In the fast pace of modern popular culture where trends seem to disappear before they even start, it is easy to forget their origin and cultural significance. Trends often blossom from smaller or marginalized subcultures, going unnoticed or misunderstood for their unique characteristics. However, without these subcultures, mainstream culture would not be nearly as diverse and dynamic.
Hippie Culture
The hippie movement emerged in the mid-1960s as a shift against the middle-class values many of them came from; they preached for love, freedom, self-sufficiency and nonviolence. While some distanced themselves from traditional political structures, they advocated for peace during the Vietnam War, civil rights and environmentalism to raise awareness. Their openness about sexual experimentation and co-op housing also encouraged the sexual revolution. Hippie use of soft drugs such as marijuana was in part spiritual, but it led to recreational usage across the United States. Hippie fashion, often self-made, — bell-bottoms, tie-dye, bohemian styles and loose fabrics — was assimilated into a mainstream culture transitioning from business wear to casual dress.
“There was this big push away from being forced into war uniform,” said Lorrie McPheeters, associate faculty in West Valley College’s fashion department. “Hippie culture comes from post-war mentality, like wearing long hair to grow out the military buzz cuts that they never wanted to wear.”
Hip-Hop Culture
Originating in New York’s Black communities in the 1970s, hip-hop culture’s success today as a music genre is undeniable. It popularized rap and DJing following the breakthrough of ‘90s artists like Jay-Z and Tupac. R&B and hip-hop were the top genres in the 2023 Billboard charts, making up more than one in four streams. Breakdancing, which flourished as the counterpart to hip-hop music, has also since become part of the world stage as a sport in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Characteristics of hip-hop fashion include designer brands, platinum jewelry and breakdance outfits: sportswear, sneakers and oversized clothing. A trending subset of modern hip-hop culture is the Opium aesthetic related to Playboi Carti’s music, which centers around gothic luxury streetwear like Chrome Hearts and Rick Owens.
“Although breakdancing is still connected to hip-hop culture in its history and community, I think it developed its own group of followers: a broader audience that doesn’t necessarily engage with the traditional hip-hop culture,” senior and president of Breakdancing club James Fan said.
Alternative Culture
While “emo” and “alternative” fashions may seem to be a trend popularized in the 2000s, their origins can be traced back to the 1980s. Initially based on bands such as the Rites of Spring, emo music evolved and experienced several revivals, leading to bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco. On the other hand, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure, are essential to goth culture. Alternative styles and emo fashion evolved as well throughout the last four decades, influencing different fashions such as 2020’s “egirl” trend, which blends goth and alternative fashions with a modern internet-themed twist. Even today, alternative influences are present in popular fashion and music trends. Alternative fashion is now popular with the LGBTQ+ community, with many members flaunting it on social media.
“I identify as alternative based on the music I listen to and my fashion sense,” junior Ishana Subrahmanyan said. “Another reason for this is being queer because these subcultures are often associated with the queer community.”
Nerd Culture
In reaction to the growth of Silicon Valley and explosive development of the tech industry, traditionally “nerdy interests” have largely lost their social stigma. In movies, science fiction entries like “Interstellar” and “The Matrix” are highly critically acclaimed, and the superhero stories in Marvel comic books have become the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. The accessibility of video games has increased from console to computer to mobile platforms as hardware improved, becoming a relatively universal pastime. After the innovators of computers became billionaires, being good at science was no longer seen as a sign of poor social skills, but rather something to aspire to.
“Before the 2000s, no one wanted to walk out of the house with a comic book character shirt on,” McPheeters said. “However, that later became what adults started wearing, especially in Silicon Valley, just because those same people came of age and got wealthy.”
Fandom Culture
Fan culture, a large and sometimes quite intense part of the internet can be participated in through a variety of different ways, such as cosplay, fanart and fanfiction. Many large fandoms are those of anime and manga, which experienced an increase in popularity during 2020 leading to various trends based on them.
“A lot of trends came from the anime subculture, especially on TikTok. For example, people made videos with an anime character laughing or talking in the background, and a lot of them wouldn’t know the roots of those trends,” junior Meryem Bekar said.
However, certain stigmas and stereotypes affect these communities. Activities such as cosplaying have been labeled as “cringe” by some, leading to members of these communities feeling too frightened to freely express themselves online.
“I avoided mentioning my interest in anime during 2020 and 2021 because of the judgment,” Bekar said. “I would feel a bit embarrassed about the subculture sometimes, but I had fun so I realized that it didn’t matter.”
