The Cultural Artifacts of 2020

Brenda Martinez

17 JANUARY 2021

Are you familiar with the Cultural Artifacts of 2020? In 2019, we knew 2020 was going to be transformational: as the start of a new decade, the year had the opportunity to bring back the creative energy of the Roaring 20s and set the tone for years to come. And it definitely has — perhaps just not in the way we could have predicted.

For all that can be said of this very memorable year, one thing that can’t be disputed is that it has absolutely sparked some radical shifts in the cultural landscape, whether that’s a shift in how we engage with each other, a global reckoning with race & social justice, or a new understanding of creativity. So, we’ve decided to take stock of some of the icons of this year, taking note of things that either adeptly moved with the culture or shifted it. Here are some of the cultural artifacts of 2020 and what they may mean for 2021.

The Short-form

In 2020, we saw the rise and fall of Quibi in a span of six months. But the platform’s catastrophic collapse wasn’t necessarily a signal that the culture will reject short-form content altogether. Since Quibi’s demise, multiple social platforms have launched features akin to Snapchat stories and TikTok videos: Twitter launched Fleets in October, Instagram launched Reels, and YouTube launched Shorts. Each feature leans towards short-form content that allows its users to continue conversations with each other in a much more immediate way. The short-form will likely continue to play a role as we explore new ways to engage with one another in a significantly altered world.

The Box

With Fashion Week being reimagined in light of the pandemic (we wrote about FW for our friends over at Talking Influence), JW Anderson presented Loewe’s SS21 Men’s collection in a box, replacing the usual show with an experience. The box contained a vinyl with sounds from its Spain-based factories, paper lookbooks, and a small pop-up show set. Accompanied by a 24hr livestream event, the show-in-a-box captured the zeitgeist perfectly while giving space to new possibilities for what a fashion show could look like — not just in 2020, but in future years.

The Game

This year, games have become platforms for brand-new experiences, from new forms of gathering, as in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, to concerts. Travis Scott put on an entire immersive show in Fortnite, unencumbered by a physical or a digital stage. Balenciaga released a game, Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, where gamers can explore the future while also exploring the multitude of looks from the brand’s AW21 collection. And Among Us, the PC game, even became a space for political figures like AOC and Ilhan Omar to discuss the importance of voting. As we continue to battle the Zoom fatigue of 2020, gaming can provide new forms of connectivity and community, outside of video chats.

The Bag

2020 was definitely the year of the Telfar Shopping Bag. From the Bag Security Program to an Oprah shoutout, the Shopping Bag has more than cemented its place in the cultural artifacts. To further its iconic status, the Telfar brand collaborated with UGG this year, releasing the Shopping Bag in new materials with a QVC-style launch on Instagram. The Bag, which rejects the scarcity model that hype hinges on, is representative of the future of luxury, where timelessness and ethics play a role in purchasing decisions. To read more about how we’re seeing luxury shift, read our recent report, A Guide to Culture in Chaos.

The Mask

The mask has been the single most ubiquitous symbol of 2020. Entire industries shifted to produce masks in March and April and small businesses sprang up to meet the demand. Masks are a sign of how quickly one particular item can become central to our everyday lives. The speed at which we adopted the mask came from the power of collectivism, of adapting for the greater good. And we saw that in other realms, too: from the BLM movement this summer, to community fridges, to mutual aid funds. 2020, truly, has been the year of the collective.

As the year comes to a close, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief. Normally, we send out a reflection of the work we’ve done — and we did a round-up earlier in the year — but this year feels different, a time of turbulent but necessary transition. The changes that came this year make us hopeful for the shifts we’ll likely see throughout the 2020s.

Our office will be closed for the next two weeks but as always, drop us a line. Catch ya in 2021.

Love, Brenda at the projects*