If you live in Brooklyn, ride a bike, wear skinny jeans, or listen to bands with the words “wolf” or “deer” in their names, you’ve probably been called a hipster at one point or another. And each time this has happened, you’ve probably denied it or been offended. Looks like you may now rest in peace with your collection of Duran Duran band tees because according to pop culture analysts, the era of the hipster is over. Or at least nearing its end. That’s what’s implied with the new text from the n+1 foundation called What Was The Hipster: A Sociological Investigation (was being the operative word). In a New York magazine article adapted from the essay, the author points out that yes, hipsters are still alive and well but that “we have reached the end of an epoch in the life of the type. Its evolution lasted from 1999 to 2009, though it has shifted appearance dramatically over the decade. It survived this year; it may persist. Indications are everywhere, however, that we have come to a moment of stocktaking.” …So it looks like hipsterism has simply reached a point of saturation so that we’re either already nostalgic for a culture loss or we’re so sick of it (which means, naturally, that we have to make ourselves even more sick by talking about how sick we are of it). What it boils down to is this: hipsters aren’t cool anymore. And according to most folks, they were never cool. Over at Good, Mike Peters hypothesizes that hipster humor and criticism has become more prevalent than the people themselves now. (“And how did making fun of hipsters become so hip?” he questions.) This, Peters reckons, is a method of denial and coping with insecurities, which would point to a latent desire for change. Or at least a return to normalcy (whatever that is).
So it would appear that now is the time to start watching for the great hipster die-off. For starters, American Apparel‘s demise seems nearly written. So, what’s next? Which subculture will take over our music, fashion, art, and style next? [NYMag.com, Good]