light academia
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Light Academia
Etymology: Coined as a logical opposite of dark academia, said to be from a popular Tumblr text post by Ella (@plantaires) posted on 17 January 2019.
Senses: examples: text: Gen Z have reclaimed dark academia and have built a growing community on TikTok, alongside other budding aesthetics like cottagecore, grandmacore, goblincore and light academia.
ref: 2020 April 24, Caroline Edwards, “Dark Academia is the witchy literary aesthetic sweeping TikTok”, in i-D, archived from the original on 25 Apr 2020:
text: Light academia, as you could probably guess, is a more normie, pastel take. […] “With 48 percent of our active users being Gen Z, we saw overall engagement increase around light academia timed to back-to-school in September,” Tumblr’s trend expert Amanda Brennan told Nylon.
ref: 2021 February 26, Maija Kappler, “Gen-Z Fashion Trends Include Goblincore, Crochet Bucket Hats”, in HuffPost, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2021:
text: The 2021 Spring Magazine’s theme is “Spring Picnic.” This theme encompasses all things fairy[-]tale, cottagecore, light academia and a hint of scrap-booking.
ref: 2021 spring, Daniel Kang, Rachel Ker, Ivanna Tjitra, “Letter from the Editors”, in Beckman Chronicle, volume IV, edition II, page 03:
text: Light Academia is softer, underlining how calm, happy, and marvelous student life is: an almond latte, freshly picked oranges, book-pressed flowers, a newly bought nib.
ref: 2021 December 28, Emilie Friedlander, “The Year in Aesthetics, From Dark Academia to McBling”, in Vice, archived from the original on 28 Dec 2021:
text: For those who’re fairly aware of Dark Academia, know the twin sister “Light Academia” that focuses on softer and brighter tones.
ref: 2022 March 25, Jason Diez, “Looks to Slay Bloom in Spring”, in The Collegian, number 8, San Joaquin Delta College, page 4:
text: Any Light Academia girl would have these ~sophisticated~ games at home.
ref: 2022 October 1, “The Light Academia pack”, in Cosmopolitan:
text: Lastly, a good chunky flat Mary Jane or loafer is another absolute must this fall, playing into the trending dark and light academia aesthetic.
ref: 2022 October 12, Sarah Beck, “‘Fall’ in love with autumn fashion”, in The Merciad, volume 96, number 04, page 10:
text: The last year brought us a slew of style aesthetics that materialised on TikTok – regencycore, clean girl, dark academia, light academia, crustaceancore, plazacore, pilates princess, 2014 Tumblr soft grunge, and perhaps most recently, “frazzled English woman” – just to name a few.
ref: 2023 January 8, Adele Cardani, “Trend Zone”, in The Independent:
text: Digital microtrends Dark Academia and Light Academia – dedicated as they are to the romanticisation of a passion for art and knowledge through imagery – both make rousing use of classical music in order to create the desired ambience.
ref: 2023 January 14, Daisy Woodward, “Gen Z and young millennials' surprising obsession”, in BBC, archived from the original on 14 Jan 2023:
qualifier: Tumblr aesthetic
glosses: An aesthetic which romanticizes classic literature and academia with a lighter and more cheerful vibe than that of dark academia.
wikipedia: Tumblr