As covid-restictions ease, the trends that kept us sane through multiple lockdowns seem to be a fading memory.
When the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced a pandemic in March 2020, little did we know that the “new normal” would not only be defined by a deadly virus but also coping mechanisms in the form of bread baking and box dye.
Thanks to a certain app called TikTok, even the most absurd styles could be popularised within a day. Let us take a moment to look back at some of them.
Bread
So, a national lockdown has just been announced, and after a day of online lectures, you decide to take a break and scroll through your various social platforms.
The only difference is that instead of being filled with snapshots of night outs and sandy beach holidays, it is like you have entered an online bakery.
Everyone from your distant aunt to your favourite influencer have taken up the hobby of baking everything from olive bread and banana bread, to the more creative Focaccia.
Cottagecore
In a similar spirit to the sudden love of bread-baking, cottagecore won over the hearts of thousands who wished to reconnect with life off-line.
The aesthetic largely overlaps with elements of the traditional British countryside, such as flowery teacups, line drying, apple orchards, lace and aprons.
Cottagecore became a form of escapism, a romanticasion of pastoral life, with its promise of simpler times where we felt more in tune with the natural world.
Hair
As weeks turned into months and the thought of going to your local hairdresser seemed like a distant dream, many of us desperately turned to social media for advice on how to deal with our lockdown locks.
The result? Once we returned to ‘normal life’, we were greeted by an abundance of 1980s and 1990s shags and mullets, frizzy short fringes and what has come to be known as chunky e-girl highlights.
Whipped coffee
Remember the eye-catching whipped coffee from South Korea by the name Dalgona?
With its milky white base and golden froth, it is no surprise that it took social media by storm.
Cooped up in our homes, we found inspiration in aesthetic cups of coffee by whisking together instant coffee and sugar, then draping it over milk and ice.
Juicy Couture
More time spent indoors meant a newfound appreciation of loungewear.
To many of us, comfort became the main priority, while the concept of seasonal trends slipped away.
However, not everyone wrapped themselves in blankets and duvets, when logging onto their daily Teams lectures.
One way to combine both style and convenience was to channel our inner Paris Hilton by dressing up in bedazzled velour.
Having largely disappeared since the early 2000s, the Juicy Couture tracksuit reclaimed its status in society once again.
Zoom parties
You either loved them or hated them, but one thing is certain: lockdown would not be the same without Zoom parties.
Oh, the sweet memories of awkward silences without background music, or trying to catch up with friends when you had a poor connection.
While the return of an in-person social life might be overwhelming, we can be thankful for no more frozen screens in the middle of a good gossip.
Megan Kelly
Maurizio Kayonjo