This year, it looks like the revolving door of internet trends is coming and going faster than Julia Fox could say “Uncuht Jamz” – each with a shorter lifespan than the Miu Miu mini skirt that took over our streams and us convinced everyone that this low-rise piece of khaki was enough to disguise the shame of returning to Y2K trends. The online trends of 2022 have us acting like Patrick Bateman taking solo dates in the name of self-care like we’re not just antisocial, lonely suckers too lazy to make a Hinge profile. Either way, YOU GOT IT! These internet moments come and go and we can’t help but believe them because what else will fill the endless void in our minds reminding us that we’re like Chicken Little screaming that the world is ending and the climate change is imminent? Without further ado, here are Street’s favorite internet trends of 2022.
–Natalia Castillo, Editor-in-Chief
Julia Fox
Can a person be a trend? If that person is Julia Fox, it turns out the answer is yes. She called herself “Josh Safdie’s muse when he wrote ‘Uncuht Jamz'”, described his next book as “so far a masterpiece” (she wouldn’t say too much), and was the iconic eye makeup pioneer that launched a thousand Halloween costumes for twinks. Fox is a self-aware second comer to the celebrities of yore, but instead of wearing “Stop Being Poor” t-shirts (yes, I know the original was “Stop Being Desperate”), she has managed to stay remarkably trouble-free, from her ethical TikTok talk to coordinating photo shoots with the paparazzi. In an interview with Highsnobietyshe says “I can take a photo that will be reblogged many times, and this designer is going to have his first write in vogue. Stuff like that gives me fuel because it’s like, ‘I can do good with this.’ A real queen of the people, I think.
–Walden Green, print editor
Ditch the fast fashion trends
Do you remember the swirling dress from House of Sunny? Or the Prada reissue bag? Yeah, so do we…unfortunately. Along with so many other micro-trends, these articles have been seared into the minds of everyone who has consumed TikTok content over the past year. It often feels like the platform has accelerated trends to the point where they no longer exist, supplanting traditional fashion house and runway seasons with short bursts of influencer promotion followed by obsolescence. almost immediate. In a way, that’s a good thing – it means that personal style has started to reign supreme over following a set list of what to wear to be ‘cool’. In one way or another, almost every decade is fashionable at the same time – from 90s punk to 70s disco to 2000s sparkle – and as long as you like what you’re wearing , others will come too.
–Emily White, Editor-in-Chief
Stay-at-home girlfriends
I felt guilty the days I didn’t leave home. I saw myself as lazy, even antisocial. But not anymore – now I’m a glamorous stay-at-home girlfriend. Whose girlfriend? Not clear, but that’s not the point. This new TikTok trend was born from the “Day in the Life” videos of childless women who live with their partner and are financially supported by him, spending their time on self-care and household maintenance. All in all, it’s a pretty unrealistic lifestyle, and could send an anti-independence message to an impressionable audience. However, it taught me a thing or two about how to incorporate alone time into my routine. Instead of seeing it as an act of avoidance, I see it as an act of self-care and a necessary break from reality. The stay-at-home girlfriend aesthetic is lovely – just practice it in small doses, please.
–Arielle Stanger, Assignments Writer
Famous Private Chefs
This year, there’s more to your average TikTok cooking video. Step aside, Buzzfeed Kitchen; private chefs serving the Hamptons’ most luxurious elite are taking over the internet. Meredith (aka Wishbone Kitchen) and Kara Fauerbach are two New York-based chefs who document their culinary experiences for themselves and their customers. These two cooking geniuses, along with other members of the TikTok private chef community, post food runs, recipe videos and a personal favorite, “A Day in My Life as a Private Chef” vlogs. . This new group of content creators blurs the lines between work and play, expressing themselves through farm-fresh produce and the occasional “look” of seasonings.
— Kate Ratner, music editor
“Silent” Videos
In this abbreviated genre on TikTok and Instagram, we began to see the moving textures of life’s most ethereal and weirdest moments in a sea of ”silent” videos. From glimpses of the rushing calm of waves on a moonlit beach to low-light renderings of rain-soaked city streets, these videos depict moments of daily life – shrouded in darkness – communicate soothing feelings of nostalgia, and yet respite. Richly associated with ambient, atmospheric or emotional music, they ask the spectator to beg for liminality, to seek nothing. This genre has become all the more significant as Gen Z’s desire to orient themselves and “get away” has grown with each passing day, made restless by the onslaught of technology and social media. These videos are devoid of pop culture noise, and over the course of the year they’ve accomplished what an influencer can’t: compel viewers to become more in tune with themselves and their world. When Øneheart and Reidenshi’s “Snowfall” or Patrick Watson’s “I’ll Leave You Words” engulf the viewer in the nooks and crannies of our enchanting worldly moments, we begin to love and see the unusual artistry of the living images before we.
— Tyler Kliem, Design Editor
sweet minions
Many events call for a suit, collared shirt, or dress shoes. Weddings, graduations, fancy dinners or fifteenth round interviews at the Wharton club are perfect examples. But cinemas? Not so much, at least until this year.
If anyone watched Minions: The Rise of Gru this summer, chances are they were surrounded by teenagers dressed in formal wear (or maybe they were dressed themselves). For all Generation Z Minions fans, the #GentleMinions summer trend was as integral to the movie experience as the movie itself. Although the beginning of the trend has no precise origin, we can trace TikTok users who started dressing in stylish outfits until minions main character and main villain: Gru.
Minions: The Rise of Gru—a film made up mostly of bathroom and fart jokes – isn’t exactly a cinematic masterpiece. However, the original film in the franchise, Despicable Me, is a hallmark of Gen Z, making this new addition to the franchise an “event movie” worthy of a lighthearted, silly, and fun trend.
— Jacob Pollack, film and television editor
The existential foodie
Browsing through instagram, I come across a masterful pizza – I’ve never witnessed such beauty. Red sauce made from fresh San Marzano tomatoes covers a cool, fluffy white canvas, and clouds of mozzarella adorn the bed of red. A pristine crust is crispy to perfection – wait…what does the legend say? “Will this make me happy? No.” The awesome photo of food paired with highly existential captions became my new religion and I showed my commitment to faith by only curating my Instagram feed to show me these ridiculously perfect posts. Food actually makes me think to how, say, if i have no idea what i want to eat for dinner i can never satiate my ever growing appetite for love and i will never settle down and be a lonely spinner with 17 cats and an exceptional talent for crocheting matching kitten hats. Alas, until I find a new therapist, I will continue to self-medicate with my daily dose of foodie Instagram posts laced with a healthy helping of existential dread.
— Natalia Castillo, editor-in-chief
Go solo
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we tend to lose sight of the simple pleasures: poring over a book on a park bench, sipping coffee, and staring at strangers, scowling like a tortured genius staring at a painting. This weekend, try to go to the museum, the bookstore or the local café. Everything is easier once you slow down and learn to enjoy your own company. I am an expert: Before leaving the house, I like to sit in front of the mirror and look lovingly at my reflection. I have all the characteristics of a human being.
— Irma Kiss Barath, art editor
The message “It’s corn!” Child
Put simply, seven-year-old Tariq won the hearts of millions of fans online: “It’s corn!”
In a now-viral YouTube video featured on Julian Shapiro’s internet show – Barnum recess therapy Last August, Tariq professed his love for the “hunk with pimples” – which he points out actually has “the juice”.
The clip of the so-called “CEO of Corn” quickly caught fire. #CornKid has garnered over 475 million views on Tik Tok, while Tariq’s musings have even been turned into a remix that has stuck in the heads of every teen and twentysomething on the app for months. Midway through the interview, Tariq asks Shapiro-Barnum to take a look at the cob he’s currently munching on, saying “I can’t imagine a prettier thing.” And, you know what, neither do I.
— Hannah Lonser, Editor-in-Chief
Celebrity Podcasts
Like any other human being with a TikTok account, we are tiredness to see a middle-aged man, who criticizes pizza and probably still lives with his mother, spending time on a weekly podcast with an underdeveloped Justin Bieber (baby era) and a TikTok influencer who parties in the weekend colleges (I’m looking for you BFFs podcast hosts David Portnoy & CO). However, we can’t lie – who doesn’t like celebrity gossip to be heard in their eardrums between classes. Much like our Monday morning errands at Pret, we love to complain and drag them through the mud, but we wouldn’t know what to do without our daily dose of celebrity podcasts.
— Natalia Castillo, Editor-in-Chief
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