From Kylie Lip Kits to Instagram Stories: why 2016 won’t stay buried

Pantone’s 2016 Colours of the Year captured a collective craving for softness in a year that felt increasingly loud. Rose Quartz and Serenity flooded fashion, interiors, tech accessories and branding with an almost medicinal calm. These weren’t bold colours; they were emotional buffers, meant to soothe rather than impress. At the time, they signalled optimism through gentleness, a quiet resistance to chaos. Their 2026 comeback is subtler—less millennial pink saturation, more muted pastels used as grounding accents in overstimulated digital spaces.

Avocado toast existed long before 2016, but that was the year it turned into a cultural Rorschach test. Instagram loved it for its clean lines and green-on-neutral palette; critics loved mocking it as shorthand for millennial excess. Cafés leaned into artisanal bread, chilli flakes and price points that invited discourse. What was overlooked then was how it normalised casual, all-day dining as lifestyle content. In 2026, avocado toast returns not as irony but as precedent—the blueprint for how food becomes identity online.

From iridescent highlighters to rainbow bagels, 2016 embraced a hyper-colourful fantasy aesthetic that felt deliberately unserious. It was escapism in HD, fueled by Instagram’s square format and an appetite for visual joy. Brands leaned into glitter, holographics, and emoji-coded optimism as antidotes to increasingly grim headlines. What felt excessive then now reads as intentional camp. In 2026, the revival comes with restraint—less sugar overload, more playful accents used with self-awareness.

Blurb: For a few months in 2016, Pokémon Go blurred the line between digital obsession and physical movement. People walked miles, met strangers and organised their days around virtual creatures layered onto real streets. Fitness happened accidentally; community formed without friction. It was a rare moment when technology nudged people toward presence rather than distraction. In 2026, its influence is visible in wellness apps and AR experiences that prioritise movement without preaching.

Released as a visual album event, Lemonade collapsed the distance between music, film, fashion and personal narrative. It turned album drops into cultural moments and vulnerability into artistic currency. Beyoncé’s use of Southern Gothic imagery, Black feminism and raw emotional sequencing reshaped how pop stars told stories. Even back then it felt seismic; now it’s considered foundational. In 2026, the legacy of Lemonade lives on in multimedia releases that expect audiences to engage deeply, not passively.

Launched in 2016, Instagram Stories quietly changed how people shared their lives. Not everyone was a fan at the beginning, because it felt like a late response to the popularity of Snapchat. But the 24-hour format encouraged spontaneity over curation, allowing messiness back into the feed. Filters were playful, captions casual and posting anxiety briefly lowered. It was the beginning of content as conversation rather than an archive. In 2026, Stories’ DNA is everywhere—in ephemeral drops, temporary group chats and platforms built around impermanence.

Introduced under Alessandro Michele in 2016, the Dionysus bag signalled Gucci’s reinvention. Structured yet ornate, classical yet irreverent, it rejected minimalism in favour of layered references and visible branding. It became a fixture on Instagram feeds and street style blogs, symbolising fashion’s turn toward expressive excess. At the time, it felt like a risk; now it reads as a turning point. In 2026, its influence is clear in the return of statement accessories that prioritise character over subtlety.

See more: Made in Italy: The story of Gucci through its bags and shoes

If 2016 had a single fashion and beauty north star, it was Rihanna. She moved effortlessly between red carpet dominance, street style influence and cultural authority without chasing trends—she generated them. Her Anti era visuals, unapologetic silhouettes and refusal to soften her image recalibrated what mainstream glamour could look like. When Fenty Beauty launched the following year, the groundwork had already been laid: inclusivity, attitude and range were no longer negotiable. Looking back, 2016 reads as the year Rihanna stopped being a style icon and became infrastructure.

If Kylie Lip Kits ruled the mouth, strobing owned the cheekbones. Matte contouring gave way to light-reflective skin, glossy highlights and the illusion of permanent golden hour. Brands pushed liquid illuminators, blinding powders and dewy primers designed less for real life than for cameras. The goal wasn’t subtlety; it was visibility—faces sculpted to catch light mid-scroll. In 2026, the influence lingers in skin-first makeup and strategic glow, just edited down for daylight.

NOW READ

20 years old: 9 K-dramas from 2006 that shaped a generation

From prediction to plate: How 2025’s food trends played out

From Gen Z’s malatang era to sensory maximalism, 7 food trends to look forward to in 2026