2 days ago
Gen Z Are Romanticizing One Old Gen X Trend
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Flip phones, paperbacks, book clubs and film cameras—these are just some of yesteryears' cultural staples that been revived through new intrigue by Gen Z.
Those born between 1997 and 2012, which represent more than 60 percent of TikTok's user base, have now turned their attention to the Global Village Coffeehouse aesthetic—a niche interior design trend, initially peaking in the mid-90s.
Several creators have reintroduced their audiences to the aesthetic, either through spunky explainers or by paying creative homage to the style. The virality of these videos has cemented the niche design trend as one of Gen Z's latest fixations.
Jo Hayes, an etiquette consultant specializing in social skills and trends, spoke with Newsweek about the unexpected resurgence of the design trend online.
"Gen Z and younger millennials are nostalgic about the past because the present, in many ways, is terrifying," Hayes said.
She added: "The modern world is overwhelming, overstimulating, with a tangible absence of the three transcendentals that make up a healthy, civilized society: truth, beauty, goodness—the poor generation is hankering for old fashioned goodness."
What Is Global Village Coffeehouse Style?
The global village coffeehouse interior design trend, now dubbed online as an aesthetic or ambiance, was a style that emerged and gained prevalence from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.
It consisted of earthy tones, 'tribal' imagery, iconography, wood and bohemian elements, with it featuring in the set design of popular 90s shows like Friends. It has been referred to as an evolution of Memphis style from the early 1980s, and as a return to more natural interiors.
The trend is thought to have become more popular in the mid-90s as a reaction against fast-evolving technology and the hand that computer-generated art had began to have in design. It quickly fell out of favor by the early 2000s, being replaced by the vastly different and more minimal Frutiger Aero, Gen X soft club and Y2K aesthetics.
Its name either originated from the perception of the internet in the early 90s as being one big "global village" or from the diverse cultural symbols often referenced in its style.
One creator behind the trend's online resurgence, @pixelbytes0, spoke with Newsweek. They gained more than 470,000 views on one of their posts showcasing the aesthetic through images of old coffee shops and restaurants against soft 90s music, the sound one might imagine playing in such a venue.
"Global village coffeehouse (GVC) was an aesthetic that emerged in the late 1980s and rose in popularity in the 1990s," they wrote in another post's caption. "This aesthetic was a sort of reaction to the computer and tech boom of the 90s."
Another creator, @dspacestv, gained more than 65,000 likes on their short TikTok explainer about the aesthetic.
Another, @paigewithababyface, gained more than 31,000 likes on her post in which she walked viewers through how she created a tiny model of a global village coffeehouse coffee shop.
An Instagram post from @zeobat which reintroduced people to the aesthetic has also been liked more than 125,000 times to date, with viewers in the comments gushing over its earthy tones.
Many Instagram users poked fun at traits characteristic of venues drenched in global village coffeehouse style, with many making lighthearted pop culture references.
"God I long for the 90s whimsigoth aesthetic," one viewer said, while another added: "Yearning for a sun dried tomato and pesto chicken panini from this place right about now,"
"Spinach salad with strawberry vinaigrette," another posted, while one commented: "And they have coffees in really big bowl cups."
"Soft harlequin deco and the first burgeoning natural food movement…Wow this is so Seattle in 1997 thank you," another said.
"An afternoon in a coffee shop like this would fix me," one viewer shared to much agreement.
Images of the global village coffeehouse aesthetic, Gen Z's latest fixation, from a viral TikTok video.
Images of the global village coffeehouse aesthetic, Gen Z's latest fixation, from a viral TikTok video.
@pixelbytes0
Even Windows' official Instagram account commented: "Bring back global village coffeehouse."
Another viewer joked that a coffee shop with this aesthetic would only play Sade.
"Gen Z is certainly enamored by the 90s right now," Hayes said. "As a millennial who spent my formative teen years then, I can vouch for the fact that they were a golden era.
"There was exciting things happening, the year 2000 was looming, the turn of a century, and yet, it was comfortingly had fantastic TV, great music, enough technology to be making progress and feel quite chuffed with our internet savvy selves, yet we were not overwhelmed by tech."
Hayes continued that growing up before the social media and AI boom meant that you were spared a long laundry list of social, mental and emotional woes that teenagers now face through social media.
"Everyone would have experienced that time differently, but for most it equated to a blissfully innocent, delightfully comforting, golden time," she said. "The global coffeehouse aesthetic captures all of the above, and no wonder Gen Z are going weak at the knees for it.
"It represents an escape from all that is presently terrifying and transports them to a decade and lifestyle that felt more safe and secure."
Newsweek reached out to @dspacestv, @paigewithababyface and @zeobat for more information via TikTok, Instagram and email.
