eras.

so iconic

Feb 25, 2026

Before the infamous Taylor Swift tour, the most I ever thought about ‘eras’ was when I was playing Sid Meier’s Civilization V1, hoping I would make it to the Information Era so I could wipe out other nations with my Giant Death Robot.

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If there is one thing we can count on, it is the nature of humans in their relentless pursuit of change. The Renaissance, the Digital Age, Surrealism, the Age of Aquarius. Collective experiences captured in a few words, radical change encapsulated in a few key concepts, significant periods of time reduced to a summarised list of notable people, places, and things. Disparate eras blending, flowing, and upholding one another. Shifts in technology triggering artistic innovation, political upheavals permeating cultural movements. The importance of difference is highlighted here, coming together to create newness, birthing a new frontier, the start of a new era.

Our individual experiences shape the collective unconscious, creating change and prompting movement. ‘Where do we go from here?’ is a question often asked but rarely answered. Beginnings and endings are defined by historians, critics, biographers, and storytellers, but movements are birthed by the people. An era is an attempt to understand the collective human experience, to answer the question ‘where have we been?’.

Revolution occurs at the personal level. Throughout our lives we experience multiple deaths and rebirths that ask us to redefine ourselves to be more in accordance with our sense of self. I believe an era for the individual is defined by a consistent intentionality of presence. A desire to continuously dedicate yourself to your self, your beliefs, and your practice, in whatever form that takes.

in my empty apartment in tokyo with 5 years worth of journals piled up behind me, wearing a jumper I made as merch for The COMM (my fashion magazine) that was never released

Forget new year, new me. This is not the only time you can step into a new chapter of your life. There are days when a twinge of dissatisfaction turns into a spark of motivation. ‘I’m entering my new era!’ comes the battle cry. A decision to change, a decision to be ‘better’. A better reader, change your look, become healthier, take on new hobbies. You make a list, a mood board, it looks beautiful, you can picture it, you start to feel the life you want to live, the joy and warmth spreading throughout your body. It feels so good.

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How I entered 2026

Now, take action.

Now! Take action!

Now…take action…?

Okay, we need to reevaluate this.

The aesthetically driven, picture perfect, totally Instagram worthy, pre-labelled persona can only take you so far. Within this construct where does the authenticity lie? In getting so wrapped up in how we want to look, there’s a risk of forfeiting the substance. Even worse, the substance is made digestible for an audience. Embodying a new self is not an easy feat. That inner reverence of self needs to be congruent with your outer presentation. Don’t let the clothes wear you.

Are you entering an entirely new era, or are you just aligning yourself with a development in your current one? Perhaps a pivot is required rather than a complete overhaul. Don’t forget that the experiences of the past paved the way for your current path. Ask yourself how much you are willing to change, commit, and see this through? That is the sign of conscientious choice and the start of a new chapter of yourself and the exploration of identity.

In my latest podcast episode, I talked about the unsatisfactory use of the term ‘era’ when used in reference to current pop music and culture, but I think I gave an equally unsatisfying definition of the word/explanation of my thoughts in order to properly frame my own argument. So let’s try again!

There are two camps when it comes to understanding an ‘era’ in pop culture. It is either an album cycle or a period of the artist’s career wherein they have a consistent and thematic musical and visual identity.

Reinvention in the world of pop music is not a new phenomenon. Musicians like Madonna, and more recently Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, completely change their look to fit their latest album cycle. The concept is not new, but the way to express it is. I find that naming this period of time an ‘era’, is an easy way to pre-package and capitalise on the trend of nostalgia2. A moment manufactured for the sake of throwback moments. Looking back is the new now. Pop stars of decades past had used a new visual identity as a way of showcasing their innovation. ‘Look at what I have come up with that is new’. But with the never-ending appeal of Y2K, this same innovation often lies in the treasure trove of the past. Every year, a new fashion discovery is made about the ‘noughties’. I was there guys, it wasn’t all that.

As a free floating ‘creative’ and non-musical artist, I wonder what it feels like to create a persona or exist as one for an album cycle. I admit my thoughts on the matter lean towards cynical, as I speculate that PR and marketing are the main drivers for this newly constructed visual identity. With every album there comes a new look and once that’s done it’s onto the next new-old/retro-reworked thing. In a perfect world we would operate from choice and not directives from our corporate overlords. One where the balance of business and art can cooperate and coexist.

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Figuring it out with Luna

I’m happy to report that my findings disproved my theory that artists have entirely relinquished creative control. Hope came in the form of one very electric star man. The following is a lesson in trusting your creative power and graciously letting go of what needs to be done.
Ziggy Stardust, the alter ego of David Bowie from 1972-73 was the embodiment of a character Bowie created for his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spider from Mars. Night after night on tour he stepped into this role, a mindset, mannerisms, everything that he believed Ziggy would do and be. This is who he needed to be. We can use a persona to channel our art. As a device through which we can immerse ourselves in a world. Sometimes, however, the lines blur between our world and theirs.

Ziggy, particularly, was created out of a certain arrogance. But, remember, at that time I was young and I was full of life, and that seemed like a very positive artistic statement. I thought that was a beautiful piece of art, I really did. I thought that was a grand kitsch painting. The whole guy.
“Then that fucker would not leave me alone for years. That was when it all started to sour. And it soured so quickly you wouldn’t believe it. And it took me and awful time to level out. My whole personality was affected. Again I brought that upon myself.
“I can’t say I’m sorry when I look back, because it provoked such an extraordinary set if circumstances in my life. I thought I might as well take Ziggy to interviews as well. Why leave him on stage? Looking back it was completely absurd.
“It became very dangerous. I really did have doubts about my sanity. I can’t deny that the experience affected me in a very exaggerated and marked manner. I think I put myself very dangerously near the line. Not in physical sense but definitively in mental sense. I played mental games with myself to such an extend that I’m very relieved and happy to be back in Europe and feeling very well … But, then, you see I was always the lucky one.”3

When I read his words one line stood out to me in particular. ‘Then that fucker would not leave me alone for years.’ Like Sue in The Substance, Ziggy was created to serve a purpose. A way to completely embody Bowie’s art. But Ziggy had his place, he was meant for the stage. He is a performance piece initiated by the thrill of the audience, fueled by the energy of the crowd. Ziggy can’t handle day to day life, that’s not who he is.

“There was a point in ’73 where I knew it was all over,” Bowie said. “I didn’t want to be trapped in this Ziggy character all my life. And I guess what I was doing on Aladdin Sane, I was trying to move into the next area – but using a rather pale imitation of Ziggy as a secondary device. In my mind, it was Ziggy Goes to Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America.”4

By the following album Bowie knew that this era was over. Ziggy had had his moment to shine but Ziggy asked too much of him. It wasn’t what Bowie wanted nor something he could handle.

by Lake Biwa. this day I will never forget. it was the day I decided enough was enough. time to start anew.

After all is said and done, we know when it is time to move on. It’s normal to outgrow what we once needed. If an album cycle represented a phase of your life, leaving the band would mark something else, the end of an era.

One of my favourite artists, Abel Tesfaye, who I have been following since 2016, quietly announced the end of ‘The Weeknd’. With the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow, the final album in a trilogy of albums (another era if you will), the moniker of The Weeknd will be retired. The trilogy marks the final journey of ‘The Weeknd’, to celebrate who he was, what he gave to us as an artist, and then let him rest.

“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he said of his moniker. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
“And for me right now, the Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”5

A chance to end this era on a high, of self-mastery and pleasure. A choice made to move forward into a new chapter, marked by his own name, stepping into who Abel Tesfaye is, whilst leaving fans with the nostalgia of who The Weeknd once was.

In order to be the master of anything, you must first be the apprentice. Use this era as an excavation and release your truest self onto the world. If you need to change, by all means do so. But make sure it is in your own time and on your own terms.

Brat Summer 4ever.

Thank you for reading.

chloé.