The creator analyzes the emerging cultural trend of 'giganticism' and 'playfulness' in fashion, art, and design. She presents numerous visual examples, from Emma Chamberlain's decor to runway fashion, and connects the trend to a broader societal shift away from performative authenticity online towards open theatricality and fun. She supports her argument with historical context from art and theory, and concludes with a call-to-action for an inspiration board.
Post caption
I bring a sort of silly vibe to the function that the performativity police don’t really like 🎀
Emma Chamberlain’s home decor, Rachel Sennott’s latest cover: we’re seeing exaggerated scale, playful design, and theatrical styling across fashion, branding, and visual culture.
Last year, we predicted that the authenticity bubble would burst, and in its wake reveal that play is the new stamp of brand trustworthiness. Because if reality is already staged, we might as well treat it like a game 🎮
Comment ‘THIS IS SO SILLY’ to get our sillymaxxing inspo board 🤪
Transcript
Do you notice something weird with Emma Chamberlain's recent home wear line? This also showed up in Rachel Zenit's days cover, and we're seeing it across fashion too. From clothing to jewelry to hair accessories. It's a symptom of a wider cultural shift. When I predicted a year ago and now everyone is talking about it as the defining force of 2026. Let's talk about play and the gigantic. From viral creators online to artists like Claes Oldenburg, exaggerated scale has long been used to distort everyday objects or behaviors until they stop feeling natural. No that by pushing recognizable gestures and signs out of proportion, gestures profane seriousness and authority itself. But why is culture reaching for this kind of silliness right now? Last year, I talked about how the pressure to appear legibly authentic has become a kind of trap online, with people scrambling to prove their own realness through increasingly staged signals of honesty and relatability. As a result, everything feels performative. And to quote this absolute queen Baby, you can't even ride in the elevator without looking at your phone. That's why everything feels performative to you. Back then, I predicted that our notion of authenticity was collapsing under this pressure. And so culture, we start to turn towards play, storytelling, and theatricality more openly. The popularity of gigantic forms feel like a part of that shift. When ordinary objects like zippers, hair clips, buttons, and apples are blown out of proportion, their cartoonish scale makes it easier to see that normal behavior has always had some level of performance. This may not change things at large, but it does give you permission to experiment more. We went deeper into a shift and how it's affecting visuals and made an inspiration board with examples across culture and commerce. Comment, this is so silly, for access.
