Aesthetics in the 21st Century: Why and how do they matter?
“Aesthetics” traditionally refers to the principles (and often the philosophy) of beauty and art. Lately, however, the term has taken on an additional meaning referring to a particular visual theme, as well as taking on the meaning of simply being beautiful or otherwise visually appealing. “What’s your aesthetic?” and “That’s so aesthetic” are phrases commonly heard in the last five years or so.
The very concept of aesthetics as being visual themes is thought to be born out of traditional subcultures. However, some say that subcultures have slowly faded from existence, leaving behind microtrends and the “-core” suffix (Amin, 2023). The latter refers to the way that “-core” is attached to words as a way to create a name for an aesthetic. Arguably the most famous example of this is “cottagecore”, referring to a visual theme that consists of pastels, greens, flowers, tartan, and romanticizes the idea of living in a rural countryside or forest (Dictionary.com).
With all this said, aesthetics in the 2020s have sparked numerous discussions around the subject of what we consider beautiful and, consequently, what makes something trendy and popular. Furthermore, there are discussions of why we gravitate so fervently towards a particular visual theme.
A Brief History and Introduction of Aesthetic Trends
Visual cues are one of the most powerful communication tools that humans have. After all, human eyesight is typically far more powerful than our sense of smell or hearing (Team, 2022; Enoch, et al., 2019). Thus, humans have been utilizing visual cues to impart information and communicate status for thousands of years. One example of this is back during Renaissance Italy, where a voluptuous woman with a full figure would be considered far more attractive than her thinner counterparts due to the way that her body communicated her status as someone who would never go hungry and could afford to consume excessively (Eknoyan, 2006). Another example dates back to before Song China (960-1279 AD), when girls would have their feet broken and bound, a symbol that the family was wealthy enough to maintain a child that did not provide financially.
Put simply, aesthetic trends have always communicated a message to those around them. Often, this message was a status or notion of the owner’s wealth. Thus, attaching such a meaning to an aesthetic trend creates popularity: foot-binding, for example, became popular among the peasant class during the Qing Dynasty and remains practiced even today (Richardson, 2009). Put simply, aesthetic trends connect to one’s identity and communicate that identity to others.
Trends, Aesthetics, and Consumerism in the 2020s: Rise of “-core”
The modern idea of “aesthetics” as visual themes that people follow thus creates an interesting situation where, essentially, identities have become pre-packaged. It is easier now more than ever to choose what sort of person you wish to emulate: clean girl, old money, cottagecore, Y2K, and the list goes on. While not a standardized list, Aesthetic Wiki reports hundreds of different Internet aesthetics, each with different visual stories, themes, and messages to convey.
Something else to focus on is the consumer influence that aesthetics have on trends. For example, the Barbie movie is credited with reigniting a love for the Mattel toy franchise, as well as with starting the “Barbiecore” trend of “Barbie Summer” 2023. Clothes and accessories in “Barbie pink” were all the rage, particularly if one was going to a showing of the movie (Rangoni, 2023). Analysts credit the nomination of Barbie pink as Color of the Year 2023 with the way the movie promoted a hyper-feminine form of feminism, as women and young girls started dressing in a similar way that evoked “audacity, outlandishness, and provocativeness” through the bright hot pink color (Waldron, 2024). Being a “girlboss” and a “girl’s girl” is something that has been steadily on the rise in the past decades, and the Barbie pink trend was a widespread aesthetic trend of this ideology. And similarly, these ideas of being a girlboss and being a girl’s girl are nicely pre-packaged into the color and hyper-feminine style that is Barbiecore. The rise of the “-core” suffix has created a way for anyone to prepackage virtually any concept into an aesthetic, complete with visual themes, ideas, and even behaviors that one should emulate in order to subscribe to said aesthetic.
Why do aesthetics matter?
Previously, it was discussed that aesthetics play into identities, and that the very concept of an identity has become a packaged commodity through the commodification of aesthetics through products. In essence, the things that people like and attach themselves to have a significant impact on their identity and how they are perceived (Fingerhut, et al., 2021). Essentially, aesthetics are one major way of categorizing ourselves as certain types of people to the collective audience. This is not a new concept; humans have been categorizing each other since the dawn of time, and social categorization has been seen to be beneficial for navigation through society and even for self-preservation (Lee, Jussim, & McCauley, 1995). The very concept of gender is born from a need to categorize people into archetypes (Butler, 1990). Furthermore, as a replacement to the previous subculture network, aesthetics are a way for people to categorize themselves based on hobbies and other enjoyments in order to find community and like-minded people. The effects of social isolation have been a large field of study in psychology and psychopathology (Novotney, 2019), and thus, the importance of finding human connection through aesthetics cannot be understated. Similarly, subscribing to trends as they occur is one way that people organize themselves into social categories and label themselves as having a lot of social importance. By following trends, you are literally “in” – not just by being fashionable, but by being in the “in-group” as opposed to the “out-group”. Following trends, which, like aesthetics, are just another form of social standards within a community, allows people to find a sense of unity with each other.
Concluding Thoughts
In this piece, aesthetics as a psycho-socio-cultural need were explored. There is a lot more to discuss on the psychological, sociological, cultural, and economic impact and implications of aesthetics. A lot of commentators have critiqued the environmental impact that results from a severely shortened trend cycle. These also melt into trend culture and the rise of a new style of consumer behavior due to Internet developments. To summarize, aesthetic communities and trends are something to not take lightly as just another Internet thing; rather, they have deep-rooted impacts on the self and on the collective, as well as on the way that society navigates and functions. Paying attention to style trends and aesthetics is a powerful way of measuring societal attitudes and behaviors on a macro-level basis, and the power of the visual should not be underestimated as a form of communication and social categorization.
Works Cited
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Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cottagecore
Eknoyan, G. (2006). A History of Obesity, or How What Was Good Became Ugly and Then Bad. History, Advances in Kidney Disease and Health, 13(4), 421–427.
Enoch, J., McDonald, L., Jones, L., Jones, P. R., & Crabb, D. P. (2019). Evaluating whether sight is the most valued sense. JAMA Ophthalmology, 137(11), 1317. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2019.3537
Foreman, A. (2015, January 20). Why footbinding persisted in China for a millennium. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-footbinding-persisted-china-millennium-180953971/
Lee, Y. T., Jussim, L. J., & McCauley, C. R. (1995). Stereotype accuracy: Toward appreciating group differences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Novotney, A. (n.d.). The risks of social isolation. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/05/ce-corner-isolation
Rangoni, M., & Rangoni, M. (n.d.). Barbiecore: the newest trend of this Summer 2023. https://www.rangoniatelier.com/en/blog/post/barbiecore-the-newest-trend-of-this-summer-2023.html
Richardson, M. L. (2009). Chinese foot binding: Radiographic findings and case report. Radiology Case Reports, 4(1), 270. https://doi.org/10.2484/rcr.v4i1.270
Team, A. E. (2022, December 5). 77% of People Say Sight is Their Most Important Sense. Assil Gaur Eye Institute Blog. https://assileye.com/blog/is-sight-the-most-important-sense/
Waldron, M. (2024, January 3). “Barbie Pink” was the Colour of the Year - What makes it so significant? — Pi Media. Pi Media. https://uclpimedia.com/online/barbie-pink-was-the-colour-of-the-year-what-makes-it-so-significant#:~:text=In%20this%20sense%2C%20Barbie%20is,provocativeness%2C%20has%20gained%20such%20popularity.
Wiki, C. T. A. (n.d.). List of aesthetics. Aesthetics Wiki. https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Aesthetics
