Still rocking your unicorn slippers and phone case? Sooo 2016. But don’t worry if you’re not ready for life to become monochrome again, because unicorns might be out but mermaids are so in… just not for the reason you’d expect.
Societies obsession with mythical creatures hasn’t come out of nowhere: in a world filled with racism, sexism, death and despair (cheery, right?), colourful and mystical creatures make us feel slightly less bleak. Why eat a brown macaroon when you could eat one covered in blue glitter with a unicorn horn? But has the world got so bad that on-land escapism isn’t even enough, and we have to turn towards sea magic to get a dose of cheer?
The mermaid trend began with blankets back in December, becoming the most watched deal on Amazon on Cyber Monday, and has gone on to include mermaid crowns (basically shells in your hair), Puur Maid products (cats + mermaids = marketing win) and most recently mermaid toast.
The difference between the OG unicorn toast and new mermaid toast? From what I can tell, unicorn toast is cream cheese dyed with a variety of colours with a pink undertone and spread stripely on toast, whilst mermaid toast is more of a blue-orientated swirled cheese spread. To repeat, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Nothing, really. Except trend setters have to keep things moving, leaping from one craze to the next and the world ignorantly follows suit. Avocado on toast won’t get you 50+ likes anymore now that you can get it down your local caff, so if you want to be standout you’ve got to be extreme.
And as our worlds get more and more crazy, we need to get further away from reality to escape. Gone are the days of watching a two hour Harry Potter film to be transported into an intense non-reality to get away from our hectic lives. Now we need to feel a mystical presence everywhere we go. Stuck on the back of our phones, in our hair, on our plates. Even our bedroom fantasies have gone from a bit bizarre (aka feet fetishes) to out of this world (aka Permaid. NOT to be confused with Puur Maid from above). It doesn’t feel like any coincidence that the mermaid trend, possibly about as far removed from IRL as you can get, has struck in the same year that Trump has become President.
By all accounts, don’t let me take the fun of mermaids (or unicorns if you’re still on that) away from you. Enjoy your WKD coloured latte to remind you of your childhood days. Instagram your sparkly toast. And wear your fish tail with pride. But consider why you really feel the need to make your world supernatural: is it because you like fun coloured things, or because the world is just shit?
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.