What young people are praising and casting out today

It’s Good Friday, and we’re spotlighting what’s being worshipped, ignored, or quietly obsessed over in youth culture this week. We asked Dazed Clubbers, editors and friends of the network to tell us what’s good, what’s cursed, and what’s got their full attention.

The good

In praise of witches

I am having a bit of a really witchy year, with a renewed interest in alternative religious practices like paganism after listening to a mammoth podcast series called Witch and watching the Mubi doc Witches, home remedies for colds and flus, general witchy media consumption like rewatching Charmed and Sabrina. I think witch iconography is gonna kind of have a moment this year…

- Shreya Chopra, Creative Director, Dazed Studio

Self love is salvation

Angelika May, Actor and Writer, Gen Z Dazed Clubber on what she's worshipping right now:

"Spiritually: Myself, de-centering men; Aesthetically: Using trinkets found from mudlarking as jewellery."

Meanwhile, on Dazed:

Calls to de-centre men have grown with fury over the last few years. Those making the content suggest that it is the key to women’s empowerment. But how liberating is decentring men, and is it even possible?

Will ‘decentering’ men really fix all your problems?

Calls to decentre men have grown with fury over the last few years. Those making the content suggest that it is the key to women’s empowerment. But how liberating is decentring men, and is it even possible?

DazedDazed

Praise be to the morning shed

I’m obsessed with the morning shed where you lather on like 900 products before you sleep at night and in the morning you shed all of it off in the spirits to become the most looksmaxxing human you can be.

- Rachel Effendy, Executive Creative Director, StrawberryWasabi

There’s certainly something decidedly unerotic about the way wellness and beauty culture is heading: nobody seems to skip their skincare routine because they can’t bear to wrench themselves away from their partner’s arms even for ten minutes anymore, or welcome getting a bit of saliva or sweat (or semen) on their skin. No – instead, we’re going to bed with our mouths taped shut, afraid to let our faces be touched or smile, passing on opportunities to spend the night at a partner’s house lest they see your make-up-free skin, and getting Botox even at the detriment of emotionally connecting with others.

- Serena Smith, Deputy Editor, Dazed Digital

Is anyone having sex after their 12-step bedtime routine?

It’s no secret that Gen Z aren’t having sex. Could our sanitised, perfection-obsessed beauty culture – and ‘morning shed’ routines before bed – be to blame for sapping the eroticism out of our lives?

DazedDazed

The bad

Recession indicator gone wild

It’s quite simple actually: as fiscal catastrophe looms large, canny fashion people are looking to shore up their portfolios by investing in liquid assets whose market value won’t depreciate over time, such as the iconic McQueen skull print. Plus the scarf was popular during the last recession, so it’s actually basic economics.

- Elliott Hoste, Fashion Writer, Dazed

Skull prints back on the McQueen runway is a recession indicator

The British brand just brought back the 2010s’ most ubiquitous print for AW25, following a burgeoning trend of 00s-era reissues

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Skinny is back, and it could be another recession indicator

Skinny is so back, with the rise of Ozempic and curve models close to completely absent from the AW25 catwalks, there are so so so many pro-ana accounts popping up and people are really embracing them in a way I have not seen in a long time - it feels like that awful time in the 2000s when it was everywhere.

- Emma Davidson, Fashion Features Editor, Dazed Digital

Selkie’s NYFW show takes aim at Ozempic culture

A direct response to Ozempic culture, the Selkie show this season had playful beauty looks, inclusive models and an homage to Kate Moss’s famous ice cream moment

DazedDazed

The rich did rise, leaving the meek on earth

Katy Perry was floating around during the zero-gravity bit pushing towards the camera a butterfly printed with her next tour dates. Why do I feel like the most meaningful thing to come out of this will be a three-minute song called Space Cowgirl? Forget the right stuff. This was the wrong stuff.

- Marina Hyde, Columnist, The Guardian

What’s more vacuous than an endless vacuum? It’s Lauren Sánchez and Katy Perry’s party in space | Marina Hyde

The all-female Blue Origin flight on Monday broke boundaries and set records in the spouting of girlboss gibberish, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

The GuardianMarina Hyde

The best memes from Katy Perry’s voyage to space

‘Can we send her back’

DazedDazed

The unexpected

The resurrection of Coachella and recession pop

Fitness meets nightlife

There’s also a growing trend of fitness-meets-nightlife experiences. Saunas with ambient DJ lineups, gyms like Gymbox hosting live sets. This hybrid of club x wellness seems to be resonating right now. Maybe as more people go sober, music and events are explored in different ways rather than conventional club settings.

- Tiarna Meehan, Junior Beauty Writer, Dazed

Why saunas are the hottest place to hang out right now

The number of saunas in the UK has surged in recent years, with health-conscious and sober-curious young people driving demand

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Inside New York’s exclusive new ‘wellness social clubs’

With memberships costing up to $10,000 a month, Manhattan’s new ‘fourth spaces’ are offering ‘soft-spoken interactions’ and sober-curious social events

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One more thing

Reality TV still has us possessed

Take the Big Dazed Youth Culture Survey now

Whether you’re in a main character arc, deep in a soft nihilism spiral, or floating somewhere in between, we want to hear from you

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