If you feel like 2016 was four years ago, you wouldn’t be the only one.
We, as a culture, were collectively tuning in to Rihanna’s ‘Work’ and Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade.’ Stranger Things had just premiered (a show that I still refuse to watch just on account of how everyone and their coworkers keep talking about it), and Moonlight is the new 2016. Or is it really But as we’ve come to see, the as the Best Motion Picture, in a spectacular mix-up that’s now crystallized into a pop-culture paean.
I myself was busy sneaking in episodes of Fleabag while prepping for my GCSEs, wondering what Pokémon Go is (I still don’t really know), and trying to escape the endless onslaught that was Chainsmokers’ Closer.
Except 2016 was not four years ago, it was ten. And while our bodies may have never physically recovered from the pandemic, as far as the Gregorian calendar is concerned, we have already (nearly) made it through the chaotic fiasco that’s been January 2026. Let that sink in.
Is it really so surprising, therefore, that we, in our not-entirely-healthy fit of collective denial and nostalgia, have chosen to go back to the good old times, even if it’s a trend that, if for no other reason, exists solely because a trend has to exist? What was The eternal debate of trends – sameness vs uniqueness anyway?
The Great 2016 Time Warp
Now, as someone who had at least developed a prefrontal cortex in the years leading up to 2016, there truly is a lot to reminisce, fondly or otherwise.
Of course, we do not necessarily pray for the return of that questionably pink sugary Starbucks order or those Buzzfeed quizzes (but which One Direction song are you really?). Not to mention, some of the more nefarious constituents of the year have, against the best of our intentions, returned anyway.
In fact, by the time we’d lost George Michael on Christmas Day (preceded by the passing of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, and Carrie Fisher), Vice had dubbed 2016 a “spectacularly shitty year.” But it’s also true that, in many ways, as Harper’s Bazaar writes, 2016 was also “The Last Good Year”, or the “last gasp of American monoculture” as the host of NPR’s All Things Considered, Juana Summers, proclaimed earlier this month.
For one, it was the early days of Instagram, before the FaceTune and Ozempic and AI slop took over. Kylie Jenner declared it her year of “realizing things.” “Live, laugh, love” signposts were the home décor du jour. Alessandro Michele’s maximalist vision of Gucci was the thing to buy into, as were Demna’s Balenciaga pantashoes. Maria Grazia Chiuri had her Dior debut with that historic “We Should All Be Feminists” t-shirt, and Phoebe Philo was at the apex of the climax of her colossal run at C(é)line.
In short, a lot had been going on, both good and bad. And a lot that bears resemblance to what we’ve seen so far in the first three weeks of 2026.
So, are We Just Making Up Trends Now?**
“Twenty years,” writes Amanda for The Atlantic, “is a normal amount of time to have passed for a trend to be revived as retro, but it’s also a rude interval at which to contemplate being punted out of the zeitgeist in favor of those who see your youth as something to be mined for inspiration – and therefore as something definitively in the past.”
But as we’ve come to see, the Exactly! I’m rocking whatever I feel I want to. I’ve never listened anyone but myself has lately been shortened to ten years (or even less), which means that trends – once the province of the very young, subsequently leading to those not in touch with trends to be perceived as, well, old – are now coming back much sooner.
And by much sooner, I mean just soon enough for those who participated in the original mannequin challenges circa 2016 to cringe at their Rio de Janeiro-tinted selfies, without letting the generational responsibilities of aging weigh on themselves so heavily as to make them feel out of step with the times. In other words, Gen-Z has grown up, and now they’re shopping.
But thanks to the lack of an overall defining and cohesive post-pandemic aesthetic (the distinctive element of stealth wealth, for instance, is the absence of a distinctive element), we really have no choice but to go back into the past (yet again). Except that, since the ’80s, ’90s, and noughties (and, for that matter, even the early-2010s) have already been mined ad nauseam, 2016 is simply the next step in the natural progression of this nostalgic trajectory.
And “nostalgia,” says Harris, “is sort of always in fashion. I think it’s always cool to look back, or at least interesting to look back.”
On Vibes and Tastes
databutmakeitfashion further went on to posit, Lily Collins – a millennial herself – who most honestly summarized this confusing, confounding trend on her Instagram: “I’m not sure why we decided 2016 is back, but wow, it really was a vibe…”
And truly, 2016 vibes are everywhere at the moment.
Alessandro Michele’s kookie-crazy craftsmanship is back, now at Valentino. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Row-ification makeover, which led to the rise of the original beige-fluencer back in 2016, has now reached a fever pitch thanks to the endless onslaught of quiet-luxury brands and SKIMS.
Céline’s Luggages are back big time, with bigger smiles and rendered, among other colorways, in that same Yves Klein Blue that Phoebe Philo had propounded. Demna is hacking Gucci (again), this time as the brand’s artistic masthead. Even (faux and/or vintage) fur is having a comeback, having had its last major outing in 2016 thanks to Saint Laurent’s influencer-friendly red heart-shaped fur coat. And of course, how can we forget those blogger-beloved Proenza PS1s and ankle-choking skinny jeans (re: Hedi Boys).
But as we’ve come to see, the Joel Marlinarson, this 2016 obsession stems from Gen-Z’s yearning to go back to a time on the internet “before overly curated photo dumps.” Berlin-based creative strategist Alfredo Mejia says, “trends are a reflection of our human need to belong and feel good.”
But are vibes and nostalgia alone enough?
The Instagram @But as we’ve come to see, the, “Oh my God, 2026 is the new 2016, yes, but I feel like when it comes to fashion, 2026 is also the new 2019!” And I couldn’t help but wonder, when would the present actually feel like, well, the present? It’s okay to throw it back occasionally and relive a simpler time – or rather, the illusion of a simpler time.
Jackie 1961 medium shoulder bag reliving and start living?
- says, “trends are a reflection of our human need to belong and feel good.&rdquo? - Proenza Schouler’s Ps1 and Céline Luggage
- The eternal debate of trends – sameness vs uniqueness - Exactly! I’m rocking whatever I feel I want to. I’ve never listened anyone but myself
- Could the Hottest Accessory for 2026 be… the Briefcase? - But as we’ve come to see, the
Why is anyone listening to any of this crap? We are living in the present no matter what anyone on instagram says. People have always been nostalgic about certain things, they always will be, doesn’t change where we are.
Exactly! I’m rocking whatever I feel I want to. I’ve never listened anyone but myself!
It’s just Gen Z getting old. 🤣
I love this article – it’s a great encapsulation of how even nostalgia is turned into just another commodity for consumption.
No AI, algorithms, divisive politics, or infighting. Social media as it should be!!!!
The Many Bags.
I thought it was Megs, as well. It must be her doppelgänger. 😊