Pinterest Thrived in 2020's Quarantine
In recent years, Pinterest has proven itself to be much more than a destination for moms to save weeknight dinner ideas or Millennials to plan their future weddings. Especially in quarantine, the platform has served as a fashion resource, providing a space for Gen Zers to cope with the newfound uncertainy of their formative years by cultivating a new look and lifestyle, with an abundance of material and inspiration.
When the site first launched in 2010, users flocked to its lifestyle-based content for DIY tutorials, shopping inspiration, and other posts that served a purpose. However, it was soon overshadowed by Instagram, which debuted the same year, as users turned away from spending hours scrolling on their desktops and instead turned to their smartphones. Now as the world has quieted down and people spend more time at home, the platform has seen a resurgence. A space for people to curate a new style, pick up a new hobby, or simply enjoy browsing, Pinterest offers an unproblematic distraction amidst a stressful year. As Co-Founder Evan Sharp once called it, Pinterest might just be “the last positive corner of the Internet.”
For many of its younger users, Pinterest is a platform to experiment and explore. Just about every time period, style, and personality has been compartmentalized into neat groups of aesthetics with characteristic color palettes and key pieces—Y2K plays into over-the-top femininity with pinks and glitters, rhinestone-encrusted tops and low-rise miniskirts; cottagecore leans towards earth tones and airy, cotton pieces; dark academia subsists of dark, moody tones and sophisticated, tailored dressing; and e-girl fashion has added an abundance of chain and edge to the TikTok celebrity. Type any aesthetic keyword into Pinterest’s search bar to be presented not only with fashion inspiration but a full-blown mood board filling in the blanks with accompanying exteriors and It girls—both celebrities and fictional characters—who epitomize the style.
Unlike TikTok, another one of quarantine's rising stars, Pinterest serves as a space for solitary exploration the same way Tumblr did at its early 2010 peak (a time period whose black-and-white, American Apparel-filled wardrobes, then-Millenial teen angst, and indie pop music has earned "aesthetic" status in its own right). Without the more influencer-forward pressures of likes, comments, and even the need to put yourself out there by posting original content, users can delve deep into new personal tastes developed in months-long quarantine’s opportunity for self-reflection without fear of judgement.
What Pinterest adds to Tumblr's popularization of the digital mood board is speed, through personalized algorithms and in-app features. This year, Pinterest implemented a direct shop category to the platform, either from an already-curated board or by search. As quarantine has put a halt on in-person shopping and inspired a newfound sense of individuality and exploration in fashion, Pinterest opens up a more personally-tailored form of sourcing your closet, from helping you discover small Etsy shops and online boutiques to pieces you might not have previously reached for from bigger retailers like Zara and Moda Operandi.
With an abundance of data from a newfound, loyal base—pinners under 25 are up 50 percent from the year before—Pinterest allows you to participate in trends just as quickly as they proliferate online, identifying them before they give way to the Internet's next favorite brand, piece, or style. So what’s on the horizon as we reach the end of 2020? In its annual report of trends soon to be on the rise, Pinterest indicates “make it as the new work it” as fashion behavior on the rise, citing increased searches in customized and reworked clothes.
