Soft grunge

History#

By the 2000s, indie sleaze fashion had become popular, which including traits of 1970s and 1980s fashion in addition to grunge and the contemporary hipster fashion. Soft grunge evolved directly from this trend, once Tumblr users began to merge it with darker fashion elements like fishnets, chokers and combat boots. A 2022 article published by i-D specifically cited Hope Sandoval’s incorporation of baby tees, slip dresses and mesh as influential upon the development of soft grunge. Teen Vogue writer Kara K. Nesvig and Refinery29 writer Sadhbh O’Sullivan also cited emo fashion as a notable component. Early on its development, the style was deliberately confrontational to the fitness culture which was dominant in popular culture at the time, namely Victoria’s Secret’s Train Like an Angel campaign and online fitness influencers like Blogilates and Freelee the Bananagirl. Ferreira’s style was a direct outgrowth of indie sleaze, making use of chunky boots, babydoll dresses, leopard print, leather, tennis skirts, smudged makeup and grown out dark roots on bleached blonde hair. In a 2014 article for Vogue, stylist Ian Bradley called Ferreira’s look “A mix of sexy, innocent and tough”. In the following years, musician Lana Del Rey, models Kate Moss and Kylie Jenner and actress Kaya Scodelario’s portrayal of the fiction character Effy Stonem, all became points of inspiration for the emerging fashion style. and in 2013 Ferreira becoming Hedi Slimane’s muse when he took over as the creative director for luxury fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. By 2015, “grunge” was Tumblr’s most reblogged fashion term, with soft grunge and pale grunge both appearing in the top 20. i-D magazine called the style one of the earliest internet aesthetics which become commonplace by the 2020s. The style was also influential on 2020s rockstar girlfriend, ballerina sleaze and coquette trends. Around 2022, the style began to experience a resurgence in popularity due to videos uploaded on the video sharing application TikTok, where by August of that year, the hashtags 2014Tumblr accumulated 232 million uses, GrungeAesthetic with 611 million uses and TumblrAesthetic with 46.6 million. Harper’s Bazaars writer Ella Sangster credited the revival as a reaction against the clean girl aesthetic which had been prominent on the same platform since 2020. The same year, luxury fashion house Ports 1961 launched their fall/winter 2022 campagne which featured models Vittoria Ceretti and Bella Hadid in soft grunge inspired outfits taken on polaroid cameras. During this time, the style was embraced by celebrities including Emma Chamberlain, Doja Cat and Olivia Rodrigo.

Fashion#

Soft grunge was based upon the dominant fashion silhouette of the 2010s: high-waisted, tight-fitting trousers or pleated mini skirts with crop tops or t-shirts; while also making use of items common in the 1990s. Racked media writer Frank Gargione called the style a take on grunge fashion but “commoditized by chain stores and available in softer, sweeter colors”. band shirts, Dr. Martens shoes and boots, tennis skirts, chokers, flannel shirts, flower crowns, galaxy print, matte lipstick, winged eyeliner, fishnets, knee socks, Chuck Taylor All-Stars, tote bags, denim jackets and cuffed, ripped jeans. Many of these items were specifically bought from American Apparel, with clothes from Unif and Urban Outfitters both also becoming popular once the style began gaining traction. It often makes use of pastel colours, particularly pinks and blues.

Photography#

Soft grunge photography often made use of desaturated colors or were black and white. A particularly defining part of soft grunge photography was the use of instant cameras, while also evoking melancholic moods and narratives of illness, pain, A common compositional theme was skin, particularly bruises, wrinkles, scars and blonde vellus hairs, sometimes taken while in a bath and decorated with glitter, flowers and rainbows. In extreme circumstances these depicted self-harm and items used to do so like razor blades or shards of glass. Similarly, imagery of drug use like cigarettes, pills, lighters, alcohol and decorated cigarette packets were common. Depictions such as these were often deleted by Tumblr admins.

Music#

The music genre soft grunge took its name from its prominence on soft grunge Tumblr. The term was originally used disparagingly, implying the genre appealed to the site’s female teen usership, was overconcered with aesthetics and downplaying its heaviness. Much of its popularity was due to its frequent use by Stuff You Will Hate. It began in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when bands involved in Pennsylvania’s fourth-wave emo scene began to incorporate 1990s alternative rock influences. This included Balance and Composure, Superheaven and Title Fight. Outside of the soft grunge genre, those who participate in online soft grunge communities often listened to Sky Ferreira, Charli XCX, the Neighbourhood, the 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Lana Del Rey and Marina Diamandis.

Criticism#

Soft grunge has been criticized by publications including Jezebel, the Ringer and Vice Media as romanticizing and glorifying self-harm, eating disorders, suicidal ideation and mental illness. In her book The Aesthetics of Self-Harm, Academic Zoe Alderton stated that the specific depictions of self-harm on soft grunge blogs conformed to what Ping-Nie Pao described as “delicate self-mutilation”. Pao observed in his 1969 study of self-harmers that many made effeminate “superficial, delicate, carefully designed incisions”. Highsnobiety writer Nico Amarco brought into question the style’s links to grunge stating that “While the idolatry of original grunge and alt rock is commonplace in the soft grunge community, knowledge and genuine interest in any of these bands is thin on the ground”, with Tumblr users instead generally championing the alternative pop music of 2010s artists like Sky Ferreira, Lana Del Rey and Charli XCX.

See also#

• Kinderwhore
• Post-grunge
• Heroin chic