August 2016
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There are no exact dates to define them, but congratulations, because they are now the largest living generation in the United States. Millennials are past eight-three million in the United States, just past twenty-five percent, and continually growing. They have surpassed the famous “baby boomer” generation, and the Millennials are now living and fostering a much different reality than what was expected. Rather than setting strait trends, they’ve followed a nostalgic route, and instead of establishing standalone independence, they’re living with their parents. They have set a new tone with entrepreneurial success, and a homegrown hippie sense of life. They is no rush for marriage or family, and any thought to the complication of getting their credit tied-up with a hefty mortgage or gas-guzzling expensive car. There are now tiny moveable homes selling across the country, there is the deepest desire for communal living, the mass-spread of interactive technology, and the comfort in bohemian lifestyle. It’s an understatement to say that retro is in and the seventies are back…
Music festivals are all the rage – from Coachella, to Burning Man, to Lollapalooza. Morals are freer, without any previously mentioned concern to marriage, children, or houses. Hostiles, such as the popular Freehand in both Chicago and Miami, are outracing notorious and luxurious brands such as the Waldorf Astoria, whose New York flagship location will be closing its doors in summer of 2017, for a three-year renovation for the conversion of over one-thousand guest rooms to more unaffordable luxury condo living in Midtown Manhattan. One commonality between the capturing effects of indie music festivals and communal-oriented hostile hotels, is the tremendous bearing of the experience impulse. Experience has replaced the need of buying physical commodities or remembrances. Need, and the disparities and voids of life have been filled by Millennials with togetherness, events, and adventure. While objects are worn, tattered, and outdated, it has been substantiated that experiences never fade. Therefore, for a generation facing great technologic and economic change, experience is pretty choice.
For the sake of generational folklore, the devastating gasp of the 2008 recession will continue to have its perpetual effects, forever leaving Americans with distrust, and this emerging generation in the clash of cultural consciousness. The seventies may be back with its loose clothing, loose attitude, and higher gas prices and tumultuous politics, but the glamour of Halston, the bright lights of Studio 54 and the Palladium, and the gypsy rockstar ballads of Fleetwood Mac are forever stuck in the past. The rising of a new generation offers a new identity which has prospered on start-ups, internet ready-made famous stars, and indie movies, rather than the corner office and bright lights of Hollywood, or the spotlight of strobe lights.
Although there are more college degrees than ever, more women in the workforce, and the changing times of ethnic diversity, an air from the past still awakens in contemporary culture, whether is through the lens of a Polaroid camera or the play from a Crosby record player. It may be an underground movement, going “hipster” and mainstream, but many clothing and retail brands are utilizing this sense of “nostalgic marketing” to their advantage, filling our selves with retro soda cans, and wardrobes with high-waisted shorts. With the first instant taste of media from a young age, Millennials are able to experience videos, memorabilia, and the experience of the past. They can watch it on screen, and fantasize in the iconic haze of photography and witness accounts. Now, as we are all still basking in the lasting economic bouts, we look on to remember, and fill the gaps with nostalgic fantasies. However, for a generation so mindful of the past, a new identity and actualization is formed. For the women’s movement in the seventies, is now realized with millions of female-supported families, and companies, even corporations. With the distrustful face towards corporate empires, and capitalism, due to the woes of student loans and staggering unemployment, retro teams of self-starting is here. More kids go to college, and now the organic food craze is far past underway.
Whether it’s because Millennials are living out of vans to pay the bills, writing blogs to have a voice, or self-stating businesses due to the un-choosing of a poor economy, the choice in remembering the past remains the same. Remembering the past, turning to vintage challenges and hardships to cope with the present. The seventies are our shoulder to cry on, so catch you on the flip side.
© Alexia Virue 2016