Light academia is an aesthetic and subculture, [1] that emphasizes visually light aesthetics and positive themes, including optimism, joy, and friendship. [2] [3] Accordingly, light academia is often considered to be the visually and emotionally lighter counterpart to dark academia. [3] [4] The term light academia was coined on Tumblr in 2019 and gained popularity during the early 2020s. [2] [4]
The term light academia was coined on Tumblr in 2019 by the user 'plantaires,' who wrote: [2]
"You've heard of 'dark academia', now its time for 'light' academia… wearing light linen sundresses in foreign countries, eating picnics and pastries in the afternoon sun while reading poetry and laughing with your friends, the burning passion and excitement when you finally make a breakthrough in your research, falling asleep in your lovers arms sunkissed and happy… everything is beautiful and hopeful and no one dies".
Comparing it to dark academia, Tumblr trend analyzer Amanda Brennan has stated that light academia "still embodies the love of learning, but with an airier, less doom-focused feel that shows that knowledge brings light and happiness in the outdoors rather than a gothic darkness seen curled up in a corner". [5]
By the end of 2020, light academia was ranked seventh for Tumblr's top ten aesthetics. [4] By the end of 2021, light academia was the third most popular aesthetic on Tumblr. [6]
On Pinterest, the number of users tagging the terms 'Light Academia clothing" and "Light Academia clothes" increased 236-fold by December 2022, compared to December 2021. [5]
On Depop, searches for "Light Academia" increased by 900% by October 2022. [5]
Light academia utilizes a neutral and earthy color palette consisting of white, beige, and brown. [2] Clothing items associated with light academia include pleated skirts, dress shirts, sweater vests, cardigans, turtlenecks, and hair ribbons. [5] [7] [8] Light academia clothing has been described as "cottagecore with some more cosmopolitan elements", [3] and as taking inspiration from school uniforms and early to mid-20th-century college wear. [8]
Literature that has been classified as light academia includes the novels Brideshead Revisted, Never Let Me Go and Little Women , and manga series Little Witch Academia . [9] Films classified as light academia include Call Me by Your Name (2017), Persuasion (2022), and Pride & Prejudice (2005). [10] Light academia television series include Netflix's Anne with an E , Derry Girls , Gilmore Girls , and Netflix originals Bridgerton, Heartstopper , and Sex Education . [10]
Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and the nature of taste and, in a broad sense, incorporates the philosophy of art. Aesthetics examines the philosophy of aesthetic value, which is determined by critical judgments of artistic taste; thus, the function of aesthetics is the "critical reflection on art, culture and nature".
A light-on-dark color scheme, better known as dark mode, dark theme or night mode, is a color scheme that uses light-colored text, icons, and graphical user interface elements on a dark background. It is often discussed in terms of computer user interface design and web design. Many modern websites and operating systems offer the user an optional light-on-dark display mode.
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages.
Applied aesthetics is the application of the branch of philosophy of aesthetics to cultural constructs. In a variety of fields, artifacts are created that have both practical functionality and aesthetic affectation. In some cases, aesthetics is primary, and in others, functionality is primary. At best, the two needs are synergistic, in which "beauty" makes an artifact work better, or in which more functional artifacts are appreciated as aesthetically pleasing. This achievement of form and function, of art and science, of beauty and usefulness, is the primary goal of design, in all of its domains.
Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog.
Witch house is a microgenre of electronic music that is musically characterized by high-pitched keyboard effects, heavily layered basslines and trap-style drum loops, while it aesthetically employs occult and gothic-inspired themes.
Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music and a subgenre of hauntology, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s, and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970s elevator music, R&B, and lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s. The surrounding subculture is sometimes associated with an ambiguous or satirical take on consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular entertainment, technology and advertising of previous decades. Visually, it incorporates early Internet imagery, late 1990s web design, glitch art, anime, stylized Ancient Greek or Roman sculptures, 3D-rendered objects, and cyberpunk tropes in its cover artwork and music videos.
Soft grunge was a fashion trend that originated on Tumblr around the late 2000s and early 2010s. Beginning as an outgrowth of the 2000s indie sleaze fashion trend but with a greater influence from the 1990s, particularly grunge fashion, the style began as a reaction against the glamor fitness culture which was dominant in popular culture at the time. It is characterized by its merger of cute and aggressive fashion hallmarks like chokers, tennis skirts, leather jackets and boots, flower crowns, distressed denim and pastel colors. Soft grunge reached its peak popularity around 2014, by which time it had been embraced by high fashion designers including Hedi Slimane and Jeremy Scott and been worn by celebrities including Charli XCX. Its internet-based merger of subculture, fashion and music made it one of the earliest examples of an internet aesthetic. In the early 2020s, the style experienced a minor resurgence due to videos posted on the video sharing application TikTok.
Mark Cagaanan Aguhar was an American activist, writer and multimedia fine artist known for her multidisciplinary work about gender, beauty and existing as a racial minority, while being body positive and transgender femme-identified. Aguhar was made famous by her Tumblr blog that questioned the mainstream representation of the "glossy glorification of the gay white male body".
Bisexual lighting is the simultaneous use of pink, purple, and blue lighting and is used to represent bisexual characters. It has been used in studio lighting for film and television, and has been observed in the cinematography of various films. While not all films, television shows, photographs, and music videos that use this lighting intend to portray bisexuality, many queer artists have deliberately used this color palette—which resembles that of the bisexual flag—in their work.
Solarpunk is a literary and artistic movement, close to the hopepunk movement, that envisions and works toward actualizing a sustainable future interconnected with nature and community. The "solar" represents solar energy as a renewable energy source and an optimistic vision of the future that rejects climate doomerism, while the "punk" refers to do it yourself and the countercultural, post-capitalist, and sometimes decolonial aspects of creating such a future.
Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic idealising rural life. Originally based on a rural European life, it was developed throughout the 2010s and was first named cottagecore on Tumblr in 2018. The aesthetic centres on traditional rural clothing, interior design, and crafts such as drawing, baking, and pottery, and is related to similar aesthetic movements such as grandmacore, goblincore, gnomecore, and fairycore.
Dark academia is a literary aesthetic and subculture concerned with higher education, the arts, and literature, or an idealised version thereof. The aesthetic centres on traditional educational clothing, interior design, activities such as writing and poetry, ancient art, and classic literature, as well as classical Greek and Collegiate Gothic architecture. The trend emerged on social media site Tumblr in 2015, before being popularised by adolescents and young adults in the late 2010s and early 2020s, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, and 1980s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.
Goblincore is an internet aesthetic and subculture inspired by the folklore of goblins, centered on the celebration of natural ecosystems usually considered less beautiful by conventional norms, such as soil, animals, and second-hand objects.
Indie sleaze was a fashion style popular in the United States and United Kingdom from approximately 2006 to 2012. Characterised by an affordable, messy and lethargic take on vintage fashion styles, especially the 1970s, the style was particularly popular amongst the hipster subculture and indie rock bands.
An Internet aesthetic is a visual art style, fashion style, or music genre accompanied by a subculture that usually originates from the Internet or is popularized on it. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, online aesthetics gained increasing popularity, specifically on social media platforms, and often were used by people to express their individuality and creativity. They can also be used to create a sense of community and belonging among people who share the same interests. The term aesthetic has been described as being "totally divorced from its academic origins", and is commonly used as an adjective.
Coquette aesthetic is a 2020s fashion trend that is characterized by a mix of sweet, romantic, and sometimes playful elements and focuses on femininity through the use of clothes with lace, flounces, pastel colors, and bows, often draws inspiration from historical periods like the Victorian era and the 1950s, with a modern twist.
Regencycore or, sometimes, royalcore, is a fashion style and internet aesthetic inspired by clothing worn in early 19th-century Europe. The rise of regencycore is widely attributed to the popularity of the Netflix television series Bridgerton, which takes place in a fictionalized version of Regency era Britain and premiered at the end of 2020.
Y2K is an Internet aesthetic based around products, styles, and fashion of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The name Y2K is derived from an abbreviation coined by programmer David Eddy for the year 2000 and its potential computer errors. The Y2K aesthetic can include synthetic or metallic materials, inflatable furniture, computer interfaces of the dotcom era, and parts of the McBling aesthetic.