Can I Boom Boom?

In December, the trend forecaster Sean Monahan — best known for his role in putting the term normcore on the map in 2013 and for predicting the vibe shift of 2022 — announced the arrival of a new aesthetic: He called it boom boom. While the vibe shift was a return to the late-aughts looks now called indie sleaze, shaking elder millennials to their core, the new aesthetic, another “fetishization of the past,” he wrote, took up the in-your-face glamour and visible hierarchy of the 1980s and early ’90s. Think flashy cars, power suits à la American Psycho, tanning oil, furs, and the dark wood of uptown restaurants like Le Veau d’Or. Boom boom is looking like you’ve spent money for the sake of looking like you’ve spent money. Once again, Monahan’s proclamation felt upsettingly on point.