How do you transform something mundane or even distressing into something more pleasant? Just add a charming pink bow. If memes serve as the lens through which we comprehend, crystallize, and eventually discard trends, the images featuring an out-of-place bow flooding Instagram and TikTok in recent weeks indicate that the coquette trend is already skyrocketing.

Fashion is entirely wrapped up in its bow obsession.

Bows appear in collections across the price spectrum, from designers like Simone Rocha and Miu Miu to contemporary brands like Staud and Doen, all the way to mass-market retailers such as H&M and Shein. In November, Vogue declared “Bows are Back,” and when The Cut of New York magazine dubbed 2023 as the “Year of the Girl,” the accompanying image featured a large pink bow. Earlier this month, Into the Gloss, Glossier’s editorial arm, demonstrated the extent of bow love with a roundup of bow-wrapped ice cubes, dumbbells, dried spaghetti noodles, and even a baby deer wearing bows as an accessory.

Bow mania is just one facet of the coquette trend, characterized by playful, whimsical, and somewhat childlike motifs, such as bows, gingham prints, heart shapes, and soft pastels, and it has been brewing on TikTok for months; now, it has fully broken into fashion’s mainstream.

What’s driving the rise of the coquette trend?

Some commentators see the coquette trend as a pushback against an incessantly negative news cycle but also against what they perceive as the lack of tangible progress in feminism. Rian Phin, a fashion and culture critic, first noticed the trend in 2020 but sees the current version as a consequence of a lack of a “globally interconnected” feminist movement.

“I think people are exhausted from the feminism of the 2010s,” she said, referencing the ‘girl boss’ era, which she believes ultimately represented an aesthetic rather than a catalyst for meaningful change. Meanwhile, women’s rights have faced challenges in recent years, notably in the West with the repeal of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in the US in 2022. In September, the United Nations declared that the “world is failing” women and girls in a new report.

The Atlantic’s associate editor Isabel Cristo dubbed it “woman in retrograde.” Caitlyn Clark, who writes the pop culture newsletter It’s Really That Deep, labeled the trend as “self-infantilization” on TikTok, suggesting that women have “retreated” into some of the oldest stereotypes about womanhood and femininity because they’ve given up on the idea of change.

For others, it’s a reclaiming of hyper-femininity on their own terms. Daise Bedolla, a freelance creative working with Into The Gloss, said the trend is “quite literally” the bow on top of a year defined by girlhood, pointing to the blockbuster success of the Barbie movie and Taylor Swift’s record-setting Eras Tour.

It’s also a sign of how trends proliferate today: first on social media, then into mainstream fashion. Gone are the days when, as Meryl Streep said in “The Devil Wears Prada,” trends were selected by a small group of editors in an ivory tower. Today, social media users dictate what’s next in fashion.

Of course, much of this nuance won’t matter to shoppers looking for a cute, on-trend item.

“When concepts become a social media trend, they tend to get distilled so much that a lot of people don’t really know what the original art is about,” said Hanako Maeda, founder and chief executive of the fashion label Adeam, which featured bows in its Spring/Summer 2024 collection.

How is fashion participating — and benefiting?

The trend may have taken off on TikTok, but it’s made its way to the runway thanks to designers like Sandy Liang and Simone Rocha. Liang, one of fashion’s first bow devotees, routinely releases collections that include ribbon-trimmed socks, table runners, and hair clips — a mood board posted to the brand’s Instagram account shows stills from Sofia Coppola’s very girly Marie Antoinette.

But it’s not just about bows: Mary Jane shoes, Peter Pan collared shirts, and floaty chiffon layers have also benefited from the coquette trend’s popularity. Brands are also embracing the hints of traditional yet playful femininity in their ads and special offers: Parisian fashion label Coperni’s holiday campaign features fluffy kittens next to purses and shoes, New Zealand-born jewelry designer Jessica McCormack’s London store is flying a flag featuring a white kitten wearing a diamond-studded pink bow, while hair care line Gisou is selling a pink bow and diamanté emblazoned pouch for the holidays.

It’s also not just about fashion — the coquette’s tacit youthfulness manifested in short-lived beauty fads this summer: “tomato girl” and “strawberry girl” makeup, both of which featured flushed cheeks, freckles on the skin, and an outdoorsy glow.

Maeda pointed out that the trend has deeper roots in parts of Asia, citing its longer-running popularity with K-Pop stars. Adeam’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection took a cue from the “ballet core” trend, with Maeda drawing inspiration from the New York City ballet. For her, the idea is to play with softness and strength.

“Ballet is also a sport in a sense because to perform those very intricate moves, you need a lot of athletic prowess,” she said. “I love playing with dualities and concepts that seem almost like opposites.”

Furthermore, when fashion brands add a bow to their wares, they add to their bottom line. Research from the retail data platform Edited shows that bow-adorned T-shirts from luxury brands such as Miu Miu and Jacquemus are six to ten percent more expensive than logo versions. However, Edited analyst Kayla Marci pointed out that mass-market brands have yet to realize the value of the bow, with bow-topped ballet flats and accessories from Zara and Stradivarius being cheaper than those without, indicating that mass-market retailers haven’t recognized the value of this particular detail yet.

Perhaps it’s fashion’s version of the “lipstick effect,” which sees shoppers turn to beauty in times of economic downturn. In the face of turmoil, rejection, and unrest, we want to explore playfulness and levity again as we dress, said beauty writer Tynan Sinks.

“Growing up queer in the Midwest, there’s this idea of ‘you can’t be a boy and wear pink,'” he said. Now, he’s reclaimed it: “I’m always gonna make the joke at my expense before you can,” he added.In a world where the pink bow becomes a symbol of a return to playful femininity, the coquette trend is not just fashion; it’s a social expression that confronts negativity with a touch of lightness and playfulness. As the pink bow intertwines between Instagram trends and high-fashion runways, the coquette trend continues to evolve, remaining a bold statement of style and individuality.

In conclusion, the coquette trend is more than a fleeting fashion statement. It’s a cultural response, a blend of nostalgia, rebellion, and a desire for lightheartedness in a complex world. As the pink bows continue to grace runways, social media, and daily life, the coquette trend invites individuals to embrace a playful, feminine spirit on their own terms.