And though male celebrities are embracing play on the red carpet, by and large, these aesthetics are fading — and will continue to do so, Hastings-Narayanin says. Babygirl men, and with them their crop tops and short shorts, are on the decline.

At the opposite end of the spectrum to boom boom is the old money, quiet luxury movement. Old money implies generational wealth — something non-white Americans have historically been prohibited from amassing. It’s moving more into the mainstream as well. Pretty Little Thing’s brand overhaul from clubwear to ‘quiet luxury’ minimalism is generating online chatter — and critique — for its conservative tilt. The swapping of bodycons and cutouts for blazers, maxi skirts and lots of beige signals an embrace of the more buttoned-up aesthetics so tightly bound up with a more conservative look.

Selling the new look

Because the ‘conservative look’ is less clear cut than it once was, brands have to navigate more than just the decision of whether and how to market to consumers’ changing values and looks. They need to dissect what’s at the root of these shifting appearances.

To do so, brands must evolve their understanding of consumers, especially the next generation, says Metzger. “I can see how conservative-led aesthetic trends feel conflicting, but I think in a lot of ways they’re driven by simple and relatable emotional triggers,” she says.

Marketers can fall into the pitfall of overgeneralising consumer groups — especially generational cohorts, she continues, noting the conversation emerging at present in which marketers are questioning whether they got Gen Zs wrong. “Gen Zs are often simplified down to being diverse, fluid, inclusive, activists, and the way that Gen Zs showed up at the polls throws a wrench in that story,” she explains. The way many are presenting themselves does, too. “I think this could be a really interesting turning point for marketers to dig into understanding this generation through a more nuanced lens.”

That said, brands shouldn’t rush into a reactive overhaul, Hastings-Narayanin cautions. “These shifts — whether in consumer values, aesthetics, or behaviours — take time to fully emerge,” he says. Instead of committing to any quick, drastic changes, brands ought to be listening, tracking and preparing behind the scenes. After all, for all of those embracing conservative aesthetics, there are plenty pushing back.

*Note on our images:

We created all lead images in this series using OpenAI GPT-4o’s image generation tool. To do that, we leveraged the ongoing partnership between Condé Nast and OpenAI and generated images that best reflect the expert insights and predictions about appearance found in this collection of articles.

We are aware of the debate surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence in image-making, and we share concerns regarding creative ownership as well as that of our own image. In this series, we are talking about a world that doesn’t yet exist, and as AI is in so many ways the tool of the future, we felt it was appropriate to experiment with it in this way.

We guided the visuals entirely through written prompts. No external images or copyrighted materials were uploaded or referenced — every image was created from scratch based on our team’s original concepts.

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