Soft grunge
Soft grunge (or Tumblr Grunge[3]) was a fashion trend that originated on Tumblr around the late 2000s and early 2010s. Beginning as an outgrowth of the 2000s indie sleaze fashion trend but with a greater influence from the 1990s, particularly grunge fashion, the style began as a reaction against the glamor fitness culture which was dominant in popular culture at the time. It is characterized by its merger of cute and aggressive fashion hallmarks like chokers, tennis skirts, leather jackets and boots, flower crowns, distressed denim and pastel colors. Soft grunge reached its peak popularity around 2014, by which time it had been embraced by high fashion designers including Hedi Slimane and Jeremy Scott and been worn by celebrities including Charli XCX. Its internet-based merger of subculture, fashion and music made it one of the earliest examples of an internet aesthetic. In the early 2020s, the style experienced a minor resurgence due to videos posted on the video sharing application TikTok.
Photography[edit]
Soft grunge photography often made use of desaturated colors or were black and white.[16] A particularly defining part of soft grunge photography was the use of instant cameras,[9] as well as the VSCO P5 filter.[16] Photos were often of BLK brand water, cigarettes, tennis skirts, black boots, fishnets,[16] and marshmallows,[35] while also evoking melancholic moods and narratives of illness, pain,[35] depression, unrequited love and wanting to move to somewhere else.[16] One popular trope was photography of a forest with song lyrics superimposed on top or bedrooms decorated with fairy lights, band posters or banners.[36]
A common compositional theme was skin, particularly bruises, wrinkles, scars and blonde vellus hairs, sometimes taken while in a bath and decorated with glitter, flowers and rainbows.[37] In extreme circumstances these depicted self-harm and items used to do so like razor blades or shards of glass. Similarly, imagery of drug use like cigarettes, pills, lighters, alcohol and decorated cigarette packets were common. Depictions such as these were often deleted by Tumblr admins.[38]
Soft grunge
Early 2010s
Music[edit]
Soft grunge music merges elements of emo, shoegaze, dream pop, pop punk, post-hardcore and alternative rock.[39] The genre originated with bands from the hardcore punk scene who began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore groups like Rival Schools and the Promise Ring as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. In the early 2010s, the first wave of bands in the genre emerged, including Adventures, Balance and Composure, Basement, Citizen, Pity Sex, Superheaven and Turnover. The majority of these bands were signed to Run for Cover Records, made use of fuzz pedals and filmed their music videos using 8 mm film.[40] Title Fight stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album Floral Green.[41] By the early 2020s, a second wave emerged including Fleshwater and Narrow Head.[40]
Outside of the soft grunge genre, those who participate in online soft grunge communities often listened to Sky Ferreira, Charli XCX,[33] the Neighbourhood, the 1975,[30] the Arctic Monkeys,[16] Vampire Weekend,[27] Lana Del Rey and Marina Diamandis.[42]