Navigating reality has become an almost constant shock to the system. With the ongoing cost of living crisis, wars, political polarisation, and global environmental issues, life’s stresses are becoming increasingly difficult to escape. With individuals and collectives in a perpetual state of disturbance, peop...

People are craving comfort. Amid what can feel like a state of constant crisis – a layering of traumatic societal events – it can sometimes seem like we’ve lost a sense of scale and cohesion. In the face of this, the desire to retreat into nostalgia is more seductive than ever.

TheAddams Familyspin-off seriesWednesdayquickly broke viewership records for Netflix. Centered around Morticia and Gomez’s morose daughter as she heads off to boarding school, the show puts a modern twist on a cult classic and further demonstrates the appeal of nostalgia-inducing TV.

Revolution has launched aShrek-themed make-up line that feeds Gen Yers and Zers' appetite for nostalgia. It follows a string of other collaborations from the brand based on films released in the '90s and 2000s, all of which facilitate playful escapism to help navigate through turbulent times.

Cultural memory is getting shorter, with mass digitisation causing people to seek solace in the recent past. But it’s not solely about innocence – ‘nowstalgia’ is fuelled by a desire to reimagine and right perceived wrongs. So, how is a meme mindset impacting Gen Z’s media consumption and style?

As a visual-first generation, people in their late teens and early twenties are developing new layers of visual culture to build community, express their individualism, and push back against the status quo. How is the fashion sector embracing post-ironic and meta-ironic behaviours for Gen Z?