Many videos have received millions of likes. Why is the "retro style" so eye-catching?

"Welcome to the Nineties."

Accompanied by an opening statement with a sense of the times, the "big curtain" slowly opened, and a song "Strong Wind Blows" with a strong Hong Kong style was played. In the melodious melody of "Take a cup of water from the sky, shine it on the bright moon and sway in the world, love and hate are just a moment, floating in the world of mortals", various experts dressed in retro clothes and makeup, in the center of the picture The swaying movements draw the audience's eyes and thoughts back to the distant 1990s.

Among these retro-feeling videos, there are endless works that have received over a million likes in just a few seconds, and there are also various ways to play:

Imitation clothing Master @Tu Roy perfectly reproduced the appearance of a Hong Kong-style beauty through exquisite makeup techniques, showing infinite charm in the flowing eyes, and received 191.5W likes;

@梅尼yer, who takes the "suspense" route, changed into The floral shirt and wide jeans danced passionately in the old-fashioned ballroom, bringing a unique kind of handsomeness, and the number of likes reached as high as 186.8W;

Not only the celebrities, but also many celebrities took part in this " "Return to the 90s" retro craze. @青伟, made a stunning appearance in a short black cheongsam, holding a folding fan in hand, showing a sly smile, quirky yet charming, attracting 318.9W likes; Hong Kong star @黄宗泽, splicing a few simple retro shots, easily produced The power to confuse people's hearts, garnered 216.2W likes.

As of press time, the number of video views under the topic #welcometothe90s has reached 1.66 billion, and numerous celebrities and celebrities participated in the filming.

The craze for retro and nostalgia in short videos is not new. In fact, retro style lingers in the entire content creation ecosystem almost all the time, and from time to time it sets off a frenzy, spewing out one hit video after another. "Retro" seems to be an enduring topic and element, which not only leads the content storm, but also brings more opportunities to many experts. What is the charm of "retro style" and how many ways has it evolved?

From the old-school jazz music coming out of the corner coffee shop, to the nostalgic themes in movies and TV series, to the one or two items that people wear that are full of the flavor of time, it has been a long time since the retro trend began to spread. . The popularity of "retro style" is inseparable from the love of thousands of users for retro.

What is retro? We generally believe that retro refers to the beauty of the past. Things with retro meaning not only represent the things themselves, but also carry the spirit of the times, life values ????and cultural pursuits at that time. Beautiful elements are not inconsistent no matter what era they appear in. Rather than saying that what we are chasing is a retro trend, it is better to say that what we are pursuing is a beauty that transcends time and will never go out of style.

Looking at short videos, it is not difficult to understand the prevalence of retro style.

First of all, in the complicated content ecosystem, users have developed a strong aesthetic fatigue for many same things, and are eager for some unique beauty. Content with retro elements is unique in overall style and characteristics, and is naturally recognizable. In terms of content features, the style is retro, but the look and feel is fresh. It can easily attract users’ attention at first glance and leave an impression in their minds.

Secondly, for many short video users, retro-style content can easily touch their deepest memories and evoke their memories and nostalgia for the past. Especially in this prosperous society with high technology, fast pace, and extremely rich materials, by regaining and interpreting the excitement and beauty that have "disappeared", people can get a spiritual comfort when they are anxious and confused.

On the whole, the beautiful things in the past have a strong imprint of history, and people have a natural curiosity and affinity for these things. Retro uses "feelings" as a link to connect the real world and past years. It not only broadens people's aesthetic boundaries and allows users to experience different fashions, trends and cultural customs, but also provides a spiritual level. A different kind of satisfaction brings different emotional experiences to users of different age groups.

The rise of retro style has been around for a long time and has penetrated into many industries. As far as the short video field is concerned, the retro craze that has been set off from time to time also demonstrates the inexhaustible vitality of this type of content. .

The retro craze has always permeated the content industry, and has intermittently set off a "small climax". So all the experts are playing with the "retro style"? Taking the Douyin platform as an example, Cass has observed several popular content patterns.

Imitation makeup is an important content form in Douyin’s beauty content. For those “beauty masters” who are skilled in skills and have divine help, the objects of imitation makeup can include ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign , classic characters and roles in film and television dramas, among which retro imitation makeup is the most important type of imitation makeup, which is particularly eye-catching.

Imitation makeup expert @霹雳无码璟er once released a makeup tutorial combining "Hong Kong style + Michelle Reis" in March this year. The meticulous teaching process coupled with the final astonishing makeup presentation and details The control was instantly eye-catching. The video received 48.1W likes after it was posted.

@禹哥yulia, has released a number of makeup-changing videos, which give people a strong visual impact through the huge contrast between before and after. Among her published works, the video with the most likes was her appearance in Hong Kong-style makeup, which was quite charming, with a whopping 192.2W likes.

@bobo, with 318.7W followers, is the most fashionable. He is very accomplished in imitating makeup and has a wide range of imitation objects. In September last year, a video of "Audrey Hepburn" imitating makeup not only received 61.5W likes, but also successfully attracted a group of loyal users for her. Then, a video of a transgender person imitating Lu Xun’s makeup attracted praise from many users and received 113.6W likes.

Retro imitation makeup focuses on highlighting facial makeup, and is more inclined to show retro style through exquisite makeup technology. There is also a type of content that combines makeup, outfits, environment and other elements to convey a retro feel from the overall atmosphere.

For example, @HuTiTi, who successfully broke out of the industry through "popcorn cross-dressing", the style of her account focuses on retro Hong Kong style. In her videos, @HuTiTi almost always adopts Hong Kong style. She appears on camera, and the background she appears in often complements her body style. Coupled with various BGMs that match the scene, she has a full retro feel.

In addition to publishing a variety of Hong Kong-style cross-dressing content, @ HuTiti will also publish store-exploring content consistent with the retro theme: exploring old stores in the city, such as traditional popcorn Shops, photo studios that have been open for decades, or barber shops, tailor shops, etc., while reviving past memories, they also incorporate their own Hong Kong style into them. For example, when exploring the old photo studio at the entrance of the wet market, @胡Titi took a set of exquisite Hong Kong-style photos for 30 yuan. The communication process between her and her boss also showed a full sense of the times. The video received 107.3W likes and attracted many people's appreciation.

The two types of retro styles mentioned above basically revolve around the individual, creating a retro atmosphere through makeup, clothing, and atmosphere. On Douyin, there is another kind of content that injects retro elements into a certain category to create its distinctive highlights.

For example, on the food account @Looking for the Old Times, the cooking room follows the style of the last century, with old-fashioned bicycles, old-fashioned TVs, posters of celebrities from that era, and classic old songs in the BGM. The combination of songs and nostalgic filters that reveal the flavor of time exudes an old-time flavor that goes straight into the soul. In such a strong sense of retro, the food seems to have more warmth. Up to now, @Xunweijiushi has attracted 774.7W fans and has established its own unique style in the food track.

The plot account @张三anny "Nostalgia Time" puts the background of the story in the 1980s, and carries out in-depth restoration on the service road. Through vivid interpretation of life details and parents' shortcomings in various situations, It presents users with a picture of rural life in Northeast China in the 1980s. It not only evoked some memories of that era, but also aroused strong interest among a group of young users.

Another example is the dance account @小junjun who can dance. Through the restoration of the shape, dance posture, environment, etc., he takes his friends back to the 1980s and dances passionately.

Retro can not only become a unique label for an account, but also attract a more diverse user group. The "older generation" users are looking for past warmth and memories, while the "new generation" users are experiencing a cultural inheritance driven by freshness. So, how else can the element of “retro” be used? How can creators take advantage of the retro style to gain stronger vitality?

We have reason to believe that the retro wave will be difficult to subside for a long time to come, and the follow-up. We are likely to see more innovative retro elements integrated into content creation, blooming with eye-catching brilliance.

Author: Caas Data, public account (ID: caasdata6)

The title picture comes from Unsplash, based on the CC0 protocol