you dress like your parents lolll

On generational influences that undo social media and a ranking of the hottest "it" items in the world right now.

The Trend Report™ is a reader-supported publication. Pretty please consider upgrading to paid to support Kyle and such writing on life and culture now.

• A few plugs this week, as my PR team (Me.) have been super busy!!!

  • I gave a full bio and analysis of creative work now over on the Unorthodox Blend podcast: take a listen here!

  • Had the ~honor~ of chatting with Max Berlinger about shorts and loafers for GQ: check that out here.

  • I also chatted with Kyle Chayka for forty minutes about The I Haven’t Economy™ which resulted in a New Yorker story: read that here.

• BARCELONA: the next Trend Report Live™ is Sep 7 — RSVP HERE!! — and I’m co-hosting a a meet-up with Perfectly Imperfect Sep 12: RSVP HERE!!

• Lastly! 🦿HIP REPLACEMENT🦿 featured literal fashion icon Ilia-Sybil Sdralli, who joined Ben Dietz and I to talk performative males, AI therapy, and why Gen X is “like that”: listen on Spotify and on YouTube!!

Trump, Zelenskyy, EU leaders in White House
Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail
What a mess, as all this proves how defanged Europe really is and that Trump is a king. The mail-in vote thing is concerning too! Some good news, separate from this: Mamdani seems to be the winner by almost all metrics. November can’t come soon enough 😭 Hopefully that along with oyster farmer candidates present a united (Anti-rich, anti-corporation!) front as Trump dies of heart failure.

Immigrant population shrinking, first time since 60s
Trump reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas
Credit where credit is due, which is bad news for everyone — especially the Democrats, who are seeing huge slips in registration — but: a certain political party wis fulfilling their evil promises. This is “not good” for people with consciousness but is very good for them, who are going to drive this idea home in 2026 and 2028, leading to a huge W (which will be copied by every other government too). Other evils to hold onto: the FBI raiding the home of John Bolton, which dovetails into the stalking of Leticia James.

Texas House passes GOP redistricting plan
Texas Republicans approve new congressional maps
Welp, it happened. All eyes on Gavin’s CA play, which — paired with his Trump tactics — is already causing the left-wing “He’s resisting wrong!” conversation. We really love losing, don’t we?

Zuckerberg Again Overhauls Meta’s A.I.
MIT report: 95% of generative AI pilots failing
Suddenly, Silicon Valley Is Lowering AI Expectations
"lying about the smallest things"
Lots of talk about bubbles popping this week regarding AI, given Meta’s continuing to flail forward and the MIT report. The last item, a clip from an FT podcast, is particularly illuminating about what would happen if AI does indeed go bust (which I feel like will happen, in some form or fashion, be it by our driving the tech crazy or Her continuing to come to fruition).

Climate change is rapidly intensifying storms
Hurricane Erin seemingly shifted from stormy to disastrous in a blink, which is a distressing indicator of how “storms” like this will conduct themselves in our season of hell. Thankfully, she’s Europe’s problem now.

UN plastics treaty talks end without agreement
A key standout, which plays into last week’s story about our feeling like we are “above” the problems that we are in, as the US is the reason for the disagreement: “Everyone has to understand that this work will not stop, because plastic pollution will not stop.” Read this David Wallace-Wells plastics piece to better understand this huge issue. This is a direct echo to Janet Yellen’s refusal of a billionaire tax at 2024’s G20.

I’ve had a bug in my ear since chatting with Max Berlinger about how we arrived at the current style of young guys wearing long shorts with loafers. To me, it’s about time mashing — and much of this has to do with family influence. This could be a way of understanding how (fashion) trends rise and fall, that “current style” is a vibe-based heirloom handed down to you by generations before.

Bobby Aaron Solomon and I teased out the idea over dinner. Is Y2K style a result of “the media we have of our parents” and their youth? Does style repeat itself in “twenty year cycles” because we’re wearing what our parents wore? I think so, I told Bobby, as I noted the influence of my own grandfather as proof — but also someone else: musician Lenny Kravitz, whose 1990s style was so very distinctly 1970s. The medallion belt and bell bottoms in 1991’s “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over,” the platform boots and band collar tunic in 1993’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way: all so 1970s — but why? It may be the influence of his mother, Roxie Roker, who was a series regular on the definitive 1970s show The Jeffersons. But push in deeper: “rerun” culture of 1970s shows in the 1990s meant Lenny’s mother’s style was more visually available, that media from-her-time and access to those clothes manifested in his and the culture’s yesteryear rocker style. (In a way, we could call Zoe Kravitz’s a continuation — but for 1980s style and glamour, taking Lenny and Roxie’s style and mashing it with Lisa Bonet and the media history of the 1980s icon Denise Huxtable. Perhaps this is why forty years later Doja Cat is getting into the 1980s?) Because of someone like Lenny, we ended up with the Millennial boot cut resurgence of the 2000s, which was based on an obsession with the 1970s — and is likely why Gen Z kids are into Y2K boot cut fashion because it was the era of their young Gen X or older Millennial parents. Thus, my That's So Raven vision: “twenty year” cycles reflect a formerly small funnel of influence, where parents, minimal media, and thrifting come together to fuse contemporary style. The reason why this pipeline has broken down — and why we keep talking about its breakdown — is because, outside of the parental component, there’s too much media input and too many clothes.

As Lenny proves, TV has always been a major input for young people as half of Americans had televisions by the mid-fifties, where shows like American Bandstand brought styles and ideologies into the home, becoming “replayable” in the 1970s as Soul Train was born. MTV entering in the 1980s put youth media and styles into regular rotation (if you had cable) which is maybe how we ended up with someone like Lenny pushing a 1970s style upon the 1990s, which “clicked” in the latter half of the decade and is back “now.” This very “specific” style funnel started expanding with teen magazines of the twentieth century, specifically when teen styles by real teens entered in the 2000s. “Tiger Beat and Bop were always more heartthrob than the Teen Peoples of the world,” teen mag expert and writer Casey Lewis told me over text. Teen People in the early aughts along with the brief-but-beautiful Elle Girl and Teen Vogue from 2003 to now further brought peer-to-peer style home but, as Casey noted, is a nuanced issue as the majority of magazines for the demographic were indeed tabloid focused. Unsurprisingly, all but Teen Vogue are dunzo as such teen and tween culture zones (And even MTV!) have been cannibalized by social media’s collapsing time and influence with its widest-funnel-possible-ness.

Home media is arguably more important though and pairs with hand-me-down clothes. Home media was a key proto-social media input that “reflected” your world via amateur photography at mid-century and home video in the late twentieth century. You could access a visual log of the big and small moments of family life before literally everything was logged and uploaded — and you could grab those clothes out of the closet, if you were so inclined. The first example of this in action was Americana style, as western wear and bell bottoms in the 1970s were playing on 1950s (and earlier) fashion that John Wayne made popular. Rockabilly style from the 1950s followed suit as it too had a 1970s revival popularized by Happy Days and Grease. Beyond your parents’ closet, the vintage market emerged beyond the initial post-WWII “boom” in second hand. But something else happened at this time: the rise in synthetics in the 1970s, which ignited the notoriously untracked overproduction system of clothes that we know today. This eventually bore the demon child that is fast fashion, whose overproduced clothing has swollen the thrift market, making mountains of clothing waste worldwide: this exploded the cute hand-me-down funnel.

This is how we arrive at the “the death of trends” conversation of the 2020s because we went from a state of “Look at this pic of my mom! Wasn’t she cute? :) Let me wear her dress!” to a landscape of “I can access every image of every mother from the era of my mother along with every image of all of their mother’s mothers.” which means no image or inspo matters. When you’re suffocated with information, everything gets cannibalized and mish-mashed together: you enter the social media hall of mirrors, which is made more grotesque by AI — and “trends die.” That’s why Lenny (and Zoe) are fascinating proof of this parent trap, that the too-much-media and clothing problem doesn’t trump the influence of a parent. Another example I think of is Demna, whose early Balenciaga shows with their red-white-blue bags and kitschy florals in his first three seasons recall the immigrant staples of his grandmother’s style, all extensions of their fleeing Russia for Georgia. “She’s 75, always wears high heels, even at home,” he told Vogue in 2016. These influences are specific but became abstract in the 2020s, where Demna’s activewear associated with Soviet Russia morphs into gorpcore and athleisure and all the many other “activewear” monsters. In the digital echo chamber, literal influence itself becomes a commodity which — paired with glutted thrift systems and fast fashion — collapses a trend: everything, everywhere, all at once, a la: everything becomes nothing.

But back to the main point: the rise in stories about skater shorts and skater shoes proves this point, that we’re experiencing an inter-generational transference of style as Gen X and Millennial skater culture has rubbed off on Gen Z and Gen A kids. I have proof too, given access to the perfect test subjects: my podcast co-host Ben Dietz of [SIC] and his teen son Campbell, who produces our podcast. “It’s a funny thing because while Campbell (and to a greater-or-less degree his 16 year old sister) dresses in a VERY similar style and silhouette to what I wore at his age, I don’t think it’s got much to do with me directly,” Ben shared by email. He sees the connection mostly coming from peers, apps, and thrift stores. “The joke with the skater friends I’ve kept is that our kids all find their own way to look crazy to their elders. We wanted to look interesting to each other and didn’t give a shit particularly what parents thought; they’re the same.” Surprisingly, Campbell does not agree, instead proving the cycle: Ben is exactly why he dresses how he dresses. “My Dad’s styles have influenced me a lot, especially since as I’ve gotten older he has been very open to me inheriting/borrowing clothing or style pieces from him,” Campbell shared by email. “One example I can think of is when he gave me a pair of baggy-ish Stan ray painter jeans in 11th grade.” Campbell says this influenced his liking baggier fits, which paired well with these styles seeing a rise. “The similarities in our style are sort of a cyclical process in culture at large,” he said. “A lot of people take inspiration from their parents in terms of style…’Skater vibes’ is definitely something I agree with because as culture becomes more ‘casual’ simple styles like jeans and a graphic t-shirt are used as a casual yet also multipurpose way of epitomizing style.”

If there’s anything that can break the digital cannibalizing of culture, it’s this parent trap of influencing younger persons while giving them your literal clothing to carry on in the world: it’s a tale as old as time, that undoes algorithms while escaping the maw of consumer fashion. In 2040, does this mean skater styles will come back again? Yes and no, as the Millennial and Gen Z parents will be passing such styles to their kids — which ultimately is passing on the styles of their Boomer and Gen X parents who participated in the initial iteration of the styles. I’m more curious about the handing down of the body as we continue to wander around these times of wellness and “good jeans”: I could see something like the BBL and botox being what starts to cycle as the body becomes less a site of pleasure and more a construction site of references. In the future, fashion will cycle faster, yes, but the wears and bodies of those closest to us will continue to influence. You are never beyond that which has always immediately surrounded you.

World’s first robot ‘could give birth to human baby’
"the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing"
The first story is sensational, intended to ragebait and get attention when it’s hardly going to be a “robot” as we think and more a glorified test tube which gets at subjects we’ve discussed for years here. The second item proves my point lol

How dogs replaced children in Italy
¿Hay más perros que niños en España?
Related and not, is a rash of stories about European countries where dogs are being favored more than children. This plays into larger trends, yes, but has a unique bend here given this Society of Saint Pius X story, which is very right wing leaning: it’s being seen as anti-”traditional” and another anti-natal trend. You can bet Trump, et al, are going to come for your dogs next. (Also: The Vogue “Dogue” thing is so wild considering how, a decade ago, they didn’t give a shit about the Dogue meme. Cue Recho Omondi talking about how modern Vogue peaked in 2010!)

YouTube Is Making a Play to Host the Oscars
The headline speaks for itself, as an industry sells itself off to the highest bidder. This gets at the issues we talked about on Thursday too!!

Big Galleries Are Racing to Sign Emerging Artists
The Slow Death of the Contemporary Art Gallery
Talk about another floundering industry. This is a reflection of Hollywood’s contraction issues expressed in a different way. We’re in such a dark place, as far as the economy of the arts.

African Union: Abandon the Mercator Map
This is amazing — and is yet another way that former colonial thinking continues to take advantage of Africa. Also interesting from the area is the effort to give cash to mothers — which resulted in nearly halving infant deaths.

American Summers Are Starting to Feel Like Winter
Baking Heat and Wildfires Threaten Europe’s Tourism
"Are you changing when you go on holiday?”
These are related, which is to say: there are now six seasons — Winter, Little Spring, Summer I, HELL + FIRES, Summer II, Tiny Autumn. Thus, the discussion of October becoming a key holiday zone. (See also: the discussion of the “non-drop” in US tourism.)

The Art of Production: james K
Creative inspo of the week: this interview with the icon James K, whose new album I am dying for (and refusing to listen to anything until it drops). Her thoughts on narrative as being the driver of an album versus EP offer lots of food for thought. (Also: stream the new Nourished By Time 🙂‍↕️)

I’m coming off a two week kinda-sorta-not vacation and I tried to do less work but ended up doing way too much work, which is to say: I wanted to do something different and less time consuming for the second essay (but ultimately goofed and did the opposite, hence the length). Plus, given that I’ve been in two major cities this month, I have thoughts on what items are “trending” and defining 2025. Because I don’t have the time or resources to do my own Lyst Index (Anyone wanna sponsor that??), this will approximate the idea: I call it the Rising Report™, a ranking of 15 items that I’ve noticed this year that are rising, peaking, and falling. This is a reflection of what I’ve seen in Madrid, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Barcelona with plenty “online” coming into play. These are in order of most-emerging to most-pervasive and, while I will try to quantify everything, these are all coming from street style senses, from what I’ve seen and heard.

📈 RISING 📈

1. The old lady “shopper” bag, which I first clocked at THANX GOD I'M A VIP in Paris via their in-house Goa bags. They’re super affordable and, with vivid colors during dark times, they’re about to have a mega moment. I saw them in London and now in Stockholm, mostly thanks to Puebco, which offers a diversity of size options. I’m so tempted to get one but I already have so many bags. Mark my words: this will become the 2020 answer to the Apolis market totes.

2. “Head scarves,” which don’t have a specific brand yet as they are emerging in real time. I wrote about this in July and saw similar coverage from J'Nae Phillips and Wall Street Journal. This is getting big play in Copenhagen and Stockholm and is about to “go big.” This plays into trying to appear more “working class” in overly rich times.

3. “Flip flops,” a Y2K trend I’m not a fan of but is being pushed by many right now. I think of the Gimaguas x Havianas as a good “product” example along with all the propaganda about this being a big Copenhagen girl thing — which I saw for myself, there and in Stockholm and Barcelona too. That doesn’t mean it’s actually cool though.

4. “Climbing apparel,” which evolves the activewear trend toward something more specific. This has been mapped for some time, first clocked in Marseille last summer and now seeming to be why brands from Keen to and wander to Klattermusen to Topologie are trending, which speaks more to hiking but are directly using the visual language of the rock climbing gym trend of the 2020s.

5. Acne logo garments, which I’ve seen from Paris to London to Stockholm, each bragging the 1996 origin of the Swedish brand. These are surprising and not, as Acne offers an accessible item as they continue to ascend into high fashion. The popularity could align with Zillennials repping their birth year(s) too.

🌋 PEAKING 🌋

6. “Not From Paris Madame” tees and jackets, all by Drôle de Monsieur — who is gunning to become the new Casablanca or Gallery Dept.. Given the brand’s launch in Korea and Harvey Nichols pop-up, start investing in this brand now. I’ve seen it worn in Barcelona, Copenhagen, and Stockholm and I find them to be so bro cheesy but, hey, that demo needs to dress too.

7. Ölend soft bags, whose puffiness remains unpopped. These are playful and colorful while being so utilitarian. I love them and want one but — Again! — I have too many bags. This is eating the lunch of the COS quilted bag, which we’ll talk about in a moment.

8. Bottega Veneta’s Shopper bags and their knockoffs, which are very luxe and so pick-me TikTok kid which is why they’re no longer cool and peaking. Copenhagen really solidified this for me as too many teens were toting this around. Want something different and better? Get a Dragon Diffusion bag, which is also very much peaking.

9. Adidas track shorts and pants, which are such a thing and so cool guy and cool girl coded. I am tempted to get some vintage pairs that are zip off!! But these are so played out, so Brooklyn Girl Rides The Subway™ and are especially pronounced in Barcelona, be they short or long or in-between: they’re oversaturated.

10. “Silver coupes,” which tie into the chrome trend I’ve talked about for two years now and builds off of the very 2020s platinum lusting for home items. They’re very cool and elegant but, at this point, I’ve seen them in every city I’ve visited — and they’re even sold at Merci and Goodhood, two cool stores where trends go to retire. That says it all — along with Zara Home ripping it. Enjoy them while they last as they’re becoming time stamped as extremely 2020s!

📉 FALLING 📉

11. The Trader Joe’s tote, which is now firmly performative, made all the more ridiculous by people in Europe toting them. I’ve seen them in every city I’ve been to save for Barcelona, which speaks more to the city being more touristy and a bit insulated: once those arrive, it’s firmly over — and I know they’ll be there by the time I’m back.

12. The COS quilted bag, which is just as oversaturated and which there are too many knock-offs of. An example that says it all: I came across one of these bags in an alley, dirty and wet, left for dead. Bye bye!

13. Ami heart shirts, which breaks my heart as I’ve been an Ami fan since the early 2010s. And yet! It’s become the new Lacoste in France, which is to say it’s being knocked off and ran over by the consumer market. I saw these sold by many street vendors in London, Paris, and Marseille!

14. Denim Tears Wreath wears, which have gotten knocked off in every city I’ve been in. This is so Fuck Boi 2025. Do not seriously wear this! Or do seriously wear it in the suburbs, out to your favorite strip mall restaurant. These too were being hawked by street vendors.

15. Jacquemus anything, which mirrors the literal decline of the brand given its holding company and oversaturation. It started with their Le Bob hat going from 2020 niche to being a mark of consumer reads in 2025: peep Vestaire to see how many are listed. The Bambino bag, whose similar ubiquity (and resale availability), suggests outness. Pour one out!

Anything in the “falling” category doesn’t mean to trash them but to stow them away or try to sell them. I’m not trying to play into waste here, people — and neither should you! Just letting you know how the trend winds are blowing, should that mean something to you. What do we think of this format? I’m thinking of doing it twice a year — and can build them out further, if people are willing to pay, etc. since this took longer than I thought!!

“performative”
“imagine if some guy”
“My dad worked in sewers”
Who knows if this picture is real but the reactions to the Coal Miner At The Basketball Game™ thing was great.

"congrats on her"
We’ll talk about the stupid Cracker Barrel rebrand political shit on Tuesday but, for today, this and other posts like this are the only thing you need to know about it.

“kept making up dances for white people”
Troll of the week is this Black woman who would dance in a very specific way, confusing white counterparts on the dancefloor into thinking it was an organized dance like the “Electric Slide.” Brilliant.

“the oatmeal”
This is unrelated but this Azerbaijani Nelly Furtado cover reminds me of the Lebanese Sabrina Carpenter cover, which is to say: if anyone has a link to a collection of such western Asia covers, I am all ears. Note that this was far from the only amazing response to the cumin oatmeal.

“don’t clock the tea”
LinkedIn hustle rot like this should result in prison sentences.

“We should’ve defunded Buzzfeed”
There are so many criminal things in this Beyoncé video, my favorite being the very obviously all white crew.

“the feeling of air conditioning”
“Orinoco Flow” really should be at the top spot.

“dalmatian made of dragon fruit”
Brings a tear to my eye.

And, finally, a very special invitation to all of my lucky girls out there.

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