1980s nostalgia is nostalgia for certain aspects of the 1980s. 1980s nostalgia is a form of decade nostalgia. 1980s retro is retro related to the 1980s. 1980s revival is the revival of some aspect or aspects of the 1980s.
Duration and geography According to The New York Times, 1980s nostalgia has existed since the 1990s.A Lament for the Dear E-Departed. The New York Times. 18 December 2000. Trend researchers reported that 1980s nostalgia had started by 1993,Moonwalk Down Memory Lane. Los Angeles Times. 3 March 2002. and The Washington Post reported the existence of a 1980s nostalgia wave in 1994.The 80s: A Nostalgia Wave for that Bygone Decade. Washington Post. 11 August 1994. It has been said that the 1980s nostalgia in 1993 indicated that a twenty-year nostalgia cycle did not appear to apply."Nostalgia's sinister acceleration". The Albany Herald. 11 September 1993. p 1B. In 2010, music critic Simon Reynolds said the 2000s was the retro twin of the 1980s in some countries. It has been said that, if a twenty-year nostalgia cycle applied, then 1980s nostalgia would have ended circa 2010.Simon Reynolds. The 1980s revival that lasted an entire decade. The Guardian. 22 January 2010. In 2016, it was said that this had not happened, and that a twenty-year nostalgia cycle did not appear to apply. It has been said that, in 2010, there was an increase in 1980s nostalgia in the United States. A large increase in 1980s nostalgia was caused by Stranger Things. As of 2026, 1980s nostalgia continues. Chaney predicted that it will continue permanently.'Stranger Things' is ending. Our obsession with '80s nostalgia never will. MS NOW. 31 December 2025.For 2025, see New Goonies and Gremlins movies are in the works at Warner Bros. because we're not done with '80s nostalgia, Total Film on GamesRadar+, 15 January 2025.
In Japan, it has been said that the Shōwa retro boom that began in 2017 is centred on the 1980s.
In 2024, Zestanakis said 1980s nostalgia exists on a global scale.
Demographics According to a 2023 GWI poll, 66% of younger baby boomers, born between 1958 and 1963, had nostalgia for media from the 1980s in twelve markets. The same was true of 65% of Generation X born between 1964 and 1982.How are Gen Z and millennials driving nostalgia?. GWI.
Generation Z
Generation Z are nostalgic about the 1980s, in anglosphere countriesThey weren't even born, so why is Gen Z nostalgic for the '80s?. The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 August 2022.Kate Bush and mullets: Why young people love a decade they weren't alive for. 7 News. 9 October 2022.Why Are Some Zoomers So Wistful For the '80s?. Jezebel. 10 January 2022.Why Do Younger Generations Feel Nostalgic for a Past They Never Experienced?. Newsweek. 27 September 2022. and in Japan,復刻した「昭和レトロ」にZ世代も昭和世代もメロメロ！その理由は？. AERA dot. 21 September 2024.たまごっち、写ルンです... 昭和から平成、レトロを楽しむZ世代. Mainichi Shimbun. 30 October 2021. even though they were born after the end of the 1980s. The same is true of members of Generation Y born after the 1980s in South Korea. Tom van Laer (University of Sydney) and Davide Christian Orazi (Monash University) described the effect of the television series Stranger Things on Generation Z as "pseudo nostalgia",It's not nostalgia. Stranger Things is fuelling a pseudo-nostalgia of the 1980s. The Conversation. 10 July 2022. but Charles Fairchild (University of Sydney) disputes that concept and label. In 2022, Spotify said that Generation Z are more nostalgic for the 1980s than for other decades.Modern nostalgia: Why do young people ache for a past they never lived?. El País. 14 October 2023.Spotify. Culture Next: Volume 4: 2022 Global Trend Report.
Media Music A 2010 Music Choice Europe survey of people in Europe found that the 1980s was the most popular decade for music, being the top preference of 31% of respondents.1980s voted most popular decade of music. Music News. 7 March 2010. The proportion of Generation Z outside China who listen to 1980s music is 8% higher among TikTok users. Lost 80's Live is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour.Lost 80's Live tour hits Phoenix in August. Phoenix New Times. 17 December 2024. The Cruel World Festival is a 1980s nostalgia music festival.Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie headline new '80s alt-music festival, Cruel World. Los Angeles Times. 11 February 2020. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Michael JacksonChill out, man. CBC News. 11 June 2010. and Whitney Houston.Official Charts and BBC Radio 1 and 2 team up to reveal the UK's Official most-streamed songs of the past 70 years. Official Charts. 3 November 2022. 1980s nostalgia music genres include synthwave, vaporwave, chillwave, sovietwave, the '80s remix and hypnagogic pop. There are 1980s nostalgia radio stations.
Video games Showa American Story is a Chinese video game set that combines American 1980s nostalgia with Japanese Shōwa nostalgia, as seen from the perspective of a video game developer who encountered the pop culture of those countries as a child in 1980s China.Showa American Story is an RPG set in an alternate version of the 80s. VG247. 12 January 2022.Showa American Story Is a Wild and Sexy Chinese Depiction of America as Set in Showa 66. IGN. 29 April 2022.Showa American Story is Yakuza: Dead Souls meets Tokyo Gore Police, and it looks incredible. Rock Paper Shotgun. 1 November 2024.'Showa American Story' reveal trailer combines 'NieR Automata' and 'Dead Rising'. NME. 8 January 2022. Its trailers feature 1980s music from Warabe, and the first of those trailers went viral in 2022.Exclusive: Showa American Story Gets Dramatic New Trailer, Release Window. IGN. 1 November 2024.
198X (2019) is a 1980s retro video game.198X is about the transformational escapism of 80’s arcades. The Verge. 21 July 2019.
Literature There are 1980s nostalgia novels.Books That Bring the '80s Nostalgia Are Like a Warm, Fuzzy Blanket. Book Riot. 8 July 2022.A 1980s Puppet Fantasy Movie Manifests in Real Life in Nostalgia-Fueled Novel The Shadow Glass. Gizmodo. 5 August 2021.
Film Nostalgia films about the 1980s include Sing Street (2016)‘Sing Street’ sets an Irish coming-of-age story to an ’80s pop beat. Washington Post. 21 April 2016.Sundance Film Review: ‘Sing Street’. Variety. 25 January 2016. and Call Me by Your Name (2017).Call Me By Your Name review: this nostalgic coming-of-age romance is one of the year's best films. The i Paper. 26 October 2017.From Knitwear to 'Call Me by Your Name'. The New York Times. 21 February 2018.
Fashion Some 1980s fashions have been revivedHow To Dress The Trend: 1980s Fashion. Huffington Post. 20 August 2018. in the 2010sHelp! The '80s Are Back. The New York Times. 15 March 2018. and 2020s.How The 1980s Are Influencing 2023 Style Trends. Forbes. 22 January 2023. 1980s fashions that have been revived include shoulder pads,Get Those Shoulder Pads Ready! Fall Is All About the 1980s Suit. Vogue. 23 October 2024.'80s Shoulder Pads are the Trend of the Season. L'Officiel. 23 April 2021. power suits'80s fashion: Trends from the 'more is more' style decade that keep coming back. CNN. 8 July 2020. and 1980s makeup.How the '80s Are Staging A Major Comeback. Allure. 17 February 2018.'Future Nostalgia': The '80s are back in beauty. Glossy. 9 August 2021.
Aesthetics and design The designs of the Memphis Group have been revived.Why a Once-Hated 1980s Design Movement Is Making a Comeback. Gizmodo. 10 July 2014.The return of Memphis: how the 80s design staple found a new audience. The Guardian. 21 July 2017.The 1980s days of neon lights and Miami Vice have returned to our home décor. The Globe and Mail. 22 October 2021.With a Memphis Collaboration, Saint Laurent Says '80s Style Is Back. Vogue. 19 May 2021.Turns Out Saint Laurent Is Also Obsessed With the Memphis Design Group. Architectural Digest. 20 May 2021. Revivals include 1980s interior design,Back to the future as the 1980s interior design trends take over. Irish Examiner. 30 January 2026. glass bricksRemember the glass blocks of '80s bathrooms? They're back. The Washington Post. 24 June 2024. and typefaces.Design is Alive, Well, and Living in 2019. Print. 6 March 2019.
Toys
There is nostalgia for the Rubik's Cube.Rebirth of the Rubik's Cube. CNN. 29 March 2016. Some 1980s toys have become collectibles, and some have become valuable.10 Classic 1980s Toys That Are Now Collectibles. AOL. 26 February 2025.The toys, consoles and comics which could earn you a small fortune if you have them tucked away. Manchester Evening News. 23 April 2023.
Asia Hong Kong There is nostalgia for 1980s Hong Kong films; for 1980s Hong Kong television programmes; and for 1980s Hong Kong cantopop.Where Bruce Lee Practiced on the Roof, a Shrine to Old Hong Kong Rises. The New York Times. 25 April 2025. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) is a 1980s nostalgia film.Martial-arts film 'Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In' an action-packed salute to '80s Hong Kong. Houston Chronicle. 5 August 2024.
India There is nostalgia for The RamayanThe Ramayan: Why Indians are turning to nostalgic TV. BBC. 4 May 2020. and Rupa Biswas.How a Long-Lost Indian Disco Record Won Over Crate Diggers and Cracked the YouTube Algorithm. Pitchfork. 22 January 2020.Jazzfest 2023: A Kolkata singer, a disco song recorded in Canada years ago, and a reprise. The Telegraph. 6 December 2023. There are 1980s nostalgia coffee table books.Romancing The '80s: Nostalgia With Some Gaps. News18. 8 February 2025.Delhi spends an evening romancing the 80s. Prank calls, fan mail, Nirula's. ThePrint. 13 December 2024.
Indonesia There are collectors of 1980s pop music cassette tapes.Appreciating the Amazingly Tacky Aesthetics of 80s East Asian Pop Cassettes. Vice. 13 July 2018. There is nostalgia for 1980s Indonesian disco music;Diskoria Brings Classic Indonesian Disco Back To The Dance Floor. Vice. 1 April 2017. and for 1980s films such as Gengsi Dong, Ratu Ilmu Hitam and Catatan Si Boy.Five classic and memorable Indonesian movies to watch. The Jakarta Post. 17 June 2016. 1980s nostalgia concerts and music festivals have been held.Nostalgia SMA Bersama Musik '80-an. CNN Indonesia. 11 January 2017.Lintas Melawai Volume 2 Hadir untuk Bernostalgia Kultur 1980-an. Media Indonesia. 15 September 2024. The remake Gita Cinta dari SMA (2023) is a 1980s nostalgia film.Film "Gita Cinta Dari SMA", larut dalam nostalgia era 80-an. Antara. 12 February 2023.
Israel
There are 1980s nostalgia films,S.F. Jewish Film Festival: Israeli comedy 'The Monkey House' exudes '80s nostalgia. J. The Jewish News of Northern California. 9 July 2024. concerts,מינימל קומפקט יתאחדו לשתי הופעות. Ynet. 8 November 2015.מינימל קומפקט - האיחוד: נוסטלגיה מקסימלית. Ynet. 26 January 2012.30 years later, Boy George and Culture Club bring nostalgia, sass to Tel Aviv. The Times of Israel. 8 November 2017. books,Anarchy in the TLV: Punk's Legendary 80s Club Remembered. Haaretz. 1 June 2014. paintנוסטלגיה ישראלית: טמבור משיקה גוונים חדשים - עכשיו ביריד צבע טרי. פורטפוליו. 23 May 2025. and toy collectors.אספן החלומות: ויטל אלבוחר מבת ים הפך אוסף נוסטלגי לחנות משנות ה-80. Mynet Bat Yam, from Ynet. 23 May 2019. 1980s drinks have been revived.הפתעת ענק בסופרמרקטים: המשקה האהוב משנות ה-80 חוזר למדפים. ice. 11 June 2023. Shnot Hashmonim is a 1980s nostalgia television series.Israeli Sitcom's Perspective on PivotalI 1984 Elections. ISRAEL21c. 22 October 2018.שנות ה-80: נוסטלגיה צבעונית. Ynet. 26 May 2017.שנות ה-80 חוזרת: "מירי בוהדנה בסגנון אלכס חולה אהבה. לינור אברג'יל קורעת". Maariv. 16 October 2018.
Japan