Unicorn trend

The unicorn trend is a design and consumer culture phenomenon that rose to prominence in the mid-2010s. It is characterized by unicorn imagery combined with bright pastel or highly saturated color palettes — typically pink, violet, yellow, blue, and green.[1] Popular media coverage has linked the trend to social media marketing, influencer culture, and novelty-driven consumer branding, especially on platforms such as Instagram.[2]

Background

The unicorn has been used as an aesthetic and symbolic motif for centuries and has also appeared in various commercial and decorative contexts.[3] The first written references to these animals date back to the 4th Century BCE. In medieval European folklore, the unicorn was associated with chastity and purity and was regularly depicted as a creature that could only be captured by a virgin.[4]

Ancient Greek authors described a one-horned animal resembling a horse, often interpreted in later tradition as a unicorn, with a single long, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.[5] The unicorn briefly appears in the Old Testament of the Bible under the name of re’em (also reem, Hebrew: רְאֵם), making its way in the Western art and culture during the Medieval and Renaissance Ages.[6]

By the late twentieth century, unicorns emerged as a recurring motif in children’s toys and media, illustrating broader trends in the commercialization and design of toys during this era.[7]

Trend development

The contemporary unicorn trend originated in the 2010s, characterized by unicorn-themed imagery and pastel or rainbow color palettes that became prominent in consumer products and online visual culture.[2]

Media coverage has closely linked this trend to the rise of “unicorn food,” which consists of highly stylized, brightly colored foods designed for visual appeal and social media sharing. This phenomenon received significant attention in 2016–2017, particularly through widely publicized branded products such as Starbucks’ limited-edition Unicorn Frappuccino.[8][9] Academic literature has identified “unicorn food” as a component of social photography and Instagram-oriented food marketing during this period.[10]

The start of the trend

The unicorn trend is commonly traced to the mid-2010s, when unicorn-themed aesthetics began to appear across social media, food culture, and consumer branding. Media coverage attributes the trend’s emergence to the convergence of visually oriented internet platforms, novelty-driven design, and widely shared imagery.

One of the earliest widely reported manifestations of the unicorn trend was the emergence of “unicorn food.” In mid-2016, health food photographer and blogger Adeline Waugh shared images of brightly colored toast made with cream cheese tinted using natural pigments. These posts attracted significant attention on social media platforms and were referred to in lifestyle media as “unicorn toast.”[11] The popularity of Waugh’s posts led to the widespread sharing of similar pastel-colored, decorative food items, including beverages, desserts, and hot chocolate, which increased the visibility of unicorn-themed food aesthetics during this period.

Media coverage emphasizes that interest in unicorn imagery predates social media, but digital platforms played a crucial role in accelerating its dissemination during the 2010s. Journalistic and academic commentary links the rapid spread of unicorn-themed products to their high visual appeal, ease of replication, and suitability for circulation on image-based platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest.[2][10]

Scholarly literature examines the popularity of unicorn imagery in contemporary culture, focusing on themes of retrospection, playful escapism, and digital aesthetics. Academic analyses explore how brightly colored, fantasy-oriented visual styles function as affective markers in online environments, particularly on image-based platforms where visual novelty and affective resonance are central to circulation and engagement.[12]

The animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which premiered in 2010, contributed to the visibility of unicorn imagery in contemporary popular culture through its prominent use of fantasy aesthetics. The series built upon earlier iterations of the My Little Pony franchise dating to the 1980s, which had already established unicorn characters within children’s media.[1]

The Unicorn Fad

Media coverage cited online engagement metrics to show that unicorn-themed aesthetics reached peak popularity in 2017. Google Trends data show that global searches for “unicorn” increased significantly in April 2017, coinciding with the launch of Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino.[13][14] During the same period, Pinterest reported notable growth in searches related to unicorn-themed food and beauty content. Instagram hashtags linked to unicorn imagery accumulated millions of posts across multiple platforms.[15]

Contemporary culture

Cultural commentary has traced a shift in unicorn representation across modern popular culture, from associations with rarity, danger, and purity toward more playful, childlike, and colorful forms.[2]

According to The Guardian, this shift reflects a broader change in how the unicorn functions symbolically, moving away from its historical associations toward a visually driven, commercially adaptable icon within contemporary media and consumer culture.[2]

Media analysts studying the 2010s unicorn trend have drawn a contrast between unicorn portrayals in fantasy narratives — such as the Harry Potter film series — and the bright, stylized aesthetic associated with My Little Pony, the latter of which has been widely cited as a formative influence on contemporary unicorn imagery.[2][1]

Subcategories of the trend

Unicorn food

The term "unicorn food" has been used to describe foods characterized by pastel or rainbow color palettes and glitter-like decorations, and it does not necessarily involve depicting a unicorn itself.[10] The Unicorn Frappuccino was a limited-edition, color-changing beverage featuring pastel hues and a sweet, fruity flavor profile, which gained widespread attention in 2017.[9]

Following its release, the drink's visual style was adopted more broadly, and foods ranging from sweet to savory were adapted to a pastel-colored, decorative aesthetic commonly described as “unicorn”. Media coverage tracked the spread of unicorn-themed recipes and products created by food bloggers, writers, online content creators, and commercial brands, largely for visual effect and social media sharing.[8]

As the trend expanded, a wide range of food categories—including desserts, beverages, and some savory dishes—were adapted to this aesthetic, typically emphasizing pastel color palettes and decorative visual elements.

Unicorn beauty

The Unicorn beauty trend refers to the use of pastel color palettes, holographic shades, glitter elements, and fantasy-inspired motifs in cosmetics, nail art, and hairstyling.[16]

Unicorn-themed aesthetics have been present in the beauty industry since the late 2000s, with several brands incorporating fantasy imagery and pastel color schemes into their visual identities. A notable example is the cosmetics brand Lime Crime, established in 2008, which integrated unicorn-related branding into its marketing strategy.[17]

The growing visibility of unicorn-inspired beauty aesthetics has also been documented in lifestyle and fashion media during the 2010s. In 2014, hair colorist and YouTuber Guy Tang shared images of rainbow-colored hairstyles on Instagram, which were widely circulated and cited in lifestyle media as examples of fantasy-inspired beauty trends.[18]

By 2017, unicorn-themed aesthetics had gained significant visibility within mainstream beauty culture, appearing in collaborations and limited-edition product lines. During this time, illustrator Lisa Frank partnered with Glamour Dolls Makeup to produce a cosmetics collection featuring brightly colored packaging inspired by 1990s visual styles.[19] Celebrity-branded products also incorporated unicorn-themed naming and imagery. In 2018, Paris Hilton introduced a skincare product called “Unicorn Mist,” which was subsequently reissued following online promotion associated with National Unicorn Day in the United States.[20][21]

Beyond individual products and brands, unicorn-themed naming conventions became prevalent within the beauty industry. Terms such as “unicorn snot,” “unicorn tears,” and “unicorn essence” described cosmetics with holographic or iridescent visual effects, rather than literal representations of unicorns.[22]

Unicorn design

Unicorn-themed design has been documented across a variety of consumer products, characterized by pastel color palettes, playful forms, and fantasy-inspired imagery. These designs have been featured on household items such as textiles, drinkware, and novelty accessories. Among widely reported examples of unicorn-themed design during the 2010s were large inflatable pool floats shaped like unicorns, which attracted attention in popular media as part of broader novelty design trends.[23]

Unicorn fashion

Unicorn-themed imagery also appeared in the fashion industry during the 2010s, particularly through pastel color palettes, playful motifs, and references to fantasy and childhood culture. Apparel, footwear, accessories, and related items, such as phone cases and tattoos, incorporate unicorn imagery alongside materials like sheer fabrics and fake fur, often emphasizing bright or iridescent visual effects.

Several fashion events featured unicorn imagery during runway presentations. In 2016, actress Margot Robbie wore an Alexander McQueen gown decorated with a gold sequin unicorn to the premiere of the film Suicide Squad. In 2017, during Milan Fashion Week, the fashion house Moschino presented a capsule collection developed in collaboration with the toy brand My Little Pony, drawing on the franchise’s visual style and color palette.[24] Models were parading on the runway, clothed in bubble-gum pink and baby blue looks displaying the toys' graphics.

Unicorn imagery also appeared in more conceptual runway presentations. At Paris Fashion Week in 2018, designer Thom Browne concluded his show with a staged appearance featuring a unicorn figure, interpreted through an elaborate costume worn by two models, which was widely discussed in fashion media as part of the wider trend toward theatrical and symbolic runway elements.[25]

Cultural analysis and interpretation

Cultural commentators and scholars have situated the 2010s resurgence of unicorn imagery within broader developments in digital visual culture and consumer aesthetics. Writing in The Guardian, Alice Fisher described the transformation of the unicorn from a symbol historically associated with rarity, religious purity, and ferocity into a pastel-colored, commercially adaptable icon embedded in social media and consumer branding.[2]

Media analyses have linked the spread of unicorn-themed products to platforms such as Instagram, where brightly colored, visually striking content travels quickly.[1] Lev Manovich, in his study of Instagram and contemporary image culture, has argued that social media platforms privilege visually distinctive and affect-driven imagery, shaping patterns of aesthetic production and consumption in the digital era.[26]

Recent scholarship on contemporary aesthetics has examined the cultural logic of “cuteness” as a prevailing category in late-capitalist consumer culture. Sianne Ngai has identified "cute" aesthetics as defined by softness, vulnerability, and commodifiability — qualities that sit well with mass-market goods and digital sharing.[27] The spread of pastel unicorn imagery across food, beauty, fashion, and design has been analyzed in this context, alongside themes of digitally mediated nostalgia, playful escapism, and affective branding.

Cultural commentary has further characterized the unicorn as emblematic of the broader cultural mood of the 2010s. Fisher argued in The Guardian that unicorn imagery took hold in the 2010s partly because it offered optimism and fantasy amid political and social uncertainty.[2] In this reading, the unicorn functions as a flexible symbol — one that has been adapted for consumer branding, digital identity, and generational self-expression rather than retained as a mythological figure.

Unicorn imagery has also been discussed in relation to gender expression and LGBTQ symbolism. Scholars have noted the historical association between rainbow aesthetics and queer visibility, as well as the unicorn’s role as a symbol of rarity and difference within LGBTQ communities.[12] Cultural analyses have observed that the animal’s visual transformation into a brightly colored, playful figure has intersected with these symbolic uses, though interpretations vary across contexts.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Abad-Santos, Alex (17 May 2017). "The Inescapable Unicorn Trend, Explained". Vox. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Fisher, Alice (15 October 2017). "Why the unicorn has become the emblem of our times". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  3. ^ Pastoureau, Michel (2011). The Bear: History of a Fallen King. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674047822.
  4. ^ Barber, Richard (1999). The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674013902.
  5. ^ Shepard, Odell (1979). The Lore of the Unicorn. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780060907211.
  6. ^ "Unicorn". Encyclopædia Britannica (Academic ed.). 17 December 2010.
  7. ^ Cross, Gary (1997). Kids' Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674898303.
  8. ^ a b "'Unicorn food' is colourful, sparkly and everywhere". The New York Times. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  9. ^ a b "Starbucks joins 'unicorn food' craze with new drink". BBC News. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  10. ^ a b c Truman, Emily (2022). "Picturing Digital Tastes: #unicornlatte, Social Photography, and Instagram Food Marketing". Food Instagram: Identity, Influence, and Negotiation. University of Illinois Press. pp. 115–131. doi:10.5622/illinois/9780252044465.001.0001.
  11. ^ Davis, Arianna (8 May 2017). "What's Really Behind Unicorn Fever". Refinery29. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  12. ^ a b Balirano, Giuseppe (2020). "Of Rainbow Unicorns: The Role of Bonding Queer Icons in Contemporary LGBTIQ+ Re-Positionings". Journal of Language and Sexuality. 9 (1). doi:10.12977/ocula2020-7.
  13. ^ Thompson, Rachel (7 July 2017). "The Unicorn Trend Is No Longer a Rarity. Can We Please Call Time on It?". Mashable. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  14. ^ "Google Trends: unicorn". Google Trends. Google. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  15. ^ Jensen, Erin (22 August 2017). "Unicorns: We've Officially Reached Peak Unicorn Trend. But Is It Here to Stay?". USA Today. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  16. ^ "What's Really Behind Unicorn Fever". Refinery29. 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Lime Crime: Leveraging the Crowds for Makeup for Unicorns". Harvard Business School Digital Initiative. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  18. ^ Allure (15 July 2017). "Guy Tang Reveals the Secrets Behind His Rainbow-Colored Dye Jobs". Allure. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  19. ^ Sciarretto, Amy (3 November 2017). "What's in Glamour Dolls' Lisa Frank Makeup Collection? Your Inner '90s Kid Will Be Stoked". Bustle. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  20. ^ Mandell, Janna (30 November 2017). "Paris Hilton Launches Skincare Line with Unicorn Mist; Cue Shocked Face". Forbes. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  21. ^ Trivedi, Sachin (2 October 2019). "Paris Hilton Celebrates National Unicorn Day by Re-Releasing Sold Out Product". International Business Times. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  22. ^ Wischhover, Cheryl (20 March 2017). "How Did 'Unicorn' Become Beauty's Goal Aesthetic?". Racked. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  23. ^ Mason, Melissa (13 March 2018). "These Extremely Portly 6-Person Pool Floats Are Demonic & Must Be Eliminated". Pedestrian. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Moschino Launches Nostalgic My Little Pony Collection". Harper’s Bazaar UK. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  25. ^ Muller, Marissa G. (3 October 2017). "Thom Browne Takes the Unicorn Trend to a New Peak with His Spring 2018 Show in Paris". W Magazine. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  26. ^ Manovich, Lev (2017). Instagram and Contemporary Image. Manovich.net. ISBN 9785990865525.
  27. ^ Ngai, Sianne (2012). Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674046580.
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