There are a lot of cool aesthetics out there to obsess over, inspire your wardrobe and makeup, decorate your room with, etc. But there are none as cool as the Frutiger aesthetics that you might see on TikTok or Pinterest. This includes Frutiger Aero, aqua, metro, dorfic, aurora, and more. Frutiger comes from the Frutiger font family, and the aesthetic is derived from Windows Aero.
Popular in the 2000s and early 2010s, Frutiger Aero is an aesthetic characterized by bright and natural themes, glossy textures, vibrant vibes, and is made to represent the harmony between nature and technology. A lot of the aesthetic includes the windows pc logo, bubbles, fish, and other Y2K technology and avatars. Maybe you’ve seen the TikTok shop link to the infamous aquarium lamp. No one at the time was going around calling it ‘Frutiger Aero’ to their friends, but as of 2017, it became a term used to refer to the dead aesthetic.
Frutiger aero was such a cool aesthetic because it was the epitome of early 2000s internet optimism. Companies made it seem like that was going to be our future, and the direction that future products would go in. Now, twenty years later, we’re reminiscing on what could have been. TikTok shop sells aquarium lamps, eBay scammers sell decade-old Softsoap bottles with the signature fish decal, and I sit in my bedroom with Frutiger aero-themed Gel X nails. You can even buy cute keychains and jewelry with the Frutiger Aero hashtag on Depop and Etsy.
What a world we live in, where all Gen Z can think about is the past instead of the future.
Instead, we’ve been given white and grey minimalist architecture, boring technology to rot our brains looking at, and a less colorful world with much less optimism. I am a firm believer that what you surround yourself with impacts your mental health and level of happiness. No wonder bad weather can make you feel depressed; the grey skies remind Americans of millennial grey interior designs.
Once electronics began to flatten (literally), the aesthetic died out. Because Gen Z is so fixated on making older aesthetics trendy again, Frutiger Aero began to see a resurgence in 2023 and 2024. Frutiger Aero may have seemed revolutionary and futuristic at the time, but in a world of AI-generated nonsense, it’s an aesthetic that is much needed today.
The children yearn for color and positivity.
What Places are Frutiger Aero?
If you’re anything like me and you want to do more than just imagine a Frutiger Aero world, you might want to know of some places you can visit around the world that fit this aesthetic. I did you the favor of going down the Reddit rabbit hole and found hotels and a waterpark that are the perfect match for you.
i-SUITE Hotel, Rimini
i-SUITE is a 5-star hotel in Rimini, Italy along the sea, with a spa, restaurant, bar, and an outdoor pool. The decor is stunning, the suites are a dreamy world of bright colors, and the spa has numerous amenities to take advantage of. Everything about this place is the Frutiger Aero dream to sleep and relax in. This is at the top of my list of hotels to stay in before I die, especially because for a luxury hotel, it’s nowhere near the price of The Ritz.
Beijing National Aquatics Center
This Beijing waterpark was original y contructed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and repurposed afterward for the public. As someone who loves waterslides and all things like so, this place is a dream come true. It’s modern, advanced, and thrilling. The building facade is clad in a bubble-like design that lets light in and cleans itself after a rain shower. Everything about this place is beautiful and fun, and I need financial compensation just for looking at pictures of it.
Prize – Hamburg
Prize by Radisson in Hamburg, Germany might not be as luxurious on the outside as other choices on the list, but it’s the inside is filled with vibrant colors, minimalist rooms with a splash of lime green, funky mirrors, and blue sinks. Green chairs in the lobby that fit your body like a little cocoon would make me feel snug as a bug in a rug. This is a stylish hotel with a convenient price.
Marina Barrage Green Roof, Singapore
The Marina Barrage Green Roof in Singapore is actually a dam built to separate seawater from freshwater and uses 100% eco-friendly drainage cells, according to Singapore’s national water agency. It’s the perfect place for a picnic, frisbee playing, and listening to music with that iPod I mentioned a while back. This is a beautiful reservoir that shows all of what Singapore has to offer. If I can make it to this part of Asia before I die, I would love to listen to some chill, 2000s instrumental beats.
Boscolo Exedra Hotel, Milan
This is what I would like to call a strange time capsule, as a modern, colorful hotel was built on the grounds of a bank from the decadent 1920s. Sure, a lot of it has that luxury black-and-white feel to it, but just step one foot into the spa on-site and you’ll know you’re in for a relaxing, Frutiger Aero daydream. Adorned in kaleidoscopic bubbles and curves, the interior would make me stare for hours. Get an expensive massage, sit in the sauna, and relax in the pool before heading back into a different artsy aesthetic.
Perth Children’s Hospital
Why would you step foot into a children’s hospital in Australia? If you’re a local with children, you probably have. If not, you’ll probably have no reason to go here, but I figured I’d give it a shoutout for the green exterior and interior, and flower-shaped chandeliers hanging from a glass roof. So yeah, props to Australia for making a pretty hospital.
Olympic Park, Seoul
Open spaces, greenery, a view of skyscrapers; this is all part of my dream trip for rest and relaxation. Forget the bustling city for a few hours and step outside of it. Okay, so this is actually a stadium for the 1988 Seoul olympics, but that doesn’t take away from everything I just mentioned. There’s a lot of grass to lay on and it’s calling my name.
Lime Flavor Hotel Suite, Seoul
Seoul, you’ve outdone yourself. Tucked within a boutique hotel is this completely lime green suite (including the curtains) with great lighting along the borders of the room. The bathtub and toilet are each in their own green, glass capsules that give off a more eco-friendly, less billionaire-oriented Lab Rats vibe. Let me recharge my robot battery in there, please! Unfortunately, this is the only room like it and the rest of the hotel is completely different, so I’d be okay just watching a TikTok.
Of course, there are more places on the Frutiger Aero side of the internet, but I challenge you to look for them yourself. Scour TikTok and Reddit and see what else you can find! And hey, if you become a wealthy architect, don’t forget me!