The Age of Revival: Retro Making a Comeback In Popular Culture (Again)
The term “retro” emerged in the 1960s describing styles that have been created in the past. Later, it has changed its meaning a bit, expressing a nostalgia for all the things that were better “back in the day” – music, movies, fashion, and whatever else you could think of, fit under this term. Pop culture has seen several waves of “retro” ever since – in the 1970s and 1980s, movies like “American Graffiti” and “Grease” romanticized the 1950s, in the 1980s rock music revived many hits from the 1960s, in the 1990s, retro moved forth another decade, reaching back to the 1970s, reviving disco and Philly soul, and every decade ever since reached back to decades long past for inspiration when it comes to fashion, movies, music, and design. Today, we live in an age when even the retro revivals of past times are revived, with a wave of retro video games, movies, musical styles, and looks serving as inspiration for designers.
Footwear
The Nike Cortez is one of the most iconic sneakers in history. It was the first track shoe created by Nike in 1972, and (according to some sources) named to mock Adidas’ “Azteca Gold” sneakers released around the same time. The shoe was introduced to the general public at the 1972 Summer Olympics and gained a lot of popularity. It is widely believed that without the Cortez, Nike would’ve disappeared long ago.
Over the last two decades, the Cortez was redesigned several times. Today, it is available in its original form under the name of “Nike Classic Cortez”.
Music
Although digital streaming puts music in the pockets of pretty much anyone with a smartphone, the seemingly outdated media used in the past to distribute music haven’t disappeared. On the contrary – in an age when CDs are on the brink of disappearance, vinyl has shown a significant increase in sales over the last few years. Audiophiles apparently feel that the vintage technology used to distribute music offers a much better experience than anything digital. But this doesn’t explain the recent surge in audio cassette sales – according to a Nielsen report, cassette tape sales in the US have grown by 35% in 2017.
Movies
Hollywood has been making remakes of classic movies for ages. Today, in turn, the Dream Factory’s output of remakes is becoming extreme. Hollywood reportedly intends to remake more than a hundred movies from the years past (that we know of), ranging from successful comedy franchises like Ace Ventura Pet Detective and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to superhero movies like Batman and Blade, sci-fi action movies like Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China, horror movies like Firestarter and The Blob, not to mention the live-action remakes of classic Disney animated features like Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid.
