All things Barbie, going pantless, humungo Stanley Cup bottles and pressure tipping. There’s plenty from 2023 to leave behind come the new year.
Extreme weather hit historic heights. Fakeness took a huge turn with the rise of AI. The rudeness epidemic continued with the help of FaceTime. Here’s a less than all-inclusive list of what we’re over as we look ahead to 2024:
BARBIE, TAKE A HIKE
Barbiecore, aka all things hot pink and playful and hyper-feminine, has been around since the dawn of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino added some high-fashion oomph in 2022 with a buzzy Barbie pink collection. And there’s Nicki Minaj, of course, and her army of fans dubbed the Barbz.
Then along came Barbenheimer and bam! July 2023 was nuts with the conflation of the films Barbie and Oppenheimer. They shared an opening weekend. Big Barbie (and Oppenheimer) money was made. It was fun. We needed that feel-good frenzy.
Now, please, let’s put Babs back in her box and hop on over to some other aesthetic and spot on the colour wheel to get all crazy about. Enough with the high profile for our senior gal and her pink. Pink for breast cancer awareness is a whole other story. So is millennial pink, if that ever was an actual thing people generally cared about.
On to Gen Z yellow, people!
Fake eyelashes the size of caterpillars persisted in 2023. Lab-grown diamonds made their way into the mainstream as cheaper alternatives to the real thing. Fake marriages hit the A-list, or at least those that secretly reached expiration dates years before the world found out (looking at you Will, Jada, Meryl and Don).
The relentless onslaught of fake news and disinformation continued in the lead-up to elections in 2024. Influencers and celebs rocked on with their “natural look” makeup tutorials that require a counter full of products. Kim Kardashian’s fringe at the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards was, yes, fake.
Was 2023 a big year for fake everything? Counting AI, the answer is, definitely. Talk about creating an illusion. Let’s not forget about real. Real just may get us through.
THE STANLEY CUP CRAZE
Hydration is important. Reducing water bottle plastic is a worthy cause.
HOWEVER, there’s a world of reusable water bottles out there, not just the ginormous and pricey Stanley Cup kind that earned cult status on TikTok and Instagram in 2023.
Social media speak: “I was today years old.” “So let’s get into it.” “Yas, bestie, it’s giving.” Be original. You’ll love it.
The comings and goings of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Let them live unfettered by media drooling over their every move, presuming their romance lasts come 2024.