Gen Z's Grunge Revival: "2014 Tumblr" & Ever-Present Nostalgia

TW: brief mentions of eating disorders, drug-use, & mental health struggles.

As a member of Gen Z, it is no secret that we are partial towards a sense of nostalgia. We find comfort in looking back on a familiar time that brings back fond memories — perhaps even a time when we weren't yet alive but feel an affinity towards. I love a good nostalgic moment: whether it be revisiting an old movie I watched incessantly growing up, listening to a song that brings back memories, or finding a piece of clothing that I once loved, anything that verges on sentimentality is bound to draw my attention.

With Gen Z's wistfulness for the past comes a tendency to romanticize what once was, often pulling from elements of bygone eras and incorporating them in our contemporary lifestyles. From a popular culture standpoint, these choices can manifest in fashion staples or genres of music having a cultural renaissance in the mainstream. The trend cycle predicts that concepts of style will come into popularity every twenty years or so; as a result, trends are changing at a rapid pace, and under Gen Z's control, the gravitation towards nostalgia produces a trend cycle that reflects styles from past decades.

The fashion industry has experienced a 90s revival for a few years now (in line with the trend cycle's twenty-year"rule") with former staples in the decade's fashion like baggy denim, platform shoes, and slip dresses deemed "back-in-style" with a demand for vintage clothing and modern reinterpretations. The music industry has seen a similar trend cycle appear through stylistic similarities to music that was mainstream in the 90s becoming popular again. These parallels also exist in an artist's image, showing the potential for music and fashion to coincide and create a "brand" for them to capitalize off of.

A primary example of Gen Z's influence on the trend cycle is the "grunge" revival, which has passed through many lifetimes since its comeback in the early 2010s. (I use "grunge" lightly, as some contest that Gen Z's reiteration of the sub-genre is inaccurate and unworthy of being deemed "grunge"; however, the elemental influence of the culture is apparent when looking back on the trend cycle.) While so-called "grunge" fashion staples — flannels, ripped denim, combat boots, etc. — became popularized through the power of early-2010s fashion blogs, the most notable and now-iconized revivals of the grunge era took place on social media platform Tumblr. Now affectionately called "2014 Tumblr," the blogging platform sparked a subcultural movement that has left a mark in Gen Z's subconscious.

A screenshot from "I miss 2014 tumblr" (https://laurennnxx.tumblr.com/)

The community formed on “2014 Tumblr” cultivated a definitive aesthetic: black-and-white color palettes, ubiquitous grid patterns, and minimalist imagery that managed to speak volumes. Music played a significant factor in the shaping of the aesthetic, with artists like Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, The Neighbourhood, and Lana Del Rey comprising the soundtrack of “2014 Tumblr” and assuming major roles in the imagery that was associated with the culture. From the Arctic Monkeys' rebranding as 1950s Greaser-types clad in leather jackets and hair gel, to Lana Del Rey's dreamlike melancholia with Americana influences, these musicians’ aesthetics were adopted by late millennials and early Gen Z-ers as an entire lifestyle.

Lana Del Rey, 2014

Arctic Monkeys, 2013

The mid-2010s produced iconography that maintained a strong influence in the years since; arguably, anyone who frequented Tumblr from the years 2013-2016 cannot look at a tennis skirt, black turtleneck, or Dr. Marten’s boots, or listen to Arctic Monkeys' "Do I Wanna Know?" without thinking of the “2014 Tumblr “aesthetic that once defined the platform. It is also interesting to look back on the influence that particular brands had on shaping the aesthetic. A primary example is American Apparel, whose imagery, as shown in their advertisements and consistent basic (yet recognizable) clothing staples, was heavily popularized on Tumblr during this time. I find the influence that American Apparel had on shaping the fashion choices of 2014 fascinating. Being an "indie" brand, on its own merit, American Apparel was simplistic in their approach to marketing and branding and, yet, managed to have a profound impact on young people living through this era.

American Apparel's "Back To Black" advertisement, 2014 — with strong aesthetic ties to Tumblr culture

I was between the ages of twelve and thirteen in 2014, and while perhaps a bit too young to fully comprehend the influence Tumblr had on me then, I cannot help but look back on this era and feel an intense nostalgia for it. The culture on "2014 Tumblr”surely had its unfavorable elements to it, with a tendency to glamorize harmful aspects of one's life: self-deprecation, mental health struggles, eating disorders, cigarette-smoking, and recreational drug-use, to name a few. Similar to many internet subcultures, the influence of a select few inspired a watchful community to follow suit, even if that meant promoting unfortunate habits masked as an "aesthetic." Further, the users on Tumblr who immersed themselves into "2014 Tumblr"were extremely young — predominantly impressionable teenagers. I think this culture that arose on Tumblr showcased the downfalls of social media, exacerbating the insecurities of young people and contributing to a potentially toxic environment reliant on validation from others.

However, I hope that Gen Z's reclamation of the “2014 Tumblr” era coincides with a reformed sense of self-awareness and lack of toxicity. The current revival of the aesthetic spawned primarily from TikTok (as most trends in contemporary culture seem to do) with Gen Z-ers embracing elements of their past as a source of comfort during the initial onset of the pandemic in 2020. Gen Z has revived both the fashion and the music popularized in 2014 with a modernized twist, bringing back the iconography in a more light-hearted way.

The basis of this blog, the intersection of music and fashion, is best seen through the evolution of “2014 Tumblr.” This era’s emergence on social media resulted in the aesthetic being cultivated in a way where music and fashion became synonymous, leading people to romanticize their lives and conduct themselves through a presentation of this aesthetic. I cannot help but love this era that once was, and am fond of the way my generation has revived it with a renewed sense of purpose. And after all, any excuse to dress in all black and listen to music from my youth is a dream scenario.