2025 Trend Report
Just a girl's futuristic thoughts
Hi everyone, I have been MIA recently and have attempted to get off social media a little bit. I love having subscribers and talking to people that enjoy my work/writing, but also am trying not to get obsessed with subscriber counts, note postings, etc. I have a tendency to burn out quickly/get distracted easily….and then suddenly change up my hobbies and desert all of you. Let’s stop that from happening!
What I would love to talk about are my trend predictions for the coming year. I am featured in Zoe’s newest post about this, and I wanted to expand my thoughts just a bit. In her post, I discussed singular trends that I’m seeing, but they seemed inexplicably tied together. I thought I’d try to figure out how! I recommend reading hers first:
As I think we can all tell by now, trends are all tied to greater philosophies, public sentiment, etc. I would say it’s not that difficult to determine the general future sentiment of a society at the onset of a new year. What’s difficult is ascertaining how that sentiment will emerge in art + design. So while some of these will be pretty traditional, others are not quite that obvious. I will do my best to explain where I think they are originating from, but I also trust my judgement. It’s giving philosophical, but it’s also giving “Annie hates = out / Annie likes = in".
THE THEMES OF TOMORROW
There is clearly a movement toward a traditionalism, similar to that of the 80s. It’s seen in everything from interiors, art, architecture, even food. My instagram feed is littered with old colonial era houses, interiors are starting to look as fussy as ever, and abstract art seems to be dissipating (in favor of a traditional still life). One of my favorite substackers, Snaxshot described this movement in the grocery space well.
I believe that people really don’t like minimalism anymore. They like detail. They want something that looks like the artisans of the gilded age handcrafted it, and not like it was 3D printed. People don’t like AI, they like people’s hands. This is also a trend that is manifesting in interesting ways. We might be seeing some 80s boldness + some gilded age opulence, but with more international influence.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
In graphics, I’m seeing a push towards some really Romanesque, classic European type. I love a super classic font, with lots of kerning. I also see art-deco inspiration headed our way when it comes to type and logos. It’s traditional, but with a European twist. I think we are done with the wavy and wiggly, natural forms of the early 2020s.
ART DIRECTION
In art direction and photography, we are definitely moving away from this gray aesthetic and back into colored backgrounds. I think we will see more saturated colors, like that of the 80s, with graphic shadows.
Lauren Bamford really has this down, and her photography has a bit of that very recognizable 80s airbrush feel.
I’m also really enjoying very cinematic photography. I love when something mundane is shot in a cinematic way. I think we will see a lot of this in the future. This can be done with more dramatic lighting, motion, or even framing. Sometimes it’s about depth of field. It’s hard to explain, but you recognize it instantly when you see it.
PACKAGING
I referenced this in Zoe’s substack, but I think we are moving away from this super graphic, high-contrast, type-driven packaging and into a time of decoration and pattern. I want packaging to be more descriptive, with an emphasis on illustration. This is where we can bring the humanity back to design! I want more embellishment, more detail, more of me touching fun little things. Packaging is one of the last PHYSICAL frontiers of design. This is where we humans can really shine.
BRANDING
The most important word in branding seems to be AUTHENTICITY. It’s extremely hard to fake, and it’s even harder to do when you aren’t a singular human being. I think brands will forever be trying to replicate authenticity, but it will always be in different ways. The past few years it’s been things like social media assistants being vulgar, making stupid TikTok’s, using viral lingo, etc. I’ve always hated this desire to be relatable from a literal non-human entity? But I think they’re going to keep trying. I’m thinking some brands might try to strip themselves of their branding entirely (in certain scenarios). Maybe it’s a cardboard sign and horrible handwriting and the simplest of messages.
Or I’m totally off base. Maybe this means super luxury brands come OFF social media. Maybe it looks like using much smaller influencers, or none at all! Maybe this looks like valued customers getting to go on a Tarte trip and not posting one single thing about it but telling all their friends. Who knows!
I think the brands that will succeed the most are the ones that actually MAKE their product. I think people will value artisans and knowledge from people that handle the product first hand. This might look like a dairy brand making ice cream on it’s family farm, or team of artisans hand making leather wallets in Italy. Either way, the brands that are the closest to their product I think will be the most successful moving forward.
INTERIORS/EXTERIORS
I live in an adorable neighborhood with colorful Victorians lining the streets. Every time they tear down a ranch house, they put up a triangle and a square next to each other. I think people are going to start adding architectural details to their houses in order to make them look more expensive. Obviously people have been adding more intricate molding in their interiors for a bit, but what about the exteriors! I think stupid developers don’t realize how much people crave at least the facade of history in their neighborhood. I also think people are going to be more playful with their houses exterior colors as well. I could even see cars getting more colorful, as well. Goodbye gray!
As for interiors, I think the super colorful, pattern on pattern, English cottage style is turning into a more pared down version. We still have color, but instead of pattern we are seeing paint techniques for texture. The wall colors are more evocative and emotional.
CONCLUSION
While there is obviously a shift towards the aforementioned classic, preppy, traditional, etc., I also think we are entering a time of BOISTEROUSNESS. Minimalism will disappear and opulence will prevail. But, it won’t look quite like you expect. It will be more about people showing off their handiwork than it will be about money spent.
We will see more color, more saturation, more 80s loudness. It might not look like Gatsby era magnificence, but people will be decorating their homes and their clothing more loudly. They’re going to be showing off the things they have that maybe are antique, maybe are handcrafted, but don’t look like the minimalist accessories of the past. They want people to know that they value unique things that other people can’t have. With dupe culture at its peak, (did you hear there’s a Walmart Birkin?) people will be buying and creating things that cannot be digitized or duped. I’ve said this time and time again, but the trends that will emerge in the coming years are the ones that look the least “digital” and look the most “handcrafted”.
HONORABLE MENTIONS - SUBSTACK FAVES
Some things that have managed to bring me pure joy over the last few months, especially my newfound disdain for social media / entertainment.
Hunter Harris’s Hung Up Chat - It’s giving girls who love pop culture but also are literate and appreciate nuance. I highly suggest subscribing and becoming a part of this chat for serious opinions about silly stuff!
Zoe Akhairy’s notes - Think of Zoe as an encyclopedia of inspiration for your next project. She is amazing at tying together visual themes.
The outfits of Morenike Ajayi, Irene Kim, and Laura Reilly
And some other fun/useful posts from the year
And last but not least, the post my husband sent me before I was on substack, that inspired me to join this summer! Thanks Ali LaBelle !!
BYE!
Love this! So happy I found your Substack :)
Loved this! So interesting to see how resistance towards AI and algorithms is showing up in visual and decorative trends.