Internet aesthetics

{{Short description|Visual styles and subcultures associated with the Internet}}

File:Wikiwave 00000.png is among one of the most prominent and notable early Internet-centric aesthetics that emerged in the 2010s.]]

Internet aesthetics refers to visual styles, subcultures, and thematic trends that originated or proliferated primarily through the internet.{{Cite web |title=Internet aesthetic {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/internet-aesthetic |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}} Emerging out of the online blogosphere era among Millennials in the late 2000s and gaining significant cultural traction throughout the 2010s and 2020s amongst Gen Z, internet aesthetics encompass a wide range of niche communities and visual identities associated with modern youth subcultures defined by their digital circulation, curated imagery, and symbolic references to technology, nostalgia, and alternative culture, typically blending elements of fashion, music, visual art, and memes.{{Cite web |title=How the Internet is categorized with Aesthetics {{!}} Monopol |url=https://www.monopol-magazin.de/how-internet-categorized-aesthetics |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.monopol-magazin.de |language=de}}{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Editorial |date=2024-01-28 |title=Is aesthetics formed on the Internet? Bored generations and web hypnosis |url=https://lampoonmagazine.com/article/2024/01/28/internet-aesthetics-web-hypnosis-traumacore-weirdcore-vaporwave-dreamcore-backrooms/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Lampoon Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2023-12-05 |title=Are we living through a great subcultural renaissance? |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/61507/1/are-we-living-through-a-great-subcultural-renaissance |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Dazed |language=en}}

These aesthetics were originally often associated with early blog-based platforms such as Tumblr. By the late 2010s to early 2020s, they later evolved to encompass social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, with the COVID-19 lockdowns being linked to the proliferation of these aesthetics online. Notable internet aesthetics include Seapunk, Vaporwave, Cottagecore, Goblincore, Gorpcore, E-girls and E-boys,{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2019-07-15 |title=E-girls and boys’ style is the antidote to the homogenised IG aesthetic |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/45266/1/e-girls-e-boys-tiktok-instagram-fashion-eve-fraser-luis-abad-gen-z-style |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Dazed |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2019-07-26 |title=Introducing: The E-Boy |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-is-an-e-boy/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=VICE |language=en-US}} Dark academia, and 2020 Alt.

Although, internet aesthetics have been influential to wider fashion{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2022-10-04 |title=Memes, minions and meta-irony: The rise of post-internet fashion |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/56877/1/memes-minions-and-meta-irony-the-rise-of-post-internet-fashion-praying-ogbff |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Dazed |language=en}} and music trends,{{Cite journal |last1=Giolo |first1=Guilherme |last2=Berghman |first2=Michaël |date=2023-03-13 |title=The aesthetics of the self: The meaning-making of Internet aesthetics |url=https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/12723 |journal=First Monday |language=en |doi=10.5210/fm.v28i3.12723 |issn=1396-0466 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite web |last=Spellings |first=Sarah |date=2021-05-25 |title=Do I Have an Aesthetic? |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/do-i-have-an-aesthetic |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}} they have also been linked to the decline of monoculture and traditional youth subcultures, with writers often citing the fractured nature of the internet and the proliferation of microgenres as factors that are redefining the concept of counterculture in the 21st century.{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Rebecca |date=2020-05-07 |title=Stuck in 2020, pretending it’s 2014 |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/5/7/21247938/tumblr-aesthetic-2014-nostalgia-tiktok-indie-pop |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=Koc |first=Alican |date=2025-01-01 |title="Is The Scene Still Alive?": Post-Hipster Affect, Memetic Aesthetics, and the Crisis of Subcultural Authenticity |url=https://www.academia.edu/127716066/_Is_The_Scene_Still_Alive_Post_Hipster_Affect_Memetic_Aesthetics_and_the_Crisis_of_Subcultural_Authenticity |journal=Cultural Critique |doi=10.1353/CUL.2025.A951012}}{{Cite web |last=Viney |first=Steven |date=2015-04-07 |title=Hey Internet, Thanks for Ruining Subcultures Too |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/hey-internet-thanks-for-ruining-subcultures-too/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Chambers |first=Katie |title=All style, no substance: the problem of aesthetics in 2023 |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/63526/all-style-no-substance-the-aesthetics-wiki |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=www.prospectmagazine.co.uk |language=en}}

History

= 1980s =

File:Cyberpunk Lobby (51173530721).jpg sci-fi genre.]]

The use of aesthetic suffixes, particularly -punk, has its origins in the 1980s. Cyberpunk was a literary subgenre in science fiction that evolved into a visual aesthetic depicting dystopian futures shaped by advanced technology and cybernetics. Minnesota writer Bruce Bethke coined the term in 1983 for his short story "Cyberpunk", which was published in an issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories, the aesthetic grew in popularity during the 1980s influencing films like Blade Runner, Tron, Videodrome, The Terminator and RoboCop.{{Cite news |last=Walker-Emig |first=Paul |date=2018-10-16 |title=Neon and corporate dystopias: why does cyberpunk refuse to move on? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/oct/16/neon-corporate-dystopias-why-does-cyberpunk-refuse-move-on |access-date=2025-07-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |title=Cyberpunk - a short story by Bruce Bethke |url=http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/cpunk.htm |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=www.infinityplus.co.uk}} The cyberpunk genre later developed into its own subculture which was sometimes associated with hacker culture, as well as an early online community, which included a dedicated Usenet newsgroup.{{Cite web |last=Melichová |first=Silvia |date=2006 |title=Cyberpunk as Subculture |url=http://cyberpunk2021.free.fr/cp_pdf.php?txt=216&lng=fr |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Cyberpunk2021.free.fr |language=en |format=PDF}}{{Cite web |author=Intercon |date=1990 |title=Cyberpunk (1990) – Documentary |url=https://archive.org/details/cyberpunk_201410 |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Internet Archive |format=MP4}} Usenet is widely regarded as an early precursor to modern Internet forums, discussion boards, and social media platforms.{{Cite news |last=Torres |first=Luc |date=2016-12-24 |title=Looking back: Social media |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/dec/24/looking-back-social-media |access-date=2025-07-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |title=Usenet News: alt.* Newsgroups |url=https://abacus.bates.edu/resources/usenet/h_alt.html |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=abacus.bates.edu}} By the early 1990s, some trends in fashion and music were also labeled as cyberpunk, with the aesthetic also appearing prominently in anime and manga (Japanese cyberpunk), with Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop.{{cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=Shohini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOXoeyesZOIC&pg=PA104 |title=Contemporary World Cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7486-1799-9 |page=104}}{{Cite news |last=Walsh |first=Joseph |date=2017-04-03 |title=Digital love: why cinema can't get enough of cyberpunk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2017/apr/03/digital-love-why-cinema-cant-get-enough-of-cyberpunk |access-date=2025-07-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite journal |last=Felt |first=Lindsey Dolich |date=2019-04-01 |title=Cyberpunk's Other Hackers: The Girls Who Were Plugged In |url=https://catalystjournal.org/index.php/catalyst/article/view/29615 |journal=Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=1–34 |doi=10.28968/cftt.v5i1.29615 |issn=2380-3312}}{{Cite news |last=Virtue |first=Graeme |date=2021-11-19 |title=Cowboy Bebop review – a slick and spirited slice of TV cyberpunk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/nov/19/cowboy-bebop-review-a-slick-and-spirited-slice-of-tv-cyberpunk |access-date=2025-07-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

In 1988, the term 'Cybergoth' was coined by Games Workshop, for their roleplaying game Dark Future, which developed into a fashion style and subculture the following decade.{{cite web |author=Andrew Mayer |date=1988 |title=What the Hell is Cybergoth? A Look at Cyberpunk's Bastard Children |url=http://www.streettech.com/bcp/BCPgraf/Manifestos/cybergoth.htm |website=Street Tech}}

By the mid-to-late 1980s, steampunk was coined by science fiction author K. W. Jeter as a tongue-in-cheek variant of "cyberpunk", to define a retrofuturist aesthetic blending Victorian era design with steam-powered machinery.{{cite news |date=Oct 17, 2011 |title=What The Hell Is Steampunk? |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/william-higham/steampunk-what-the-hell-is-it_b_1015192.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812210853/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/william-higham/steampunk-what-the-hell-is-it_b_1015192.html |archive-date=August 12, 2017 |access-date=Aug 12, 2017 |newspaper=HuffPost UK |language=en-GB}}{{Cite book |last1=Duggan |first1=Anne |title=Folktales and Fairy Tales: Traditions and Texts from around the World, 2nd Edition [4 volumes]: Traditions and Texts from around the World |last2=Haase |first2=Donald |last3=Callow |first3=Helen J. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-61069-253-3 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |pages=835}} These terms laid the groundwork for later aesthetic naming conventions in internet subcultures such as seapunk and slimepunk.{{Cite news |last=Stehlik |first=Lucy |date=2012-12-14 |title=Seapunk: scenester in-joke or underground art movement? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/dec/14/seapunk-has-now-gone-pop |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Detrick |first=Ben |date=2012-03-02 |title=Little Mermaid Goes Punk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/fashion/Seapunk-a-Web-Joke-With-Music-Has-Its-Moment.html |access-date=2025-07-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Suffixes such as -core deriving from hardcore punk, -gaze deriving from shoegaze, -wave deriving from new wave and coldwave, and -punk deriving from punk rock have been used to describe internet visual aesthetics. The term sleaze (as in indie sleaze) arose in response to {{nobr|-core}} to refer to subversions of trends.{{Cite news |last=Madden |first=Aemilia |date=December 30, 2022 |title=These TikTok Fashion Trends Are Poised to Go Viral in 2023 |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/g42329991/2023-tiktok-viral-fashion-trends/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=Harpers Bazaar}} Internet aesthetics have also been influenced by and linked to the post-Internet contemporary art movement of the mid 2000s to early 2010s.{{Cite news |last=Gat |first=Orit |date=2023-11-07 |title=The Digital Culture Odyssey of Post-Internet Art |url=https://www.frieze.com/article/post-internet-art-239 |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=Frieze |language=en |issue=239 |issn=0962-0672}}{{Cite web |title=Peter De Potter: deconstructive art and post-internet aesthetics |url=https://hero-magazine.com//article/174863/peter-de-potter |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Hero |language=en}}

= 1990s-2000s =

File:Hopapanic.jpg.]]

During the late 1990s, mall goth emerged as a subculture to describe a style of goth fashion centered around nu metal, industrial metal, emo and the Hot Topic store chain,{{cite web |last1=Zaphyria |first1=Angelina |title=Voguish: a guide to goth |url=https://www.adolescent.net/a/voguish-a-guide-to-goth |access-date=10 January 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Tom |date=11 March 2019 |title=The IG documenting the Hot Topic mallgoths of the 90s and 00s |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/43658/1/instagram-hot-topic-mallgoth-1990smallgoth-nu-metal-marilyn-manson-subculture |access-date=10 January 2021 |website=Dazed}} due to the term emerging as a pejorative, equal to the use of poseur,{{cite book |last1=Ladouceur |first1=Liisa |title=Encyclopedia Gothica}}Nancy Kilpatrick. Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. St. Martin's Griffin, 2004, p. 24 it was largely considered a separate subculture simply influenced by goth.{{cite web |last1=Christie |first1=Heather |date=28 October 2019 |title=It's Officially Spooky Season. Here's How To Dress For It Like An Adult. |url=https://www.elle.com/fashion/a29580707/goth-trend-resort-2020/ |access-date=10 January 2021 |website=Elle}}{{cite web |last1=Dubick |first1=Stephanie |date=4 April 2017 |title=Elder Goths: When Growing Up Doesn't Mean Abandoning Your Favorite Youth Culture |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/elder-goths-when-growing-up-doesnt-mean-abandoning-your-favorite-youth-culture/ |access-date=1 February 2021 |website=Vice Media}} With the increased usage of the internet and social media in the early 2000s, mall goths became frequent users of sites such as MySpace{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Jess |date=15 December 2016 |title=Beauty Bar: Glam Goth |url=https://www.collegefashionista.com/beauty-bar-glam-goth/ |access-date=2 February 2021}} and Pure Volume.{{cite magazine |title=50 Things Millennials Know That Gen-Xers Don't |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/50-things-millennials-know-that-gen-xers-dont-11233/pinterest-212953/ |magazine=Rolling Stone}} Other early internet subcultures included scene kids{{Cite web |date=July 5, 2017 |title=The cringe things you'll remember if you were a scene kid in the mid-2000s |url=https://thetab.com/uk/2017/07/05/cringe-things-youll-remember-scene-kid-mid-2000s-42342 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730021322/https://thetab.com/uk/2017/07/05/cringe-things-youll-remember-scene-kid-mid-2000s-42342 |archive-date=July 30, 2018 |access-date=July 30, 2018 |website=UK}}{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Ethan |date=25 May 2021 |title=From Hardcore to Harajuku: the Origins of Scene Subculture |url=https://www.popmatters.com/scene-subculture-origins-hardcore-harajuku |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525180042/https://www.popmatters.com/scene-subculture-origins-hardcore-harajuku |archive-date=25 May 2021 |access-date=25 May 2021 |website=PopMatters}} who emerged in the early 2000s, drawing influence from metalcore, crunkcore, deathcore, electronic music, and pop punk{{Cite web |date=August 2, 2018 |title=A Final Pilgrimage To Warped Tour, As Told By A Former Scene Kid |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2008387/warped-tour-final-year-scene-report/franchises/sounding-board/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322154814/https://www.stereogum.com/2008387/warped-tour-final-year-scene-report/franchises/sounding-board/ |archive-date=March 22, 2019 |access-date=March 22, 2019}}{{Cite web |date=November 14, 2018 |title=A History of Counterculture: Emo and Scene |url=https://www.collegefashion.net/inspiration/history-of-subculture-emo-scene/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607003152/https://www.collegefashion.net/inspiration/history-of-subculture-emo-scene/ |archive-date=June 7, 2019 |access-date=June 6, 2019 |website=College Fashion}} as well as gaining popularity through the early social media website MySpace.{{Cite web |last=Irizarry |first=Katy |title=16 Bands Who Got Their Start on MySpace |url=https://loudwire.com/bands-who-got-start-on-myspace/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322165904/https://loudwire.com/bands-who-got-start-on-myspace/ |archive-date=2019-03-22 |access-date=2019-03-22 |website=Loudwire}}

The emergence of internet aesthetics can be traced back to the late 2000s, amongst the Millennial Generation, with the rise of online microgenres during the blogosphere era.{{Cite web |last=Zhou |first=Maggie |title=Indie Sleaze, Tumblr Girl & Twee: The Resurrection Of 2014 Internet Aesthetics Is Here |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/tumblr-girl-internet-aesthetic |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.refinery29.com |language=en-GB}} One of the earliest examples of a purely internet-driven music microgenre was chillwave, which was coined by the ironic music blog Hipster Runoff around 2009 as an internet meme. Although microgenres and scenes coined online like shitgaze,{{Cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Philip |date=2021-10-07 |title=25 Microgenres That (Briefly) Defined the Last 25 Years |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/microgenres-25th-anniversary/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=I Miss Shitgaze, Man |url=https://floodmagazine.com/141620/i-miss-shitgaze-man/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=FLOOD |language=en}} bloghouse{{Cite web |title=What Is Bloghouse? - PAPER Magazine |url=https://www.papermag.com/bloghouse |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.papermag.com |language=en}} and blog rock{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Ian |date=2015-06-23 |title=Blog Rock Revisited: Musing the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 10th Anniversary Tour |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/811-blog-rock-revisited-musing-the-clap-your-hands-say-yeah-10th-anniversary-tour/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Jonze |first=Tim |date=2011-06-13 |title=Blog rock is born |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/14/blog-rock-is-born |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} predated it, chillwave became one of the first musical genres to develop primarily through the internet.{{Cite web |last=Scherer |first=James |date=2016-10-26 |title=Great artists steal: An interview with Neon Indian's Alan Palomo - |url=https://www.smilepolitely.com/music/great_artists_steal_an_interview_with_neon_indians_alan_palomo/ |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Smile Politely — Champaign-Urbana's Culture Magazine |language=en-US}} Though it was strictly a musical genre, chillwave went on to be influential on future online aesthetic developments like vaporwave.{{Cite news |last=Friedlander |first=Emilie |date=2019-08-21 |title=Chillwave: a momentary microgenre that ushered in the age of nostalgia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/21/chillwave-microgenre-nostalgia-pop |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

= 2010s =

File:Seapunk is Alive!.png aesthetic.]]

The first widely recognized internet aesthetic was seapunk coined by DJ Lil Internet in 2011, in a humorous tweet: "Seapunk leather jacket with barnacles where the studs used to be."{{cite news |last=Detrick |first=Ben |date=March 2, 2012 |title=Little Mermaid Goes Punk: Seapunk, a Web Joke With Music, Has Its Moment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/fashion/Seapunk-a-Web-Joke-With-Music-Has-Its-Moment.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307133039/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/fashion/Seapunk-a-Web-Joke-With-Music-Has-Its-Moment.html |archive-date=7 March 2012 |access-date=August 16, 2016 |work=The New York Times}} The term quickly spread on Tumblr to describe a distinctive blend of 1990s web iconography, ocean motifs, and cyberpunk visuals. In 2012, seapunk gained mainstream attention when rapper Azealia Banks used seapunk imagery in her "Atlantis" music video,{{Cite web |last=Martins |first=Chris |date=November 14, 2012 |title=Seapunks Salty Over Rihanna and Azealia Banks' 'Net Aesthetics |url=http://www.spin.com/2012/11/azealia-banks-rihanna-seapunk-beef-saturday-night-live-video/ |access-date=August 16, 2016 |website=Spin}} while singer Rihanna's "Diamonds" performance on Saturday Night Live drew visual aesthetic influences from the movement.{{cite news |last=Harwood |first=Nick |date=November 30, 2012 |title=You Never Thought Seapunk Would Take It This Far |url=http://respect-mag.com/you-never-thought-seapunk-would-take-it-this-far-zombelle-talks-azealia-banks-rihanna-the-week-the-second-internet-exploded |access-date=February 12, 2014 |publisher=Respect}} Seapunk was notable for its intentional embrace of kitsch and digital surrealism, marking the development of aesthetics as cohesive visual subcultures born entirely online, the aesthetic also developed into its own musical style, pioneered by musician and producer, Ultrademon.{{Cite web |last=Thump |first=VICE |date=2014-07-18 |title=Seapunk No More: The Strange, Supernatural World of Ultrademon |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/seapunk-no-more-the-strange-supernatural-world-of-ultrademon/ |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=VICE |language=en-US}} This era saw the creation of similarly themed aesthetics like Health Goth and Witch house, the latter was briefly referred to as "rape gaze."{{Cite web |last=Fitzmaurice |first=Larry |date=8 October 2010 |title=Salem: King Night |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14718-king-night/ |access-date=2 August 2017 |publisher=Pitchfork}}{{Cite web |date=12 October 2010 |title=Pitchfork Backtracks on 'Rape Gaze' Because Creep Said So |url=http://www.thedailyswarm.com/headlines/pitchfork-backtracks-rape-gaze-because-creep-said-so/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716232534/http://www.thedailyswarm.com/headlines/pitchfork-backtracks-rape-gaze-because-creep-said-so/ |archive-date=16 July 2011 |publisher=The Daily Swarm}}{{Cite web |last=Spiders |first=Marcel Mensah {{!}} Eat More |date=2022-07-18 |title=Introduction to Internet Aesthetics and Cultural Movements |url=https://www.lonerofficial.com/post/introduction-to-internet-aesthetics-and-cultural-movements |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=LONER Magazine |language=en}} The first -core related fashion trend was normcore in 2013, a term coined by trend forecasting group K-HOLE to refer to a style of plain clothing.Williams, Alex (April 2, 2014). [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/fashion/normcore-fashion-movement-or-massive-in-joke.html "The New Normal"], The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2014.Duncan, Fiona (February 26, 2014). [http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/normcore-fashion-trend.html "Normcore: Fashion for Those Who Realize They're One in 7 Billion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303003109/http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/normcore-fashion-trend.html|date=March 3, 2014}}, New York. Retrieved June 7, 2014.Cochrane, Lauren (February 27, 2014). [https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2014/feb/27/normcore-the-next-big-fashion-movement "Normcore: The Next Big Fashion Movement?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227225359/http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2014/feb/27/normcore-the-next-big-fashion-movement|date=February 27, 2014}}, The Guardian. Retrieved June 7, 2014.Frank, Thomas (April 27, 2014). [http://www.salon.com/2014/04/27/hipsters_they%E2%80%99re_just_like_us_normcore_sarah_palin_and_the_gops_big_red_state_lie/ "Hipsters, They're Just Like Us! 'Normcore,' Sarah Palin, and the GOP's Big Red State Lie"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427220551/http://www.salon.com/2014/04/27/hipsters_they%E2%80%99re_just_like_us_normcore_sarah_palin_and_the_gops_big_red_state_lie/|date=April 27, 2014}}, Salon. Retrieved June 7, 2014.{{cite news |last1=Benson |first1=Richard |date=17 December 2014 |title=Normcore: how a spoof marketing term grew into a fashion phenomenon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/dec/17/normcore-spoof-marketing-term-fashion-phenomenon |accessdate=18 December 2014}}Tschorn, Adam (May 18, 2014). [http://www.latimes.com/style/la-ig-normcore-20140518-story.html "Normcore Is (or Is It?) a Fashion Trend (or Non-Trend or Anti-Trend)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107044110/http://www.latimes.com/style/la-ig-normcore-20140518-story.html|date=January 7, 2015}}, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 4, 2015.

File:Nine lives vaporwave.jpg aesthetic.]]

At this time, several internet aesthetics began to emerge online with the most prominent and influential from this period being Vaporwave, derived from the term vaporware, was an internet music microgenre, aesthetic and subculture that originally grew out of hypnagogic pop and chillwave in the late 2000s to early 2010s. The visual aesthetic was defined by retro style imagery and early internet iconography, late 1990s web design, glitch art, and cyberpunk tropes, as well as anime, Greco-Roman statues, VHS degradation and 3D-rendered objects.{{cite web |last1=Jurgens |first1=Genista |date=July 29, 2016 |title=Why Won't Vaporwave Die? |url=https://www.format.com/magazine/features/art/vaporwave |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103072648/https://www.format.com/magazine/features/art/vaporwave |archive-date=January 3, 2018 |website=Format}} These aesthetics would also influence wider online culture, with internet rapper Yung Lean taking influence from vaporwave aesthetics.{{cite web |last1=Winkle |first1=Luke |date=November 1, 2018 |title=Nintendo 64 Has Inspired A New Wave Of Surprisingly Sad Music |url=https://kotaku.com/nintendo-64-has-inspired-a-new-wave-of-surprisingly-sad-1830140957 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307022040/https://kotaku.com/nintendo-64-has-inspired-a-new-wave-of-surprisingly-sad-1830140957 |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |access-date=May 24, 2020 |website=Kotaku}} The vaporwave era would prove to be a pivotal influence to later internet aesthetics, with many of its traits such as early internet nostalgia becoming a key inspiration in the late 2010s to early 2020s as seen with the revival of Frutiger Aero{{Cite news |last=Bramley |first=Ellie Violet |date=2023-12-14 |title=Frutiger Aero: the Windows screen saver design trend taking TikTok by storm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/dec/14/frutiger-aero-the-windows-screen-saver-design-trend-taking-tiktok-by-storm |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} and Y2K fashion.{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2022-02-28 |title=Why are we all so obsessed with early web nostalgia? |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/55404/1/why-are-we-all-so-obsessed-with-web-1-nostalgia |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Dazed |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hess |first=Liam |date=2021-07-17 |title=The 101 Of Y2K 2.0: How Fashion Got The Millennium Bug All Over Again |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/noughties-revival-trend |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=British Vogue |language=en-GB}}

= 2020s =

File:E-girl.png with typical fashion, makeup and gestures.]]

By the late 2010s to early 2020s, platforms like Tumblr{{Cite news |last=Minkel |first=Elizabeth |title=Tumblr Is Always Dying |url=https://www.wired.com/story/end-of-the-tumblr-era/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |last=Luna |first=Elizabeth de |date=2022-02-25 |title=The inside story of how Tumblr lost its way |url=https://mashable.com/article/how-tumblr-lost-its-way |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mashable |language=en}} declined in popularity giving way to TikTok and Instagram, where online aesthetics were now beginning to emerge from Generation Z. The popularity and proliferation of internet aesthetics in the early 2020s has been linked to the COVID-19 lockdowns.{{Cite web |date=2021-02-10 |title=TikTok's Dark Academia trend criticised for 'whiteness' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/feb/10/tik-toks-dark-academia-trend-criticised-for-whiteness |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226054648/https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/feb/10/tik-toks-dark-academia-trend-criticised-for-whiteness |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |access-date=2021-02-23 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} Aesthetics such as Cottagecore{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Rebecca |date=August 3, 2020 |title=Cottagecore, Taylor Swift, and our endless desire to be soothed |url=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/8/3/21349640/cottagecore-taylor-swift-folklore-lesbian-clothes-animal-crossing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105192155/https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/8/3/21349640/cottagecore-taylor-swift-folklore-lesbian-clothes-animal-crossing |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |access-date=May 8, 2020 |website=Vox |language=en}} and Dark academia{{Cite web |last=Abdi |first=Amal |date=August 5, 2020 |title=Meet Dark Academia, The Bookish Fashion Trend That's All Over TikTok |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/dark-academia-aesthetic-tiktok-trend |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511090112/https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/dark-academia-aesthetic-tiktok-trend |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |access-date=June 22, 2021 |website=www.refinery29.com}} rose to prominence as lifestyle-centered communities. These were often tied to broader socio-cultural movements, such as a growing rejection of hustle culture and urban living.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-28 |title=Dark Academia: The Impact Of Internet Aesthetics |url=https://epigram.org.uk/dark-academia-the-impact-of-internet-aesthetics/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Epigram |language=en}} Other aesthetics such as Gorpcore,{{Cite web |date=2021-05-08 |title=You May Be Guilty Of 'Gorpcore' And Frankly, We Don't Blame You |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/what-is-gorpcore-trend |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=British Vogue |language=en-GB}} VSCO girl, Weirdcore,{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2024-03-22 |title=Meet the anonymous artist behind Aphex Twin’s insane visuals |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/37384/1/weirdcore-aphex-twin-mia-visuals-interview |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Dazed |language=en}} Kidcore, Webcore, 2020 Alt, and Goblincore also emerged in the 2020s. Retroactive labels have also been used as aesthetic signifiers such as indie sleaze{{cite web |last1=George |first1=Cassidy |date=June 2, 2022 |title=Revisiting Indie Sleaze, as It Happened |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/the-cobrasnake-y2ks-archive-mark-hunter-book-indie-sleaze |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815053646/https://www.vogue.com/article/the-cobrasnake-y2ks-archive-mark-hunter-book-indie-sleaze |archive-date=August 15, 2022 |access-date=August 15, 2022 |website=Vogue}} coined in 2021 to describe a visual fashion style that was popular during the 2000s Landfill Indie era. Some aesthetics such as the Backrooms, were coined on 4chan, and led to the emergence of the liminal space aesthetic.{{Cite news |last=Rogers |first=Reece |title=How to 'No-Clip' Reality and Arrive in the Backrooms |url=https://www.wired.com/story/what-are-the-backrooms/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}

Many of these styles were catalogued and discussed on community-curated platforms such as the Aesthetics Wiki, defined as a central hub for documenting 21st century internet-based visual aesthetics, fashion, styles, music and subcultures, it has been described by the Atlantic as "a huge mall, a place to go shopping for a new set of characteristics and a firmer self-definition".{{Cite web |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |date=2021-02-05 |title=Cottagecore Was Just the Beginning |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/02/aesthetics-wiki-cottagecore-tumblr-tiktok/617923/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Spellings |first=Sarah |date=July 22, 2022 |title=Core Is the New Chic |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/core-fashion-explained |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=Vogue}}{{Cite news |last=Weekman |first=Kelsey |date=March 11, 2022 |title=Suffixes Have Been Slang-ified |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kelseyweekman/suffixes-slang-trend |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=Buzzfeed News}}{{Cite news |last=Mohr |first=Melissa |date=February 7, 2022 |title=Getting to the heart of words made with '-core' |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2022/0207/Getting-to-the-heart-of-words-made-with-core |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205141215/https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/In-a-Word/2022/0207/Getting-to-the-heart-of-words-made-with-core |archive-date=December 5, 2024 |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=The Christian Science Monitor}}

Additionally, internet aesthetics have been influential to the outgrowth of 21st century alternative music, digital art and youth subculture, influencing early 2020s online musical microgenres.{{Cite web |date=30 April 2024 |title=THE FACE's guide to the American rap underground |url=https://theface.com/music/underground-internet-rap-rage-carti-yeat-ambient-plugg-iokera-terror-jerk-krushclub-lumi-athena |access-date=30 June 2025 |website=The Face |language=en-gb}}{{Cite web |last=Lindert |first=Hattie |date=2024-03-14 |title=The Future of Underground Rap Is Extremely Online |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/xaviersobased-nettspend-yhapojj-interview-1234982383/ |access-date=2025-06-30 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} Rolling Stone described the 2020s underground rap scene as "extremely online",{{Cite web |last=Karjala |first=Anssi |title=THE LIST {{!}} Discover {{!}} Underground Rap and It's Influence in Modern High Fashion |url=https://thelist.app/discover/post/underground-rap-and-high-fashion/65eb0ecc6417530e4aa8b440 |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=thelist.app |language=en}} while the influential fashion styles of artists associated with Playboi Carti's Opium record label{{Cite web |date=2021-03-24 |title=Whole Lotta Looks: The New Punk Style of Playboi Carti |url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/playboi-carti-style/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Highsnobiety |language=en}} who drew from punk fashion, have been described as "opiumcore",{{Cite web |last=Ng |first=Vanessa |date=2023-11-23 |title=Meet the Opiumcore Boys of KL |url=https://www.mens-folio.com/style/meet-the-opiumcore-boys-of-kl/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Men's Folio |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Opiumcore Has Taken Over The Streetwear Agenda For 2024 {{!}} Grazia India |url=https://www.grazia.co.in/fashion/opiumcore-has-taken-over-the-streetwear-agenda-for-2024_-11807.html |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=www.grazia.co.in |language=en}} with the underground rap scene's internet-driven aesthetics being noted as influential to the high fashion world.{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Kealy |date=2022-03-19 |title=PLAYBOI CARTI: EQUAL RAPPER AND STYLE GOD |url=https://culted.com/playboi-carti-the-initial-streetwear-legend-turned-into-a-designer-brand-wearing-vampire/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=CULTED |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=12 March 2021 |title=Lil Uzi Vert Is Redefining Men's Fashion |url=https://www.essence.com/fashion/lil-uzi-vert-best-fashion-moments/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Essence |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-09-26 |title=The Style Evolution Of Playboi Carti (2011-2021) {{!}} Fashionversity |url=https://fashionversity.com/style-evolution-of-playboi-carti/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-06-25 |title=Get Ready for the Summer of Ken Car$on |url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/ken-carson-interview-project-x/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Highsnobiety |language=en}}

Related examples

= Seapunk =

Seapunk is a niche internet aesthetic that surfaced in the early 2010s, mixing aquatic themes like ocean waves, dolphins, and neon greens/blues with 90s cyber and rave culture elements. It influenced digital art, music visuals, and fashion, with the aesthetic being used by Azealia Banks and Rihanna briefly before fading in mainstream popularity.

= Vaporwave =

Vaporwave is an internet aesthetic and microgenre that emerged in the early 2010s, characterized by nostalgic 1980s and 1990s visuals, glitch art, pastel colors, and slowed-down, chopped-and-screwed samples of elevator music and smooth jazz. It critiques consumer capitalism and digital culture. Artists like Vektroid and Oneohtrix Point Never (Daniel Lopatin) and later internet rapper Yung Lean helped popularize the genre and aesthetic.

= E-girl / E-boy =

E-girl and E-boy refer to internet youth subcultures and aesthetics popularized on TikTok and Instagram in the late 2010s, blending emo, goth, anime, and gamer culture. Characterized by dyed hair, heavy eyeliner, striped shirts, and digital iconography like hearts and teardrops.

= Weirdcore =

Weirdcore (also known as dreamcore) is an internet aesthetic emerging in the late 2010s characterized by early internet nostalgia blended with surreal, unsettling, and dreamlike visuals. It commonly features distorted VHS-style glitches and eerie landscapes as well as taking influence from the liminal space aesthetic. The style gained popularity through platforms like TikTok.{{Cite web |last=Vasanth |first=Kusumitha |date=2023-12-18 |title=Weirdcore Aesthetic: The Fascinating World of the Oddly Familiar |url=https://undergroundsound.eu/culture/weirdcore-aesthetic-the-fascinating-world-of-the-oddly-familiar/ |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Underground Sound |language=en-GB}}

= Cottagecore =

Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic celebrating a romanticized, rural, pastoral lifestyle with soft, natural colors, floral patterns, and handmade crafts. It gained prominence on platforms like Tumblr and TikTok in the late 2010s and early 2020s, emphasizing sustainability and escapism from urban life.

= Dark Academia =

Dark Academia is an internet aesthetic emerging in the mid-to-late 2010s, inspired by classic literature, academic settings, and Gothic architecture. It features muted earth tones, vintage fashion, and themes of intellectualism, melancholy, and existentialism. Popularized through social media platforms like Tumblr and TikTok during the 2010s.

= Kidcore =

Kidcore is an internet aesthetic inspired by 1990s and early 2000s childhood nostalgia, featuring bright primary colors, pixel art, and references to toys, cartoons, and playground culture. It became popular on Tumblr and TikTok, emphasizing innocence and whimsy.