Nostalgia Trippin’ and its Trickle Down

During my 3rd year of university, I found myself strangely drawn to ’80s/’90s pop culture. I had taken a break from my typical cultural consumption to dive into the synthesized sounds of bands like The Cure and Joy Division, or to re-watch ’80s Hollywood blockbusters usually starring Stallone or Bruce Willis, and even to dabble in some of this time period’s lesser appreciated indie films including some early Lynch and Soderbergh. Before I knew it I found myself buying a pair of Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoes and a vintage record player. The Stan Smith was a shoe that dominated the 1980s sneaker market, selling over 22 million pairs throughout the decade.

I was happy to continue exploring these decades and their seemingly endless niche movements, until one day I noticed that everyone at school also seemed to own a pair of Stan Smiths. I also noticed that Netflix was constantly rerunning ’80s flicks and that current rappers were wearing Joy Division t-shirts and that there was a renewed interest in O.J. Simpson. Then I wondered why Adidas even re-released the shoe in the first place.

What dawned on me was that what I believed to develop as my own organic interest – one wholesome enough to reaffirm the explorative freedom presented to us by the internet – was really just a product of a new pop culture zeitgeist. My tastes, like most other peoples, were dictated by a trend.

Retro Mood Board (By Niko Pajkovic)

Over the next few years, I watched as Drake released songs like “Hotline Bling” and later used the same Yamaha DX7 keyboard for his production as a-ha’s “Take on Me”. I paid attention when hit shows based in the ’80s like Stranger Things, Glow, The Americans, Halt and Catch Fire, and Lethal Weapon rose to prominence. I cringed as Hollywood went on a barrage of remaking and rebooting The A-Team, Robocop, 21 Jump Street, Blade Runner – and now still to come, Scarface, Heavy Metal, and Escape From New York. Then I panicked when it seemed every trendy kid started slowly dressing like Jerry Seinfeld.

In my mood board, I attempted to capture the styles and designs of the ’80s/’90s and found myself questioning the source of our current retro trend. How did this come to be the current pop culture zeitgeist? Although I am sure there are many reasons, including corporate interests and the cyclical nature of pop culture, I think the origins of this cultural moment are more pure.

As the millennial generation grows up and seizes the spotlight in the art world, its artists are being taken more seriously, and their influences are plain to see: they all appear to be having one collective nostalgia trip.

This includes artists such as Frank Ocean who’s music and visual style drip with the vagueness of sentimental longing.  Canadian photographer Petra Collins who wears her childhood influence on her sleeve. Rap group Brockhampton and their ’90s rollout with three back to back albums titled Saturation I, II, and III. Graphic Designer Braulio Amado’s ironic recontextualizing of Web 2.0 graphics. Jonah Hill’s directorial debut literally called Mid-90s. And whoever the fashion designer was that brought back the “dad shoe”.

Many of these millennial artists are exploring nostalgia in an interesting, meaningful, and authentic way, as nostalgia has always been a notion artists find themselves grappling with given its irrational, intuitive, ‘can’t put your finger on it’ nature. I believe that they are the ones who are truly driving today’s retro zeitgeist. However, what has happened, and always seems to, is that art trickles down and becomes distilled to the mainstream through a process of commodification. It slowly starts permeating all corners of our current culture, spreading both because of its legitimate resonance as well as its marketability. Inevitably, my teenage cousins both born in the 2000s also start dressing like Jerry Seinfeld.

I assume this trend will continue until eventually, the presence of ’80s/’90s pop culture becomes over-saturated and uncool, something which appears to be happening as we speak. If this is the case, I wonder what’s next? If the current 20-30 year retro cycle continues and we keep climbing up the decades we should have… *sigh*… an early 2000s comeback to look forward to…