THE DARK MODE SHIFT I've written about the 'return of opulence,' but after watching the past few months unfold and reading Sean Monahan's (@8ghtb4ll) The Boom Boom Aesthetic, it feels more like a shift from 'light mode' to 'dark mode.' For the last 15 years, there’s been a cultural push to... See more

We live in an era where personal style is increasingly indistinguishable from brand strategy. The aesthetic codes that once belonged to subcultures, regions, or craftspeople have been flattened into algorithms—optimized for compatibility, trend velocity, and frictionless aspiration. When everything looks good, originality becomes the only risk... See more

“Just look at the return of indie sleaze,” she says. “This gauche aesthetic is a symptom of our cultural transition from taste to tastelessness. Where pre-pandemic style was defined by the careful curation of cool, young people are now pushing back against refinement by reclaiming the carelessness that comes with being chaotic, tacky and anarchic.”