Everything millennial is cool again

Side parts, malls, and optimism. Gen Z 1.0 was nostalgic for the early 2000s. But Gen Z 2.0 is reliving the 2010s.

Gen Z 2.0 spent years roasting millennials. Now they’re slowly becoming them.

Side parts. Digital cameras. Malls. Blogs. Even optimism.

While Gen Z 1.0 was nostalgic for the early 2000s, Gen Z 2.0 is reliving the 2010s.

Trends have always come and gone. But now, our microgenerations are moving so fast that we are even more quickly repeating the past. Cheugy, apparently, isn’t a thing anymore.

The return of millennial culture.

Let’s look at a few recent examples.

Side parts. These were recently dubbed cringe, while middle parts dominated. But now, the middle part is suddenly seen as severe, while the softer side part is back. And that’s exactly why. The simple and minimalist fashion — more rigid or dare I say it boring — of the past few years is losing its cultural cachet, while more maximalist and playful designs are on the rise.

Digital cameras. iPhone photos are fine. But there’s something really appealing about a digital camera. Not disposables or polaroids that were in vogue for the past few years. Instead, the Canon or Sony cameras that give the sheen of 2010.

Malls. The ultimate third place. Somewhere to go, in person, to spend time with friends, unsupervised, with many brands that were cool in the 2010s and even cooler now: Uggs, Coach, and of course, Sephora.

Blogs. Though now mostly on Substack or Beehive, blogging (or, newsletter-ing) has resurfaced. Unlike the days when it was just individuals typing away at their desks, entire media companies are now run like blogs. Brands even have their own, too. Short-form content is still #1. But long-form, something to really digest over a period of time, but online, and not in print, is now mainstream.

Optimism. As I wrote in our ins and outs for 2026, growing up in crisis and constantly complaining about it is no longer fun, for anyone. Instead, teens and young adults are craving something to look forward to and to even feel lighthearted about.

The 2016 trend. For the entire first week of this year, it felt like everyone on the internet was reposting their photos from a decade earlier. From the Snapchat dog face to flower crowns and heavyyyy filters, the era felt a bit lighter, more carefree, less calculated, and more hopeful. That’s necessary these days.

All of this is related…

The Up and Up’s take: For the past few years, youth culture, as dictated by Gen Z 1.0, has been defined by irony, detachment, and a kind of ambient doom. But that posture is exhausting. And Gen Z 2.0 has had enough. What’s replacing it is a small but deliberate turn towards sincerity and earnestness. Towards believing things might actually get better and not shying away from feel good moments just for the sake of it. The result is that the millennial era is getting a second life, maybe not even as nostalgia but as a coping mechanism.

Noteworthy reads

• Gen Alpha Can’t Be Ignored, Stacey Vanek Smith for Bloomberg

• Is Gen Z the end of school clubs?, Amanda Wright for Her Campus

• Gen Z is skipping sex to do this instead, study says, Fabiana Buontempo for the New York Post

• The disappointment of young Trump voters, Sarah Longwell for The Atlantic