If you have been on the Internet within the last three weeks, you could not have missed your favorite celebrities, companies, influencers, and even friends posting their “#2016” throwback photo dumps. At the turn of the new year, a conversation sparked online regarding the ten-year anniversary of the iconic year from the 2010’s. It’s the truth; the people yearn for a more colorful world, and despite 2016 having its own hardships, something that it never lacked was fun and entertainment. So, is 2016 making a comeback in 2026?
Aside from the tens of thousands of Instagram posts and TikTok slideshows you might have seen regarding 2016’s distinctive aesthetic, its fashion is also having a resurgence. Pictures show girls in dorm halls before a night out. There was no shortage of girls wearing skinny jeans and knee-high boots.
Winged eyeliner is officially back, glitter has never really left, and my own roommate wore a choker out just last weekend. Kylie Jenner’s lip kit left a lasting impression on Gen Z, and she just recently released her “King Kylie” collection of makeup and merchandise to celebrate the anniversary of her brand. The past few years of the 2020s have been drained of color and leaned towards the “Clean Girl Aesthetic” pioneered by creators like Nara Smith and Hailey Bieber. Now, it’s clear that those ideologies have been thrown out the window, for the resurrection of the mid 2010s niche aesthetic.
As for music, 2016 tracks never really went out of style. From Frank Ocean’s “Blonde,” Drake’s “Views,” Rihanna’s “Anti,” Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman,” Justin Bieber’s “Purpose,” Adele’s “25,” Beyonce’s “Lemonade,” and One Direction’s “Made in the A.M.,” 2016 brought forth some of the best musical hits of the 2010s that many of us still have saved in our playlists to this day. However, the return of 2016’s music in 2026 has truly been characterized by Fetty Wap’s recent release from jail. The “Trap Queen” and “Again” singer was released from his three-year sentence just earlier this month and is already playing rooftop shows in New York City again.
Are you going to be partaking in the comeback of 2016? I know I will certainly be bringing back the Snapchat dog filter and “Juju on that Beat.”