Mastering the Vaporwave Aesthetic: A Comprehensive Guide to Retro-Futuristic Style

David Lampert
2 min readJan 24, 2023

As a unique and fascinating microgenre of electronic music that emerged in early 2010, the vaporwave aesthetic is shaking the world, and here’s why.

The vaporwave aesthetic — also known as “vaportrap” or “mallsoft,” — is a visual art movement characterized by retro-futuristic aesthetics inspired by the 80s-90s computer graphics, video games, and Japanese anime.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to everything you need to know about the Vaporwave AESTHETIC.

You’ll learn the origin of the aesthetic and the most popular vaporwave aesthetic outfits, stickers, and tattoos to date.

Finally, you’ll learn about the elements of the vaporwave aesthetic and how to use them to create your dressing style.

So, come along with me and discover the fantastic world of vaporwave aesthetics.

The Origin of Vaporwave Aesthetic

Vaporwave is more than just a passing internet trend but is a genre rooted in 90’s pop music and a hint of rebellion against copyright laws.

As the vaporwave movement gained popularity, it became famous for taking popular music and visuals and turning them into memes.

In time, the number of vaporwave aesthetic artists, designers, and visual artists grew to a point where the style became mainstream.

Types of Aesthetics in Vaporwave

The vaporwave aesthetic encompasses various interpretations, each with its sources of influence and, thus, characteristics.

1. Anime Vaporwave Aesthetic

As the name suggests, the anime vaporwave aesthetic is a subgenre of vaporware infused with anime looks and musical styles.

Anime vaporwave aesthetic combines anime characters and imagery with visual elements of the 1980s and 90s.

Conclusion

In conclusion, vaporwave is an aesthetic microgenre emerging as a combination of electronic music, visual art, and fashion styles that appeared online in the early 2010s.

The generic aesthetic has multiple subcategories demarcated by various sources of influence, be that slowed-down lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s, greek art, retro styles, or characteristic colors.

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David Lampert

Freelance writer: Everything sustainable living, fashion trends, and tech.