Misplaced Pages

User:Photos of Japan/Internet aesthetic

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
< User:Photos of Japan

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Spiderwinebottle (talk | contribs) at 19:45, 11 August 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 19:45, 11 August 2022 by Spiderwinebottle (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) This page is about visual art styles on the internet. For the branch of philosophy, see Aesthetics.

An internet aesthetic, also simply referred to as an aesthetic, is a visual art style, sometimes accompanied by a music genre, that usually originates from the internet or is popularized thereof. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, online aesthetics gained increasing popularity, specifically on platforms such as Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok. The term aesthetic has been described as being "totally divorced from its academic origins", and commonly used as an adjective.

Vaporwave, popularized during the early 2010s.Gothic architecture, relevant in Dark academia.

Definition

Internet aesthetics are characterized and identifiable by their visual style. Sarah Spellings from Vogue stated,

Overtime, “aesthetic” has evolved from an academic word and something utilized by artists and auteurs to something to categorize our own identities by. It can mean both personal style and a vague stand-in for beauty.

Kaitlin Tiffany from The Atlantic stated:

At this point, the word aesthetic is totally divorced from its academic origins. While Tumblr users mainstreamed it years ago, many teenagers use aesthetic as an all-purpose adjective—“that’s so aesthetic” as a shorthand for “that’s so aesthetically pleasing to me.” But in broader internet parlance, it now means a collection of signifiers or, more precisely, a “vibe.”

Many names for aesthetics use suffixes, such as -core, which, according to The Washington Post, originates from the word hardcore.

History

Many internet aesthetics have been credited with originating on Tumblr, including Dark academia, Cottagecore, Art Hoe, Coquette/Nymphet, and Weirdcore.

Aesthetics Wiki, a wiki hosted on Fandom, has frequently been cited for its large database of information on online aesthetics. According to The Atlantic, the wiki gained a 9,974% increase in traffic during 2020.

In 2022, Rebecca Jennings from Vox argued that many trends from TikTok fall under one trend, calling it "TikTok couture" and describing it as a "way to describe the coalescence of trends that materialize on TikTok, whether from teenagers experimenting with clothes they’ve thrifted from their local charity shop, from older folks revisiting the subcultural styles of their youth, or from professional and amateur trend watchers combining aesthetic clues into a single theory of what’s coming next", adding "with the help of the supercharged TikTok algorithm that blasts viral content to millions of users within hours or days, these videos shape what mainstream culture considers stylish, which therefore can affect what we choose to wear ourselves."

In July 2022, Sarah Spellings from Vogue stated that there was a "rise of hyper-specific internet aesthetics".

Notable examples

Soft Grunge/2014 Tumblr Girl

Originally referred to as soft grunge during the early 2010s, the "2014 Tumblr Girl" aesthetic reportedly gained a resurgence of popularity in the early 2020s, specifically by users on TikTok in a nostalgic sense. The aesthetic includes music from artists such as Lana Del Ray, The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, and grunge-inspired fashion.

Vaporwave

Main article: Vaporwave

Vaporwave is an aesthetic that includes electronic music, visual art style, and memes that emerged in the early 2010s. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, elevator, R&B, and lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s. The surrounding subculture is sometimes associated with an ambiguous or satirical take on consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular entertainment, technology and advertising of previous decades. Visually, it incorporates early Internet imagery, late 1990s web design, glitch art, anime, 3D-rendered objects, and cyberpunk tropes in its cover artwork and music videos.

Dark Academia

Main article: Dark academia

Dark Academia is an aesthetic that focuses on higher education, specifically during the 19th century and early 20th century, and gothic architecture, along with a dark color palette. It also reportedly "emphasizes inclusivity and gender fluidity" and "has a dedicated LGBTQ+ following". According to The INSIDER, the aesthetic dates back to 2014 on Tumblr, later getting popularized in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically on TikTok and Instagram. Kristen Bateman from The New York Times states, "Though it’s unclear how and where, exactly, Dark Academia began, many users discovered it on Tumblr".

Cottagecore

Main article: Cottagecore

Cottagecore is an aesthetic romanticizing rural life. The term for the aesthetic was coined in 2018 on Tumblr. The aesthetic gained heavy popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

E-Kid

Main article: E-girls and e-boys

The E-Girl and E-Boy aesthetics gained popularity on TikTok during 2019. They are a combination of emo, scene, mall goth, and Japanese street fashion.

Indie Kid

Popularized during 2020 on TikTok, the aesthetic is characterized by overly saturated photos and "crop tops, baggy pants/jeans, tartan tennis skirts, tight-fitting tops, polo shirts, platform boots or sneakers, as well as skate brands in general", along with Monster Energy also being considered "a staple".

Fairycore

Fairycore is an aesthetic focusing on imagery and fashion related to fairies. Natalie Michie from Fashion Magazine stated the "aesthetic often compromises a hazy pastel colour palette and unconventional fabrics like silk, crochet and tulle combined to make billowing silhouettes. The goal is to, quite literally, look like a fairy". According to Teen Vogue, Grunge Fairycore, or Fairy Grunge, focuses on neutral, earthy colors, dark color palettes, and "flowy peasant skirts, lace, ripped tights, ribbon, knitted sweaters, leg warmers, and corsets", and some may also wear strap-on wings and pointed ears. The clothes are typically thrifted.

Clean Girl

Popularized in 2022 on TikTok, the aesthetic, according to Bustle, is "about oversized, sporty basics", and consists of items such as "simple crop tops, loose-fit, high-rise denim, dainty gold jewelry, matching athleisure sets (probably from Aritzia), and the latest Nike drop". According to Refinery29, the aesthetic "is basically just minimalist makeup" and "significantly low effort", citing that as the reason for it's popularity.

Criticism

Some online aesthetics have gained criticism. In May 2021, some users on TikTok started the satirical aesthetic "Americancore" to mock those who refer to East Asian culture as aesthetics, specifically the terms Japancore and Kawaiicore. The trend specifically targeted those who went to Asian grocery stores to film videos, with users of the trend instead going to Wal-Mart, an American supermarket chain, to mock those videos. A freelance culture critic onVice stated, "These videos, for many people, form a narrative that shapes what outsiders think a particular culture is like, and they’re not meant for Asian people at all in this case because they’re almost treated like museum exhibits". Kyle Chayka from The New Yorker stated "in attempting to make fun of ignorant white shoppers, some argued, the term ends up mocking the experience of those for whom white American culture really is thrillingly foreign", also stating "as another meme goes, can’t we just let people enjoy things?".

The Clean Girl aesthetic has been criticized for allegedly reinforcing "exclusionary Euro-centric beauty standards" and " thin, wealthy white women front-and-center as the preeminent aspirational figure on TikTok." Dark Academia has also been called Euro-centric, with Aseel Sahib from Bossy stating, "like many other aesthetics, Dark Academia lacks representation and is inherently Eurocentric". Amal Abdi from Refinery29 stated, "Like cottagecore, though, dark academia has been criticised for its elitism and Eurocentrism, which is to be expected when an entire subculture dedicates itself to the historically white aesthetic of the Western literary canon" along with adding that the aesthetic "has come under fire for romanticising mental health issues, too", yet also stating that "dark academia is liberating for its users through its space for creativity."

See also

References

  1. ^ Spellings, Sarah (2021-05-25). "Do I Have an Aesthetic?". Vogue. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  2. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlyn (2021-02-05). "Cottagecore Was Just the Beginning". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  3. ^ "Cottagecore, cluttercore, goblincore — deep down, it's about who we think we are". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  4. "A Glossary of '-core' Style Aesthetics". ca.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  5. Ruane, Emily. "From Cottagecore To Goblincore — What's Your TikTok Fashion Aesthetic?". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  6. "'Art hoe' isn't just an aesthetic, although we've tried to make it one". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  7. Dazed (2022-07-28). "Why have young women on the internet always loved Lolita?". Dazed. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  8. Pradeep, Malavika (2021-09-05). "Inside Weirdcore, an internet-born art movement triggering nostalgia of the unknown". Inside Weirdcore, an internet-born art movement triggering nostalgia of the unknown. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  9. "The Year in Aesthetics, From Dark Academia to McBling". Vice. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  10. Jennings, Rebecca (2022-02-01). "Fashion is just TikTok now". Vox. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  11. Nast, Condé (2022-07-31). ""Core" Is The New "Chic"". British Vogue. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  12. Nast, Condé (2022-01-02). "The 2014 Tumblr Girl Is Back". Vogue. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  13. Gargione, Frank (2013-02-08). "Frank Asks: Why Is It the '90s All Over Again?". Racked. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  14. Jennings, Rebecca (2020-05-07). "Stuck in 2020, pretending it's 2014". Vox. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  15. Navlakha, Meera (2021-10-26). "TikTok is reviving the 2014 Tumblr-era aesthetic". Mashable. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  16. ^ Bateman, Kristen (2020-06-30). "Academia Lives — on TikTok". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  17. newspaper (2020-11-05). "The Rise of Dark Academia". The INSIDER. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  18. Jennings, Rebecca (2020-08-03). "Cottagecore, Taylor Swift, and our endless desire to be soothed". Vox. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  19. "Why is 'cottagecore' booming? Because being outside is now the ultimate taboo | Amelia Hall". the Guardian. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  20. Leskin, Paige. "Everything you need to know about e-girls and e-boys, teen gamers who have emerged as the antithesis of Instagram influencers". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  21. "How to dress like an E-girl in 2022: your definitive guide". Heat. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  22. "The Indie Aesthetic has changed, here's what you need to know". Happy Mag. 2021-07-01. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  23. June 20, Natalie Michie Date; 2022 (2022-06-20). "Fairycore: Shop the TikTok Aesthetic". FASHION Magazine. Retrieved 2022-08-11. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. "Fairycore Fashion is the Dreamy, Ethereal Trend You Have to Try". InStyle. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  25. Nast, Condé (2022-02-28). "TikTok's Viral Fairy Grunge Trend Is Inspired by "Twilight"". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  26. Unbothered, R29. "Let's Argue: How Do We Really Feel About The "Clean Girl Makeup" Aesthetic?". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "TikTok's 'Americancore' Trend Shows Americans How the Rest of the World Feels". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  28. ^ Nast, Condé (2021-09-28). "America as an Internet Aesthetic". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  29. Randall, Tiana (2022-07-12). "The problem with TikTok's 'clean girl' aesthetic". i-D. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  30. Staff, A. O. L. "Here's Why The 'Clean Girl Aesthetic' on TikTok Is Problematic". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  31. "TikTok's Clean Girl Aesthetic is Everywhere, But Is It Inclusive?". Bustle. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  32. Bossy (2021-11-01). "The Secret History of Eurocentrism in Aesthetics". Bossy. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  33. Abdi, Amal. "Meet Dark Academia, The Bookish Fashion Trend That's All Over TikTok". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
User:Photos of Japan/Internet aesthetic Add topic