Gen Z's Aesthetic Is Quietly Pivoting to a New Era—and It Looks Messy

Newsweek

3 days ago

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The "clean girl" aesthetic, long the defining look of social media's minimalists and wellness aspirants, is being eclipsed by a new wave of chaotic chic.
The rise of the "messy cool girl" signals a shift in how beauty, style and authenticity are being reimagined by Gen Z—and it is anything but beige.
"Beauty is such an accessible way to signal who we are and how we are feeling," Angie Meltsner, founder of cultural research studio Tomato Baby, told Newsweek. "The move away from clean girl comes at a time of major uncertainty in the world, and a way of coping with that uncertainty can be embracing a kind of chaotic, subversive energy, which is being channeled into these bold, maximalist, playful looks."
This pivot from polished to unfiltered, driven by stars like Addison Rae and Olivia Rodrigo, is gaining traction across TikTok and beyond, where wired headphones, oversized bags, and deliberately scruffy yet still effortlessly chic hair are being celebrated as part of a wider pushback against curated perfection.
From left: "Messy cool girl" Alexa Chung attends the British Fashion Awards, London, in 2008; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber walks around Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 2024.
From left: "Messy cool girl" Alexa Chung attends the British Fashion Awards, London, in 2008; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber walks around Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 2024.
Getty Images
Gone are the dewy no-makeup makeup looks and neutral-toned outfits epitomized by trendsetters like Hailey Bieber and Matilda Djerf. In their place, messy buns, indie sleaze layering and a cigarette hanging from the lip à la 2000s-era Kate Moss signal an aesthetic marked by attitude over appearance.
Anne Valois, a 31-year-old creator who posts under the handle @curatingambiance, laid out the trend's momentum in a TikTok video from July 7. "After years of Minimalism and quiet luxury, the messy cool girl is back," she said. "The idea was polished and optimized, but lately that [clean girl] aesthetic is starting to unravel; it's not just a vibe."
@curatingambiance
The messy era is back. And by no means do I mean the song. I mean an actual cultural shift: away from beige minimalism, toward character, chaos, and mood. If you're building a brand or working in marketing, this isn't just an aesthetic trend - it's a real consumer shift, backed by data. Platforms like Particl make it traceable ✨ Not just what brands post - but what actually sells. The Messy Comeback is here. Might want to take notes. Annonce #trendforecast #stylesignals #particl #culturalshift ♬ original sound - Anne Valois
Valois noted that this is more than a superficial trend reversal. Pointing to real-time consumer data tracked by the platform Particl, she highlighted surging interest in products and behaviors far removed from the clean-girl canon.
"Tobacco products are up 843 percent; alcoholic beverages, up nearly 1,000 percent in the past 12 months," she said.
Valois also cited brands such as Coach and Ganni as beneficiaries of this shift—labels with a looser, more character-driven design ethos than the quiet-luxury titans that dominated in recent years.
"Suddenly, having a beer in cowboy boots feels more aspirational than having a green juice and going to Pilates," Valois said. "It's less about optimization and more about character, pleasure and mood. Day-to-night dressing is trending, and imperfect beauty is back."
Anne Valois, who splits her time between Mexico, Florida and Europe, said that the increasing presence of the messy cool girl trend is a reaction to "a collective unraveling" of the clean girl aesthetic and a return of character.
"What began as a calming, minimalist ideal has become something more rigid," Valois told Newsweek. "The clean girl look became more about performance than personality, and people are exhausted by the pressure to look the same, behave the same and follow identical routines.
From left: "Messy cool girl" Addison Rae performs with Arca at the Gobi Tent during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13, 2025; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber attending the 2025...
From left: "Messy cool girl" Addison Rae performs with Arca at the Gobi Tent during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13, 2025; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber attending the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 2, 2025. More
"Conformity used to be a status symbol, looking like everyone else was once aspirational, but now it reads more like a lack of imagination or algorithmic compliance."
Cultural researchers see the change as deeply entwined with larger social dynamics.
"Young people are feeling fatigued with the pressure of a hyper-manicured perfection that dominates social media and influencer culture," Meltsner said. "They yearn for some hedonism and a sense of letting loose without judgment."
The clean-girl look—"glazed doughnut" skin, slicked-back hair, pastel and beige palettes, a matcha latte in hand—once symbolized control, health, and upwardly mobile chic.
It aligned with minimalist tech aesthetics and the aspirational self-branding of a generation raised on Instagram. But, over time, its uniformity began to chafe against a broader cultural desire for imperfection and uniqueness.
"We're also living in the age of algorithmic-driven cultural flattening," Meltsner said, "and a way of rejecting that is by embracing personal taste and expression, leaning into the quirks that show that we're unique and human.
"We're seeing this through more analogue and DIY-inspired looks like wired headphones or 1990s and Y2K aesthetics, and even intentional typos to signify non-AI writing."
Addison Rae as Today's Messy Cool Girl
The aesthetics of the messy girl are not sloppy—they are intentional, playful and referential.
The look channels late-2000s It-girls such as Alexa Chung, Sienna Miller and Gossip Girl character Serena van der Woodsen, all known for tousled hair, oversized sunglasses, thrift-store finds and nonchalant confidence.
Addison Rae, former TikTok star who more recently pivoted into movies and music, is being heralded as the current poster girl for the messy cool girl revival.
With indie-style music videos and unedited social media posts strongly resembling a MySpace or Tumblr profile from over a decade ago, Rae leans into an undone aesthetic.
The "Diet Pepsi" singer has been applauded for showing more authentic, no-makeup and disheveled hair looks than her more traditionally glam Gen Z peers in showbiz, like Sabrina Carpenter.
Rae has also collaborated with resident cool girl, Charli XCX, who spearheaded the "Brat summer" trend of 2024 and is known for leaning into indie sleaze and hyperpop. Rae, by association, has become synonymous with this cool girl archetype, softening it slightly, making her a perfect addition to the messy cool girl's Pinterest board.
Gen Z singer Olivia Rodrigo has also been held up for conveying a more authentic look, often made up from attainable 2000s and 90s inspired soft grunge pieces.
On TikTok, where trends can crystallize in seconds, other creators are celebrating this new mood with posts that show off bedhead and oversized tote bags brimming with personal clutter. Alexan Ashcraft, posting as @trendsofthetimes, declared in a March 31 update that the messy girl's appeal lies in her "carefree spirit" and in being herself.
Ashcraft, the 25-year-old founder of digital magazine Trends of the Times, told Newsweek: "The messy girl comeback is not just another TikTok trend, it's a mindset shift, a cultural reset."
Much like Valois, Ashcraft said that trends can be more complex than they appear, often reflecting deeper social changes.
"We live in an age where visibility is currency, and image can make or break your chances of it," she said. "On the surface, the clean girl might have symbolized simplicity and polish, but it has just become another symbol of pressure to keep up, look perfect, stay relevant, and be seen.
"In contrast to the clean girl–polished, on trend, and picture perfect–the messy girl is disheveled, unplugged, and unbothered, she opts out of the algorithm, and she does not subscribe to trends; she does not dress or buy for posts, likes, or to be seen."
Ashcraft added that the messy girl's so-called dismissal of trends is what makes her cool, captivating and a source of intrigue in the first place.
Eagle-eyed creators like Valois and Ashcraft believe the trend reflects a rejection of Minimalism and productivity culture, while signaling a desire for depth, humor and human messiness—the kind that resists optimization.
As Valois put it: "It's not just aesthetic fatigue; it's cultural realignment."