Aesthetic
Underconsumption Core celebrates using things until they’re worn out, shopping secondhand, avoiding trends, and rejecting overconsumption. The aesthetic shows old phones, worn clothes, and minimal possessions.
Context
The trend emerged as Gen Z grappled with economic precarity and climate anxiety. Underconsumption Core reframed financial limitations as ethical choices and aesthetic rebellion.
Reception
The hashtag sparked debates about whether poverty aesthetics were genuinely sustainable or performative. Some argued underconsumption shouldn’t need to be “core”—it should just be normal.