Trend: Rococo Revival

Are you seeing favorite styles and trends from your childhood showing up on your feed and in your favorite shows? It's not a coincidence. Trends in styles from 20-30 years ago are re-emerging through a fresh lens. Generally, trends in all different industries and how they show up are cyclical due to multiple factors, including nostalgia, economic and political climate, pop culture, and more. Specifically speaking about design and aesthetics, it seems avant garde fashion trends tend to show up first and trickle down to mass consumption. Also, one popular piece of media is all it takes to influence aesthetics across genres of fashion, music, literature, theatre, home decor, and more. We are seeing elements from early 2000s trends making a re-appearance across different fields of design, movies, and art, with a fresh spin. In 2006, the Sofia Coppola movie, Marie Antoinette, brought elements of the Rococo era into popular culture with a force. In the 2020s, we are seeing this 20-year cycle with the popularity of shows such as Netflix's Bridgerton. These have led to fashion designers using colors, textures, and silhouettes that have ushered in the Rococo Revival, Coquette, Castlecore, and Regencycore trends. These fashion trends have extended to accessories, home decor, beauty products, art, event planning, and even gardening! 

Right: Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppalla, 2006 Left: Bridgerton, Netflix still, Tom Verica, 2020 

Credit Lo Garcia, Design Maison de Carine Photo: BHG

Left: Madame de Pompadour 1759 Francois Boucher Photo: Mayfair Gallery Right: Upcycled fashion trend Photo: Pinterest

Left: CoquetteinDreams, Etsy shop Photo: Etsy.com Middle: Cross Bowie Bounce Bag Photos: Room Shop Right: The Sunshine Flight Waltz Gown Kimberly Gordon Photo: Selkie

Left: Flower Violet Strawberry Collection Photo: Pinterest Right: Portrait of Madame de Pompadour 1756, Francios Boucher, oil on canvas Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Left: Alice McCall Dress Free People, Poshmark Photo: Pinterest Right: Custom Porcelain hand jewelry CandyMakeUpArtist Photo: Etsy

Salon de la Princesse A Rococo interior from the Hotel de Soubise Paris, France Photos: Boisestatepressbooks

Fast Forward to the Present 

How Rococo is showing up now

Cultural and societal developments can influence how aesthetics are expressed in visual art, literature, film, and decorative arts. Recently, the further blurring of the line between art and craft is a result of the wave of people creating during and after the pandemic. Art became more accessible, and craft became more exploratory. There was a perfect mix of time, unlimited exposure to inspiration, and a desire to do it yourself that encouraged people to explore their creativity. When we are in times of uncertainty and stress, we need an escape and an outlet. Nostalgia can help usher those feelings to a more manageable place and can also influence how artistic pursuits are defined, usually in recurring trend patterns. What it ultimately boils down to is connection. We are creating to connect with other humans and ourselves. Rococo style has always offered elements of a visual narrative that tells a specific story. Making your space, your art, and your style has become a collection in a way. People pick and choose what they want to incorporate in their visual story, and now we have the normality of labeling every style with a searchable name. While trends recur, creatives add fresh ideas, making each iteration relevant for its time. An artist may redefine a particular movement, style, or medium to give a voice to historically marginalized voices. For example, artists like Yvette Mayorga, Flora Yukhnovich, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, Anne von Freyburg, and Francesca DiMattio take some inspiration from Rococo decorative elements to challenge feminine aesthetics and meaning as well as the definition of belonging. Some are using those roots of the decorative arts to question and reclaim the concepts of femininity that are intertwined in the Rococo movement. We can see the influence of the past while they are creating a new space.

Left: Yvette Mayorga, American Urn 3 (after Rococo porcelain urn 19th century) Right: Yvette Mayorga, Vase of the Century 3 (after Century Vase 1876) Both: 2019, piping on canvas Photos: YvetteMayorga.com

Francesca DiMattio, Severs Vase A Boba Ches, 2012, overglaze and underglaze with gold lustre on porcelain Photo: Saatchi Gallery

Left: Flora Yukhnovich, A World of Pure Imagination, 2024, oil on linen Right: Flora Yukhnovich, Folies Bergere, 2024, oil on canvas Photos: Courtesy the Artist and Victoria-Miro via Art Net article

Michaela Yearwood-Dan, A Conduit for Joy, 2021 Photo: Michaela Yearwood-Dan image courtesy Marianne Boesky Gallery 

Left: Anne von Freyburg, Sharp on the Edges, 2023, textile painting on canvas Photo: Hofa Gallery Right: Anne von Freyburg, Filthy Cute (After Fragonard, young women), 2023, textile painting on canvas Photo: Annevonfreyburg.com 

Try It Out

Incorporating Rococo elements

Try applying DecoArt's Frosting using a piping bag to add a top layer of dimension to a painted surface or add piped designs onto a wall, a door, or to a piece of furniture to add decorative elements. Tint the Frosting first or paint after the Frosting has dried. Painting the Frosting using Americana Acrylics leaves a beautiful matte finish. You could also try painting the surface with Satin Enamels or Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic, if you want a satin finish. Try enhancing the texture you create by brushing on a metallic paint such as Extreme Sheen, Dazzling Metallics, or Metallic Lustre. 
A fun way to come up with visuals is to take inspiration from Rococo design found in museums and architecture and combine it with elements relevant to your everyday life. For example, use lattice work and filigree to paint a Nintendo Switch or a Labubu monster. Choose something that brings you joy at this moment in time or paint something that conjures nostalgia for you. Check out the detailed project blog - Rococo Inspired Painted Vase. (pictured below) 

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