How Nostalgia Became A Mood

Something interesting caught our attention at New York Fashion Week: Old Navy threw back to its founding year of 1994 with a limited-edition product drop, campaign, and 90s-themed party.

It’s no surprise that the marketing world loves nostalgia. Brands dig up the past to tug on heartstrings all the time. Nostalgia is society’s highlight reel…we remember the best and forget the rest. But specifically for Gen Z – a generation that didn’t even grow up in these decades – the allure of the past offers something else…

A recent study revealed that 60% of TV viewing time is spent watching old content for the first time or rewatching old favorites. The research showed that Gen Z specifically prefers "old content" from the 90s and early 2000s. Young audiences have recently discovered TV classics with a fresh perspective, with shows like Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Sex and the City, and The O.C. finding new resonance. These shows offer today’s teens and twenty-somethings a window into life without the constant pull of social media or impending uncertainties of global issues. History shows that culture is drawn to the aesthetic of simpler times during moments of political, social, and global unrest—for those who remember the Great Recession, you may also remember the launch of Trader Joe’s house lager, Simpler Times.

What’s intriguing about this research is that the top reason Gen Z streams old shows is because they "know it's good." The 90s and 2000s aren't just nostalgic eras—they represent a cool aesthetic with built-in credibility for a generation used to fast-moving trend cycles and internet memes, see: “Demure.”

Old Navy leaning into its 90s image is so much more than a trendy Y2K throwback—it’s a cheat code for winning over Gen Z.