GENZ, MILLENIALS… WHATEVER
WE'RE ALL TEENAGERS AT HEART
Last December, The Hustle published an article about women in their late twenties making money creating Taylor Swift merch. “I just love Taylor Swift. Whenever I’m working on this, it feels like I’m just having fun” said one of them. Women using their free time creating items dedicated to their favorite pop star?
A few years ago, it would have sounded like a very “15-year-old” behavior, with all the memorabilia associated with the figure of the Teenage Fangirl - braces, crying, posters in the bedroom…
Objects of mockery - in France we had Le Petit Journal doing so daily - the teenage fangirl was considered the epitome of foolishness. And of course a display of misogyny, showcasing girls as obsessed and hysterical.
So, when grown-up ladies started making friendship bracelets for Taylor Swift concerts, our colleagues obsessing over Kpop Girl bands, or celebrities losing it on the red carpet when seeing Beyoncé, we all wondered “What the hell happened???”. Are we witnessing a fangirl redemption?
Well, not only it did, indeed, happen, but that’s not the best part. It was all about a Teenager Redemption.
What a cultural shift! We understood that the teenager image that we had shaped through pop culture - hysterical fangirl, mean girls, foolish and out of touch with reality - was 1/ false, 2/ harmful for actual teenagers (making movies only about girls criticizing each other may not be the best thing) and 3/ irrelevant as, YES, how interesting are those teenage years. Yes, maybe even more interesting than being a grown-up, fully “realized” adult.
The coming-of-age of “the teenager” in the 60s celebrated adolescence as an age of transition, of exploration. Choosing what kind of adult you would then become. In your teenage years, you change all the time.
As an adult, your deed is done. You’ve grown up. Your body may change over the years, but your mind, who you are at core, will not. It’s time for you to embrace serious matters, to give yourself the appearance of a woman who is taking charge, who has herself together.
And that’s very boring.
The need to explore yourself
Changing “eras” every few days, trying on new unhinged looks - are you all ready for the “medieval autumn” coming? Inspired by the newest popstars on the block, like Chappell Roan, women are in to explore the extent of their personality and looks, discovering that they can themselves, become whatever they wish to become.
The fun escape
In a world that looks helpless, the right to have a little bit of fun should be put in the constitution. So the innocence of the teenage fun, smiling, laughing, making silly cute jokes, and hanging out with your best friends, seems so harmless, refreshing, and necessary that it truly is our best medicine. Sabrina Carpenter, the babydoll-looking singer, understands that perfectly, mixing glamorous sexy looks with a frivolous, funny vibe.
Teenage Troubles
« I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul »
In 1992, Radiohead encapsulated in a single sentence the longing that overshadows our teenage years. Longing to belong, to fit, a seemingly never-ending dilemma between individuality (who am I?) and community (will they love me?).
What was once the pure image of teenage misery, doesn’t look so adolescent to us now. The discomfort of our young years has not left us: older Gen Zers and younger millennials testify of this phenomenon. We are still battling to find out who to be, how to be, and we have grown weary of pretending we have all our shit together.
Yep, we face the same issues that we did as teenagers, so why not take all the good parts too?
So how are brands reacting ?
As always, some did better than others.
The “Out-of-Touch” one
For instance, Burger King France released an infantilizing ad making fun of the silly dreams of teenagers. An ad that sounded like your mom/dad, unable to understand you at 16, when you actually believe that the sky is the limit. Of course, the ad was very badly received. Yes, it is cool to believe in yourself, to have the spark of teenage confidence, thinking that great things await you. And not merely being jaded with what life has to offer, and go work at Burger King.
The “Welp, isn’t that PERFECT for me?!” one
In an ocean of luxury brands, highlighting the chic, elevated (boring) woman, one brand had historically a better fit with the teenage archetype of the careless, mischievous girl: Chanel. A brand made for women doing as they please, irreverent, and foolish with “esprit”.
Chanel recruited 21-year-old Whitney Peak, and released an ad, filled with the energy and insouciance of our best teenage years.
Chanel did it again with Chance, and a campaign featuring 4 girls, having simple fun at a Carnival. Simple, but so efficient.
The “We were boring af, let’s be silly” one
Coach successfully rebranded itself in the last couple of years, dropping their brown-ish, chic & sleek communication for the idea that really a cute bag is a girl’s best friend. They could have gone for the “quiet luxury” aesthetic. But no, they chose something more interesting, more disruptive in the leather category, and let go of the “omg so crafted so precious” vibe that contaminates the industry and remembered that a bag is truly precious because of all the crazy shit it contains.
And what embodies that more, than the teenage girl’s bag?
What could brands do better?
Understanding that you do not need to look like a 16-year-old to act like a teenage girl. Teenage fun is for everyone!
Please feature more silly adult women, making cakes with the face of their fav BTS member on them, having fun with their group of gals, trying on crazy makeup looks…
I once wrote in a notebook a quote from Colette “Je suis dans le monde et le monde va faire avec“ (I'm in the world and the world will deal with it ). I can’t find a source for this quote, so maybe she did not say it at all. Maybe someone else did.
But beware brands, Teen Women are in the world, and at some point, brands will have to deal with it.
P.S: Here are some of my fav tweets about the matter 💖
