the wiki hosting service where the archive is housed, Aesthetics Wiki’s page for the classical literature–loving Dark Academia received more visits than any other entries in 2021—followed, not surprisingly, by Cottagecore, the bucolic lifestyle trend that got TikTok obsessed with baking bread. But pageviews don’t necessarily tell the story of a year, so to get a handle on the aesthetics that defined 2021, we turned to the internet’s unofficial experts: the Aesthetics Wiki admins and contributors who record that story in real time. Here, in their own words, are the aesthetics that captured the zeitgeist this year—and why they seem to have resonated with so many people.
Advertisement
1. Y2K/McBling
Advertisement
2. Dark Academia/Light Academia
Advertisement
Why it’s popular: Many students were isolated [this year] and couldn’t get to feel what their lives used to be like. So they indulged in these romantic stories, horror tales, and images of tranquil libraries and museum trips to cope with current events.
3. Liminal Space
Advertisement
4. Indie Kid
Advertisement
5. Kawaii Gamer
Advertisement
Why it’s popular: Gaming culture as a whole is becoming more popular, and with that comes the fact that young women are looking for a way to participate in gaming culture and express their femininity at the same time. Because they admire these visuals from anime, games, and Kawaii art, they decide to combine the two. It also allows for skill-building, as many of these people need to customize their PC. Collecting and making their set-up/room becomes a hobby in itself.
6. Fairy Grunge
What it is: Fairy Grunge is a nature-inspired fashion aesthetic that combines edgy, goth-inspired casual pieces with more floaty, fairy-like outfit details. The colors are predominantly brown, black, olive green, and cream. [You see a lot of] zip-up hoodies, fairy-inspired jewelry, leg warmers, and tutu/gathered skirts. Fairy Grunge is definitely a celebration of clothing found through thrifting or unusual pieces, as opposed to the more polished look of traditional fast fashion. The aesthetic is connected with a renewed interest in the Twilight films, which has the same color palette, layered 2000s pieces, and a woodlands feel. Why it’s popular: In general, Gen Z teenagers are starting to have more interest in the 2000s aesthetic, which was a time we barely remember because we were children back then and didn’t get to participate in the predominant fashion trends. [The Twilight sequel] Midnight Sun was released in 2020, and the popularization of Twilight and Vampire Diaries definitely led to people admiring the fashions of the main characters, rather than seeing them as wearing normal clothes, as the 2000s audience would have.
Advertisement