Amid a global uptick in digital-first subcultures that channel Y2K aesthetics, Chinese youth are embracing the ‘bad’ taste associated with older, rural, and working-class people in the country. Beyond simply serving as a form of self-expression, what’s behind this tacky nostalgia trip?
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- Generation
Yi Jing Fly is the author of ‘China Too Cool: Vernacular Innovations and Aesthetic Discontinuity of China’. With a background in fashion design and critical and visual studies, her interest lies in understanding society through aesthetic and consumer trends. She currently works in brand strategy at Design Bridge in Singapore.
Yaling Jiang is the founder of research and strategy consultancy ApertureChina and the consumer newsletter Following the Yuan. A part-time reporter, Jiang specialises in providing qualitative research, insights, and strategy services for premium overseas brands and financial institutions in the Chinese consumer market. She has also collaborated with various research firms.
Moya Crockett is a writer, journalist, and editor based in London. A former women’s editor, she’s particularly interested in the cultural, social, and political forces that shape people’s lives.
