According to Google, No One Remembers What the ’80s Looked Like

Marc Jacobs fall 2018. Photo: Randy Brooke/WireImage

Google is always mining the depths of your heart, mind, and soul — and this year offered no respite.

On Wednesday, the tech company gleefully released its annual Year in Search lists, and many of the top trending terms were unsurprising. Everyone had a really big crush on the World Cup, for example. And we were all collectively wooed by the energy of Pete Davidson and Noah Centineo. There was a lot of love in the air this year, despite the world going up in flames, and the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle induced many presumably teary-eyed inquiries.

One trending term that did catch us off guard, however, was 1980s fashion, which is at the top of the fashion list. Why was everyone googling the ’80s in 2018? Well, a lot of designers were inspired by the decade, namely Tom Ford, who showed big shoulders, bright colors, and a sense of glamour “worthy of the sleekest, fastest yacht,” as Cathy Horyn described it. Marc Jacobs also brought back the style in a very-big way this fall. Plus, Versace, Saint Laurent, Miu Miu, and many more took inspiration from the ’80s. The Times even ran a review titled, “Help! The ’80s Are Back” at the end of fashion month.

Other top trending searches indicated fashion’s never-ending need for nostalgia, including “grunge style,” “1990s fashion,” and “2000s fashion.” This year was one of revivals — Marc Jacobs reissued his infamous grunge collection from 1992; Versace did a blowout tribute collection for spring on the 20th anniversary of Gianni’s death; and Prada brought back its ’90s athleisure line, Linea Rossa.

In general, these searches prove (once again) that everything old in fashion is new again — you just have to wait long enough. Time is a flat circle and history is doomed to repeat itself, etc, etc. But the speed at which nostalgia churns these days also points to the industry’s current focus on younger customers who weren’t alive in the ’80s, conscious in the ’90s, or financially independent in the early 2000s. Who else do you think is online googling all day? It’s embarrassing, but I personally made every single one of these google searches this year.

As for brands, we’re not surprised to see Fashion Nova at the top of the list, although Dolce & Gabbana’s ranking makes us think not every Google-search has a happy ending. Surmise what you will from the full lists, below.

Top Trending Fashion Searches of 2018

Top Trending Fashion Brands of 2018