Tastes Like Yesterday

Last night, SEED CLUB members came together at Protein Studios to discuss and swap nostalgic snacks. There were Pez dispensers, Angel Delight, Ferrero Rochers, Cherry Coke's, Mini Cheddar's and even Bananinha Paraibuna from Brazil – a sweet, sentimental spread that stirred memories as much as taste buds. Think corner shop classics meet global sweet-tooth psychogeography.

It was the appetiser (without the vol-au-vents) for DIRTY WORD #5 - where we'll explore the strange, sticky feeling that nostalgia evokes and used to sell everything from politics to perfume. So, if you'd like to read The Nostalgia Report (or attend the launch) to learn more about the cultural pivots, psychological undercurrents and the power nostalgia holds over branding, aesthetics and desire, you'll need a BRAND MEMBERSHIP:

Until then, we asked our community what nostalgia means to them — and why it feels like it’s (still) everywhere:

• “We’re living in a remix and reference culture, where looking back is not just common but almost instinctive” – Aeneas Panayiotou
• “As a Gen Xer, and a jaded one at that, I sometimes think that the whole nostalgia thing has less to do with sentimental memory or emotional yearning and is really about our remorse and eulogy for all that has been lost” – Noelle Weaver 
• “The problem with calling everything ‘nostalgia’ when it is really ‘nostalgia marketing’ explains the cultural fatigue around it. People aren’t sick of nostalgia, they’re exhausted by capitalism and resentful that their memories are being sold back to them” – Nicole Tremaglio 
• “Nostalgia is everywhere right now because the world is a bit shit and people want to be happier” – Karinna Grant 
• “For me, nostalgia is a largely subjective, sometimes even selfish feeling. More often than not, I find the commercialisation of nostalgia to be dishonest and even manipulative” – Anton Nefedov 
• “The current culture yearns for nostalgia instead of facing the fear inherent in future disaster” – Sasha Douglas-Nares
• “Nostalgia is about recovering a feeling, a version of self, or a story that still holds significance” – Nim De Swardt
• “Nostalgia could be about the past, but sometimes I can even be nostalgic for a future past. When I spend a really lovely that I find so precious, I want to hold onto it, I want it to never end, and I'm nostalgic in anticipation of it ending” – Magali Charmot
• “I think an interesting notion is what the next generation will be nostalgic about. 30-second TikToks? Nostalgia is more prevalent in times of uncertainty, war, financial crises and other similar events” – Guy Daws
• “Nostalgia isn't always tied to happiness or extraordinary events, but rather to a quiet contentment: a deep appreciation for what you were doing (from morally correct to the mischievous), who you were with, and the context in which it all unfolded” – Val Marun
• “Most of the time, nostalgia shields us from the experience as it truly was” – Luísa Bartz
• “The fast pace of change and anxiety-inducing events make people long for a time that they remember as being more stable, and for comforting things that remind them of a time when they felt happier” – Jessica Pinkett 
• “We feel trapped and a bit powerless so we turn to a time that felt safe and predictable – something that has already happened” – Mohamed Ahmed 
• “Times of big insecurity lead us to idolise ‘safer’ times. Also cultural flatness by social media is ‘combated’ with authentic subculture of the past” – Stella Mutter 
• “Why is nostalgia so prevalent now? Too much info. Alienation from craftmanship, roots, region of origin. Capitalism. Globalisation. AI” – Eva Patapatiou
• “Nostalgia is becoming easily accessible through social media and our own devices, when they curate our memories for us. It’s becoming more difficult to live in the moment because we’re constantly being pulled into the past or the future” – Rose Radtke
• “It’s a coping mechanism. The present is scary, and we’re trying to stay hopeful by holding onto and reinventing these symbols into new memories and movements” – Andrea Toro 
• “A warming cocktail of dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin that softens reality’s harder edges into a soothing shimmer… It’s more energy efficient and emotionally validating to romanticise something that has already happened and dial up its most comforting, joyful features” – Fru Bekefi
• “We tread these familiar neural pathways for reassurance in a wobbly world. Familiarity creates a sense of comfort and safety. Watching Friends for the 567th time provides control at times in which we might have limited bandwidth or feel a little overwhelmed” – Chance Marshall 
• “Nostalgia means life, and to be human” – Cafer Tufan Yazıcıoğlu