PERSONAL UPDATE ❤️🩹
On losing a parent, my layoff anniversary, and revisiting regressive nostalgia
It’s been a while, and unfortunately, I don’t have any new trend analysis to share. Instead, this is a bit of a hodgepodge of updates. I’m sorry if you’re a new subscriber and this is the first post you’re receiving — it’s not at all what I had in mind for the newsletter, but it’s all I can muster at the moment.
Firstly, I’m incredibly grateful for the support
has received so far — thank you all! It’s been exciting and validating to see my work resonate with others and provoke discussion. I’d originally hoped to write at a regular weekly or biweekly cadence. But as you may have noticed, I’ve needed to take a pause.In my last post, I vaguely mentioned a family emergency: A few months ago, my father was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. In February, things took a turn for the worse, accelerating more rapidly than doctors predicted. And then, two weeks ago, he sadly passed away.
It honestly feels strange to share such intimate details with hundreds of people who I’ve not met in real life (yet!). But I also know that I can’t expect empathy or understanding without being transparent and vulnerable. I just don’t want it to seem like this newsletter was a flash in the pan that I forgot about. On the contrary, I have so many ideas for what I want to do with it, and I’m looking forward to picking it back up once I feel more stable again. However, for now, I’m still pretty frazzled, and I need to prioritize my mental health and my full-time job.
A few things in the meantime…
Revisiting Regressive Nostalgia
I enjoy a healthy debate, and I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on this constructive critique of Regressive Nostalgia by
(not my actual nemesis, love their work!). They propose that “Transgressive Nostalgia” would be a “more accurate label for the larger social, cultural and aesthetic trend.” Their piece is paywalled, so I’m going to quote some of the relevant bits below for reference:First of all, nobody would call their own thing “regressive” – it bakes in an external, judgmental viewpoint, which dampens it. (Just because you think someone’s behavior is backwards doesn’t mean they do. They almost definitely think it will make things better in some way, just by tearing things down or “shaking things up”.) By contrast, transgression is something more associated with a style (like punk, or trolls), and speaks more to the true energy of the trend being described — its erotic and emotional charge, which is the essential ingredient.
Even though at Nemesis HQ we fall cleanly on the more progressive side of things, it’s easy to understand the desire to rip down the patronizing hippie firmament, ripe with its contradictions […] Lovers of slow fashion, authentic media, and social openness have a tendency to lay it on thick. Which is where you can start to imagine Transgressive Nostalgia as a counter-trend in fashion and media, too.
Transgressive Nostalgia also fits the bill as a proper contradiction, which is essential for stickiness in marketing. Transgressive nostalgia is contradictory because we think of nostalgia as innocent and sweet, and we think of transgression as violent and harsh. Even though nostalgia and reactionary politics are linked, they are not interchangeable. Longing for the past and insisting on a return to an earlier state are two very different things.”
I am definitely intrigued by this take — Can conservatism be transgressive? Yes, I’d agree, if it’s going against the mainstream. I think that’s indeed been the perspective of the contrarian Dimes Square contingent over the past few years. But as this GQ article about election night celebrations observed: “as the results began to confirm that Trump had indeed won another term, the partiers began to revel in the fact that they are not actually a rarity at all: They are the majority.” Now that conservatism has been confirmed as the dominant cultural sentiment in this country, can it still be considered transgressive? I’m less sure about that.
I also question the assertion that ‘regressive’ is inherently negative terminology and thus a biased judgment. When trying to come up with a name (admittedly my least favorite part of this work), I delved pretty deep into the definition of ‘regressive,’ and referenced psychological literature: “Regression, as a defense mechanism, occurs when an individual unconsciously reverts to behaviors or thought patterns characteristic of an earlier stage of development in response to stress, fear, or emotional conflict. It is a way for the mind to protect itself by seeking the comfort of past behaviors that once provided emotional security.” The idea behind the Regressive Nostalgia trend was that it functions as a coping mechanism for contemporary cultural stressors. But does ‘Transgressive’ work better? I’m open to changing the name if you all think so!
My Layoff Anniversary
This month marks one year since I was laid off from my ‘dream job’ as Head of Cultural Trends & Insights at Nordstrom. It was so cathartic to commemorate this anniversary by sharing my experience with Melanie Ehrenkranz for
. If you’re interested, read the full story here.“Trend work is often done in silos, and I’m excited to see how taking a more open-source approach via Substack could unlock opportunities for constructive critique, collective reflection, insightful conversations and collaborations.”
Personal Reflections
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