The second part in a new series looking into different aesthetics, this post explores the ‘Dark Academia aesthetic’; a trend combining the traditional accoutrement of the ancient Oxbridge scholar with the shades and designs of a seasonal murder mystery. This deep dive looks at its origins, its key components and its presence in popular culture, including how you can get the look:
images by Sergey Sokolov and Zach Plank
First thing’s first, the Dark Academia Aesthetic transcends academia, originally beginning life on Tumblr and since evolving into an entire online subculture. Movies and book clubs centred around academia became the focal point of the growing trend back in 2014. Perhaps it is a coincidence that the sales of smartphones increased by over 1.2 billion in the period from 2010 to 2020, coinciding with an increase of social media use from 5% of US adults to 79%. At the same time the analogue-themes of the Dark Academia Aesthetic took off, most likely as a reaction to an increasingly hyper-connected society.
In 2020, the aesthetic’s following grew exponentially as academic institutions were forced to lockdown in the face of a global pandemic. Students were made to stay home and receive lectures online, away from the scholarly institutions they had expected to attend, potentially inspiring a university fantasy. The University of Sydney’s student newspaper explored the topic, describing the aesthetic’s popularity as a reaction to the corporatisation of universities, explaining how it “reveals a deep disillusionment with [education models that devalue knowledge unless it can be used to generate profit]”.
Whatever the origins of the aesthetic, it is clear that Dark Academia is concerned with higher education and liberal arts, particularly academia in the pre-World War II era. Though subjects such as Classical Civilisation, Literature, Greek Philosophy, Mythology, and the Arts (Painting, Photography, Theatre), are the primary focus of study, it is the overall style of elite tertiary education that is fundamental to the aesthetic.
Dark Academia is the antithesis of modern life; books versus social media, maximalism versus minimalism, antique woods versus shiny plastics
For Dark Academia aesthetes, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is a holy relic. Released in 1992, the novel takes place in an elite New England university and follows a group of six vigorously intellectual Classics students partaking in ancient Greek-inspired bacchanals, resulting in murder [no spoiler]. The novel set the tone for a genre of fiction that would become increasingly popular; the dark side of beautiful, historic academic institutions.
The overall aesthetic is concerned with gothic architecture, antique furnishings, overspilling bookshelves, subdued tones, ancient history, globes, busts and other antiquated study paraphernalia. It is the antithesis of modern life; books versus social media, maximalism versus minimalism, antique woods versus shiny plastics, secrets versus over-exposure, knowledge versus appearance, old money versus nouveau riche, historic brick buildings versus new glass structures, reading versus reality tv etc.
Key components:
Home
Whether it’s the 19th-century university dorm room, or the book-stacked home of the post-grad, there are shared key pieces that transform rooms into the dark academic haven. With an emphasis on antiques, no home is complete without neo-classic busts, mid-use chessboards and conspicuously studious bric-a-brac (think maps and vintage telescopes):
Wardrobe
A life lived within the hallowed halls of academia, means the dark academia aesthete’s second skin is a combination of varsity sweaters, satchels and reading glasses, mixed with layers to fight off those English or New England chills, weathered in the Oxbridge and Ivy League campuses. Natural fibres are paramount with traditional silhouettes.
Books
The central focus of the dark academia is murder or the hidden depths of the human psyche. English language classics and historic reference books feature heavily along with fundamental dark academia novels like The Secret History, The Maidens and If We Were Villains, all taking place in academic institutions and dealing with ‘dark’ themes.
Find more Academia inspiration by browsing some previous posts such as our Library Inspiration post, the Best Libraries in Europe part one and part two and the Best Libraries in Australia, all well as a Pretty Places tour of Cambridge. Alternatively, take a look at our Aesthetics posts by browsing the ‘Aesthetic‘ tag.