What she’s describing has crystallized into what many are calling “unplugging”, as consumers return to analog. The Global Wellness Summit’s The Future of Wellness trend report named analog wellness as its top trend for 2025, while “analog bags” (tote bags filled with books, puzzles and art supplies) have gone viral on TikTok as Gen Z seeks to curb doomscrolling. “It stems from a desire to step out of an increasingly noisy and exhausting social media landscape overrun with AI-generated slop, in which it’s becoming near impossible to discern truth from fiction,” says Katie Baron, content director at trends intelligence agency Stylus. “Stepping back into the ‘real world’ is the only antidote.” Baron points to Harris Poll data, which reveals that 67% of Americans long for the “pre-plugged-in” era, while 79% of US Gen Zs actively aspire to interact more in the physical world.
The fashion industry is already responding. After several years spent experimenting with digital activations — NFTs, video games, virtual fashion shows — the pendulum is swinging back to offline. Zines are resurging as creators and luxury houses embrace printed matter as an antidote to digital burnout. For example, Talia Byre released a limited-edition zine to accompany her Fall/Winter 2025 collection, while Chanel debuted its Arts & Culture Magazine in June. Meanwhile, when Paloma Wool opened her Barcelona flagship earlier this month, she told Vogue in an article titled “Paloma Wool is escaping the endless scroll” that she wants the store to transcend shoppers’ FYPs, adding a gallery and a bookstore so it can function as a third space. Fashion’s buzziest new nightlife opening, Lost, launched in October with a party hosted by Mark Ronson, requires guests to have their mobile devices sealed in secure pouches.
Goetze believes this is only the beginning. “I call it the ‘analog renaissance’, because it’s not so much about getting rid of something as adopting older ways of doing things. It’s one of the number one trends — if not the number one trend — for brands to track in 2026,” she says.
If smartphones have been ubiquitous since 2010, why has this analog turn accelerated now? Although frustration with digital life has been building for years, the past six months have marked a tipping point. Consumers are actively seeking tools and products — from at-home lock boxes to devices that physically block access to social media — to keep themselves off their phones. While the latest TikTok trend, “having-a-life-core”, celebrates those who are “touching grass” to feel more connected to reality and participating more fully in the outdoor world.
“Digital has finally hit diminishing returns,” says Shaun Singh, founder of media company Death to Stock (DTS). “The digital ecosystem promised connection and delivered surveillance. Every gesture is tracked, predicted and monetized, and fed back to algorithmic overlords in the lifeless shape of data. After a decade, people want their sovereignty back. Analog has become a refuge, not because it’s old or outdated, but because it renders you, the consumer, untouchable.”
