Trend forecasters love a made-up word. Rurban, Metrosexual, FONO (fear of being Normal) etc. etc. you name it, we have re-named it. So, it seems so do Gen Z, the illusive group of 8 to 23 year olds who seem destined to take over the world – seemingly behind our backs – as none of us really understand what they are talking about.
TikTok is where it all goes on, which, if you are anything like me, can seem like an endless stream of cats doing silly things, disgusting cooking hacks and boys pretending to be their mums – or is that just my feed?
I know it’s our job to keep up with every trend, everywhere, all the time, but to be quite honest, TikTok is a step too far and I leave it to the younger members of the team to keep us up-to-date with all the cores, hacks and era’s. However, I am now and have always been, genuinely interested in youth culture and how it eventually transcends into the mainstream.
Having worked my way though every trend from rockabilly, to punk and new romantic, in my own youth and then having teenagers well-versed in the language and looks of the Hackney streets they grew up on, I have always been fascinated to observe how subcultures emerge both locally and globally. Back in the day – pre-social media – “trends” managed to stay relatively local and usually focused on music or clothes. Gen Z however, have taken things to a whole new level, with looks, phrases, dance moves etc. going viral quicker… than you can say #pilgrimcore.
So in an effort to share our knowledge of the often pointless things that may or may not turn into something mainstream, here’s a simple guide to some – not all – things Gen Z.
Full disclaimer, these may well be out of date by the time you read this.
- METACRINGE
According to i-D Vice 2023 is the year of Meta-cringe. This of course originates from TikTok, doesn’t everything? TikTok is the home of cringe, think painful comedy sketches, bad dancing and desperate attempts to influence. Blurring the lines between irony and sincerity has become its very own ‘thing’ and according to the Urban dictionary:“Meta-cringe is the act of cringing at somebody who is deliberately aware of what makes you and most people cringe.”
Complicated much? So just what is considered cringe, cringeworthy or cringey right now? Kate Linsey’s Substack Embedded, thinks the thing that cringe TikTok content has in common is “a particular comment you’ll find beneath most of them: ‘Another tough watch, thanks!”
Veronika Slowikowska, has 71,000 followers, and is a deliberately ‘tough watch’ creator. In one of her most popular videos, she laughs while practicing the delivery of a joke in a mirror. The video slow-fades to her at a Thanksgiving table, telling the joke to a group of people, where, of course, it bombs. “This was EXCRUCIATING..thank you” one comment reads.
So, it seems some people are being deliberately cringe and some just are cringe. See below for current cringes…
- Tom Grennan commenting on Ellie Golding‘s boobs at the BRIT Awards 2023
- Ariana DeBose‘s ‘painful‘ opening performance at the BAFTAs 2023
- Matt Healy – everywhere, all the time
- Ginny from Ginny & Georgia
- Cargo’s and a ‘nice top’ = too basic
- Skinny jeans
- North Face jackets
- Shein and fast fashion in general
- CHEUGY
When talking about ‘future cringe’, The New York Times recently asked:“what are the things we do today that will seem embarrassing or otherwise regrettable to our future selves — the stuff that will make us cringe when we look back on how we lived our lives in the early 2020s?”
Welcome to Cheugy – which is described as “the opposite of trendy” or “trying too hard“. God no! No-one likes a thristy try-hard, and this term is mainly reserved for millennials who are untrendy, outdated, or trying too hard. It’s another way to say basic, mainly by Gen Z, who apparently hate millennials.
It seems this generational beef started when TikTok celebrity Isabella Avila posted a video complaining about being confused with Facebook-using, avocado-toast-loving millennials.
“Just because you’re so old you can’t remember the difference, doesn’t mean it’s OK to lump us altogether.”
Try being a boomer Isabella, I’m a Trend Forecaster with a bus pass, who still obsesses over the latest trainer drops, yet, is lumped in with people who worry about bin day and drink actual cows milk!
So… back to cheugy – what is considered ‘cheugy’ apart from being born between 1981 and 1996?
- Motivational graphics – “But first… coffee” and “Live, Laugh, Love”
- Social media captions – “I did a thing,” “life’s a beach,” “thank you, next,” “this guy,” “hollibobs,” and “nom nom”
- Gender reveals
- Twinning with your boyfriend, child or pet
- Boomerangs on Instagram
- Age balloons and balloon arches
- #girlboss culture
With fashion things get more tricky, as the once exhaustive list of cheugy items can very quickly become cool again due to the rapidly changing trend cycle.
Gretchen McCulloch, a Linguist and the Author of “Because Internet,” a Book about how the internet has shaped language, says:
“I think millennials have noticed that some things we used to consider cheugy are coming back in style and aren’t cheugy anymore. When I was first introduced to the word in 2015, low rise jeans were cheugy. Now, they are back in style and I don’t think they’re cheugy anymore.”
See also Uggs, Crocs, crop tops, ballet flats, vests and even the (hideous) boho disc belts that have recently made a return. Look out for Sienna Miller inspired furry gilets and hobo bags for A/W 24/25.
No just NO!
- #CORECORE
#cluttercore
You’ve heard of cottagecore, goblincore, fairycore, mermaidcore, cluttercore and many, many more. The “core” term dates back to old-school music genres like hardcore, and has since become a catch-all for what starts as a niche aesthetic and can then – or not – translate into something more mainstream. The latest core to trend on TikTok is, ironically (or not, who knows?) corecore…
What fresh hell is this? You might ask and you would be right, as just when we thought we had cracked the core concept (lol) along comes a completely random, yet ironic, concept to confuse us even more.
Corecore is described as:“an anti-trend that can be loosely defined as similar and disparate visual and audio clips that are meant to evoke some form of emotion”.
“They’re like meme-poems, rife with short movie clips, music, and soundbites that are often somewhat nostalgic, nihilistic, or poignant,'” says Kieran Press-Reynolds a Digital Culture Blogger who first wrote about corecore back in November 2022.
Wait, what?!
- PURR
The phrases that seemingly come out of nowhere, fascinate me the most and the one we have been using (ironically) in the USP studio for a couple of weeks, is causing much amusement, especially when used by the boomers in the room (me).
Much like when a cat purrs to signal its happiness or excitement, “purr” is used by Gen Z to express approval. Additionally, Social Media Influencer Rolling Ray is credited with adopting Purr as an alternative to saying “period”.
- “I just got a McDonalds, purr”
- “Not you in your romcom era, purr”
These expressions are ideally accompanied by the peace sign and sticking ones tongue out to the side.
Don’t ask me why – I don’t make the rules.
- ABRREVIATIONS
And finally, here in the UK, after some ‘clever dick’ decided to call the Queens Jubilee celebrations the “Platty Joobs,” we have seen a whole host of hilarious abbreviations emerge.
- Cozzie livs = Cost of Living crisis
- Menty B/Nervy B = Mental breakdown
- Panny D = Pandemic
- Botty B = Bottomless brunch
I don’t know about anyone else, but after all this, I’m feeling a little bit like I need some shutty eye…
