The Renaissance of 2014 Tumblr

Flower crowns, grainy photos, and John Green: these three things do not correlate to the vast majority, but to many younger Millennials and older Gen Z, these invoke images of a distant era of the internet. A moment in people’s lives many have pushed back into their brains or chosen to leave behind: 2014 Tumblr. This internet era, for many, is extremely nostalgic—or embarrassing. This is why many people find it shocking to see younger Gen Z bring back the aesthetics of the time. 

The 2014 Tumblr aesthetic is typically described as paying homage to the grunge aesthetic of the 90s but revamping the style for more modern times. Think black and white grunge outfits styled with a pair of Converse or Doc Martens encased in a grainy photograph. But, fashion and camera effects were not the only notable aspects of the aesthetic. Pop culture, fandoms, and music played a massive part in the culture of the app at the time, thus infiltrating the aesthetic. The indie-pop music craze was everywhere and fandom culture on Tumblr exploded. Fans of artists like Lorde and Troye Sivan as well as popular franchises like Doctor Who and Twilight had found a haven on Tumblr to talk with other people with similar interests. Due to the fandom culture of the time, many people find this era very nostalgic and see it as a time that shaped their formative years, which is why it is not surprising that it is making a comeback.

There are many different factors to the cycling of trends, many point to the 10-year trend loop as to why the aesthetics of 2014 are making a comeback, but it is thought to be more than that. Many people point to the Covid-19 pandemic. With lockdowns came many people moving back into their childhood bedrooms at their parents’ house and being confronted by their past interests. Another aspect is loneliness and political tensions that the pandemic caused, leading Millennials and members of Gen Z to find comfort in the nostalgia of their childhood and teen years. Initially, in the early days of the pandemic, Y2k fashion and aesthetics were everywhere, but as time progressed, aspects of 2014 had seeped in. 

Grunge and indie fashion has made a comeback as well as popular media artists and franchises of the time. In recent years, artists who were popular at the time have been making massive returns to the industry. Lana Del Ray and Taylor Swift were both popular artists in 2014 and have seen even more success in the present. Lana Del Ray released Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd in 2023 to great success and Taylor Swift has become humongous after her 2022 release of Midnights and The Eras Tour, a trend that seems to be increasing after her most recent album release The Tortured Poets Department. But the music industry is not the only place we see trending things from 2014 become popular again. One of the most prominent is The Hunger Games. In November of 2023 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes—a prequel to The Hunger Games—was released. The internet was overtaken like wildfire with the franchise, Coriolanus Snow edits, and Josh Hutcherson. The movie seemed to revive an entire fandom that had faded into a distant memory for many people and had shown the world that the fandom is still thriving even after its peak had passed.

This begs the question, is the 2014 Tumblr aesthetic coming back, or did the pandemic just make people more confident in their interests? It has been 10 years since 2014, and going off the 10-year trend cycle, it completely makes sense as to why 2014 and everything related to it seems oddly trendy. On the other hand, the isolation during the pandemic allowed people to explore parts of themselves they may have never explored because of constant societal pressure to—in the words of Echosmith—be like the cool kids. I was too young to be on Tumblr in 2014, so I have little to no interaction with the platform then and now, but many of the trends of the aesthetic and media had a large effect on my youth. Thinking back to the time and watching it make a comeback gives me, and many others, nostalgia for childhood. Considering the people making 2014 Tumblr trendy again are just reaching adulthood, it makes sense why they would want to cling to something comfortable. The world is a scary place, so why not reveal the times of our youth?