The 70s aesthetic revival is loud, messy, and exactly what we need right now

Dust off your platform boots and crank up Fleetwood Mac because the groovy vibes of the 1970s are about to flood the design world.

In this article, we’ll explore the resurgence of the 70s aesthetic across design, fashion, and culture in 2025. Let’s connect the dots on how the vibrant comeback and the 50-year cycle are creating a backlash against the minimalism and AI-generated content that have defined the last few years. This revival isn’t just about style; it’s about cultural reset and authenticity.

Design trends often resurface in 20- to 50-year cycles, so we’re right on time to welcome back the 1970s. Since the 1990s and the Y2K aesthetic dominated in the early 2020s, the natural next step is moving back in time. Millennials and Gen Z are romanticizing past decades that many have never experienced.

The 50-year cycle is a fascinating lens for understanding nostalgia cycles, not only in graphic design but also in culture in general. The idea is that aesthetics and cultural trends tend to resurface roughly 40 to 50 years after being popular. So we’re in time for a ’70s revival.

While it may seem random, this comeback is led by generational psychology, media cycles, and trend fatigue. People who lived through those eras are reaching leadership roles and are now in a position to reinterpret what once felt normal into something fresh but nostalgic.

Fashion is one of the first signs of a style coming back, and after the minimalist and clean lines of recent years, it’s natural to give way to the 70s aesthetic. Platform shoes, bell bottoms, and crochet tops have started appearing on runways and streetwear. We’ve also seen new movies inspired by the end of the 60s and the start of the 70s, showing us a more straightforward fashion style and a nostalgic look.

In interior design, the famous Togo sofa became popular just a few years ago, creating a market for reproducing this modular furniture style. Along with shag carpets, lava lamps, and earthy tones, we’re seeing complete living rooms that look like the 70s.

Social media memes started to embrace this trend and quickly made their way into graphics, groovy aesthetics, vintage color palettes, wavy fonts, and even 70s music featured on Instagram reels. We’re also seeing photo edits with heavy grain that look straight out of the 1970s, pushing away the polished and commercial feel of earlier social media trends.

The 2010s and early 2020s were defined by super-minimalist designs—think sans-serif logos, clean and sterile branding, and tech-inspired UI. But as AI-generated content becomes popular on the internet, designers crave something more organic, playful, and imperfect—just like the funky and fun 1970s. Hand-drawn elements, grainy textures, and psychedelic graphics feel human compared to clean AI-generated graphics.

As popular culture becomes saturated with AI-generated content, embracing the 1970s can be an act of rebellion against sameness. It can also feel like experimentation and community, which are missing in today’s tech-driven world. A revival of a past trend can create a sense of comfort and familiarity that feels safe, warm, and real.

Protest and activism were core elements of the 1970s, with counterculture movements having a profound impact on the wider society. There’s a similar energy of rebellion, community-building, and self-expression today, and the DIY and anti-establishment spirit of 1970s zines and posters is mirrored in today’s independent creators.

While the 1970s revival and the resurgence of Art Nouveau in 2025 might seem like totally separate styles, they’re actually deeply connected.

Art Nouveau originated roughly in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, and while it had different names in different countries, the sentiment originated from the same ideal. Art Nouveau was against industrial mass production (does it sound similar to AI?); artists wanted to reunite with their craft, and it affected everything from architecture to jewelry design.

Art Nouveau and the 1970s share similar aesthetics, like wavy lines inspired by nature, free-flowing shapes, and psychedelic swirls. However, the 1970s provided a brighter color palette compared to the Art Nouveau period. Instead of soft pastels, the 1970s used bright mustard, yellow ochre, and rust.

So, how are these two trends related to 2025? Designers are revisiting everything hand-drawn and embracing curved layouts. Echoing Art Nouveau’s belief and rebellion against the machine, 2025 has been pushing against AI and missing the nostalgic feel of handmade products, eco-conscious choices, slow design, and artisan aesthetics. So don’t be surprised if many design styles you see around also have an Art Nouveau background.

The 70s aesthetic permeated everything from music, art, fashion, and music videos to interior design. Warm palettes and retro patterns are big on social media and fashion, and even animated motion graphics are featuring liquid-like transitions. Let’s take a look at some of the funky styles coming back this year.

70s typefaces are bold and curvy, giving off a relaxed energy. Fonts like Cooper Black and Balloon are great examples. Retro custom scripts are becoming popular in branding, album covers, and social media. A wavy and trippy aesthetic also captures the free spirit of the 70s.

Warm and muted tones like mustard yellow, burnt orange, avocado green, and deep browns have been popular in interior design. This is a natural progression from the living rooms of the 50s and 60s. The warm tones add to the free-spirited and relaxed nature of the 70s. Many of these colors are now often paired with modern gradients and textures for a fresh, innovative take.

Hand-drawn illustrations with cartoon characters, folk art, and a retro feel are all over T-shirts and branding materials. Think of sunbursts, mushrooms, flowers, and smiley faces, all reminiscent of the 1970s. These illustrations could pass for originals these days.

The famous tie-dye effect brings a nostalgic and tactile effect to digital designs. Patterns like checkerboards, wavy stripes, and grainy textures add an old-time quality to images. A grainy texture makes many photographs look vintage and taken with a film camera. Patterns can add an interesting look to designs and reinforce vintage-inspired illustrations.

Over the last few years, we’ve already started seeing the 1970s aesthetic come back, and some brands aren’t afraid to do it first. Let’s look at a few brands that fully embrace this cultural trend.

Ford recently launched a heritage edition of the Ford Bronco, adding a retro style to the throwback design. While this isn’t a car website, we can absolutely say that this car is an instant classic. Popular for being the first SUV in the market and an American classic, the Bronco was the most popular in the 1970s.

Since its beginning, the Glossier makeup brand has drawn inspiration from the 1970s for its visual identity, logo, and overall image. The logo is bold, bubbly, and tilted, reminiscent of the 1970s.

The color palette, with its pink, purple, and other hues, evokes a 70s aesthetic. Add floral patterns and glitter to scream 70s style.

Pepsi collaborated with renowned fashion stylist Lawrence Roach to launch a nostalgic capsule collection inspired by the 1970s roller derby culture. The campaign was based on the Wild Cherry flavor. Pepsi is a brand that strives to be at the forefront of pop culture and style, and this capsule collection isn’t any different.

The 1970s revival is proving to be more than just a trend; it is a cultural reaction to the digital and minimalist sameness that has dominated recent years. As we move into 2025, the bold, bubbly, and messy 70s aesthetic will define authenticity, embracing imperfection and celebrating human creativity.

This is when the power of individualism and rebellion becomes a comfort against AI. You can easily recreate the 1970s aesthetic by downloading a wide range of 70s assets from Envato, from photos and graphics to textures and patterns. If you liked this article, you might like to read about the Vivienne Westwood aesthetic or retro design trends.