What’s IN and OUT for 2023, According to US

The New Year has arrived and thank all the gods that 2022 is behind us. With pandemic malaise slowly fading away, there are new waves of cultural trends taking place around us. This year - especially more than the last two - people want to connect, express themselves and live the most fulfilling lives they can.

Check out our predictions for what we’d love to see more of in 2023, and what we’d love to leave behind.

In: DIY Party Culture

*Toronto’s Chippy Nonstop is a champion of DIY party culture in the city*
Source: Karim Olen Ash

Endless condo developments. Pandemic closures. Skyrocketing rent. They’ve put their ugly heads together and gone straight for the jugular of our favourite underground clubs and cultural watering holes.

Where will we dance our woes away? Where will subcultures mix and mingle? Thankfully there’s been a DIY party renaissance happening in our big cities, with local DJ’s and creative collectives joining forces to bring us affordable, bangin’ and subversive events in unconventional places.

I went to a rave in a baseball diamond this summer, complete with an impressive sound system, dramatic lighting setup and zero complaints from folks in the park. Can confirm it slapped. More of this in 2023!

Out: Chasing Virality with Gimmicky Fashion PR Stunts

*BDSM gimp models walk the runway at the NYSE for Balenciaga*
Source: Highsnobiety

2022 was the year fashion embraced “cheap gimmicks and SEO stunts.” And before the wrath of Beargate, Balenciaga was the biggest gimmick-chaser of all.

Remember when Kim squeakily walked around, bound head-to-toe in Balenci-branded tape? Or the time Demna booked the New York Stock Exchange to parade an army of BDSM gimps down the runway in oddly basic Adidas X Balenciaga garb?

Performance on the runway is nothing new. We’ve seen incredibly intricate theatrics around couture with 90’s era McQueen, Westwood (RIP) and Gaultier.

What we saw in 2022 is not giving performance art. It’s giving clickbait.

In: Climate-Proof Beauty

Climate change is not a good look, and neither is damaged skin. It’s an ugly truth, but the acceleration of the climate crisis means our environment is changing faster than before. Protecting our skin from increasingly intense UV rays and elevated air pollution is a thing we should all be thinking about.

Yes, we’re still contributing to late-stage capitalism by buying more skincare products, even if they’re marketed to us as “eco friendly” (they’re not). But protecting your largest organ from gnarly toxins is very in.

Out: Greenwashing/Brands Pretending to Give a Crap About Climate Change

So many businesses have made a point of telling us that they’re implementing sustainable business practices, but a lot of it is just trendy marketing speak and/or plain BS.

According to Selectra Climate Consulting, “Greenwashing is a marketing technique aimed at creating an illusion of ecological responsibility. Green communication doesn't always mean that the company is environmentally responsible.”

When it comes down to it, the best way to be “green” is for companies to produce fewer products, and for us consumers to buy less.

In: Un-Grammable Living

*No influencers in sight in this Un-Grammable Hang Zone!*
Source: Etsy

Blob art. Inspiration quote neon signs. Those horrible metal chairs. How many times have you hit up a new neighbourhood hotspot feeling like you’ve been there before?

Scrolling interior design feeds feels increasingly like white room torture. Colour is disappearing from the world as we quite literally bleach gentrified neighbourhoods of their character.

A few months back, my favourite chaotic Substack, Blackbird Spyplane, coined the term “Un-Grammable Hang Zone.” In 2023, it’s all about learning to appreciate green bathroom fixtures and bowling alley carpeting IRL, instead of gentrifying every space for the sake of the timeline.

Out: The Endless Scroll

Social media reached its peak as the world went into lockdown in 2020, and face-to-face socialization was completely wiped off the table. Nearly three years later it feels like we’ve finally hit our content limit.

Teens in Brooklyn are ditching their iPhones for flip phones. Twitter has been taken over by incels. The Metaverse is a flop. Memes are so deep-fried that I no longer understand what I’m LOLing at.

The true turning point was the rise of BeReal in 2022 - a social media app with the intention of promoting “authenticity and living in the moment.” It’s time to log off!

In: The Return of Personal Style

*Kate Moss in 1996 in her signature look* Source: Vogue UK

In the words of fashion legend Iris Apfel: Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. You know good it’s style when you love the look yet can’t buy it off a mannequin.

It’s not necessarily sticking to the classics. It’s knowing what you like and what works for you and rocking what you love with confidence.

Perfect example? Kate Moss makes skinny jeans look current in any decade despite TikTok declaring their very existence as sacrilege in 2022. This year, let's spend less time worrying whether we’re “on trend” and simply vibing in what makes us look and feel like our best.

Out: Microtrends and Aesthetic-core

Remember back in middle school when the main subcultures were emo and prep? These days, terms like Clean Girl Aesthetic, Night Luxe, and Gnomecore are tossed around so quickly it’s nearly impossible to hop on a trend before it’s deemed passé.

Microtrends, made possible by the endless content feed and fast fashion being faster than ever, make it nearly impossible for Gen Z to form an identity. Not to mention keeping up with the endless trend cycle is terrible for the environment and has massive ethical implications.

The largest beneficiaries from microtrends are retailers like Zara and SHEIN, who can pump out new styles hourly, all of which will be fully disposable by the time a new aesthetic hashtag has gone viral. No more “cores” in 2023 unless it’s trend-hoppers developing core identities.