Does the Mainstream Still Exist?

There was a time, not all that long ago, when trends felt unified. When the question “What’s cool right now?” had a clear answer.

Before digital media, most of us drew our fashion inspiration from the same few places: a trip to the mall, a glossy issue of Seventeen, maybe the latest teen movie like Bring It On or Mean Girls. The world was smaller, and the media landscape reflected that. Fewer platforms meant we were all looking in the same direction, which meant the “mainstream” wasn’t just a trend, it was a shared experience.

You didn’t have to question if something was cool. You just knew. Low-rise jeans were in. Then Ugg boots. Then chokers. Trends rolled in like waves, and we all stood at the shoreline waiting for the next one to hit. Even if it wasn’t your style, you could name it. There was a strange comfort in that predictability.

Fast forward to 2025, and the landscape feels... different.

We now live in algorithmically curated bubbles. Another person's feed might look nothing like yours. Your favorite influencer may have a million followers, and I’ve never even heard of them. One person’s “it girl” is another’s total stranger. It’s not just that the mainstream has fractured, it feels like it’s vanished altogether.I’ll be honest, sometimes I feel a little lost.

In a digital world that thrives on niche aesthetics and micro-trends, it’s hard to tell what the trend even is anymore. Is it balletcore? Indie sleaze? Mob wife? Tomato girl? Are those already out? It’s dizzying.

It makes me wonder: does the mainstream still exist? Or have we entered an era where culture is so decentralized, so personalized, that the concept of “mainstream” no longer applies? I'm I the only one who feels like that sounds lonely?

Yet, there is a kind of freedom in it for sure. You can curate a style that’s entirely your own, drawn from subcultures and styles around the world. There’s also a kind of loneliness. A sense that we’re no longer moving through cultural moments together.

Maybe the question isn’t whether the mainstream exists. Maybe it’s whether we miss it?