New York Magazine - USA (2020-03-02)

asthemostelegant,economical,andethicalsolutiontotheprob-

lemofsofasorsoft-cupbras.Simplicity ofdesignencouragesan

impressionthatallerrorsandartificehavefallenaway.Themil-

lennialaestheticpromisesa kindof teleology of taste:asif wehave

onlynow,finally,thankstoinnovationandrefinement,arrivedat

theobjectivelycorrect way forthingstolook.

If yousimultaneouslycan’t affordany frillsandcan’t afford

anyfailure,youendupwithmillennialdesign:crowd-pleasing,

risk-averse,callingjust enoughattentiontoitselftomake it

clearthatyoutried.Fora cohort rearedtoachieveandthen

releasedintoaneconomywhereachievementheldnoguaran-

tees,themillennialaestheticprovidessomethingthat looksa

littlelike bourgeoisstability,at least. Thisis a stylethat makes

basicsuccesscheapandeasy;it requireslittleintheway of

specialaccess,skills,orgoods.It is stylethat canbeborrowed,

inhabitedtemporarilyorvirtually.Atthevery least, youcan

stay a few hoursina photogenicco-workingvenue.Atthevery

least,Squarespacegivesyouthetoolsyouneedtobuildyour

ownpresentableonlinehome.

WHENSARAHSHERMANSAMUELDECORATEDherfirst pink

room,sheassumedshewasdoingsomethingsort ofdaring.But

no:Pinkwasa crowd-pleaser,Samuelsoonlearned.Or, it was

crowd-pleasingwhenshetemperedit withthewarmthofwood,

somethingtocutthesugarhigh.Samuelis aninteriordesigner

employedbyclientslikeMandyMoore,born1984.(Moore’s

house,withitspaleterrazzofloorsandupholsteryinpinkand

ocher,wasonthecoverofArchitecturalDigestin 20 18.)Pink

becamea crucialingredientintheserenemillennialdreamscapes

withwhichSamuelhasmadehern

Noaccountofthemillenniala couldfailtoaddress

pink:Forthebetterpart ofa deca lennialpinkbedeviled

anyonea colorcouldbedevil.WhenFacebookrolledouta corpo-

raterebrandlast fall,theleadimage inthepressreleaseshowed

thenewlogo—breezilyspacedsansserif—ina mutedshade

somewhereontheham-to-salmonspectrum.Samuelkeeps

wonderingwhenpeoplewillge t sickofthecolor, butthey don’t;

almosteveryclientasksforpink.Shethinksthisis becauseit’s

soothing.They wanthousesthat remindthemofvacations,sug-

gestMediterraneanidylls.

“It kindoffeelslike a binky,”DeborahNeedleman,theformer

editorofT,WSJ., andDomino, saysof millennialinteriors.(Boob-

printpillowsandbathmats areperhapsthemost literalexpres-

sionofa generaltendency towardthecomfortsofbabyhood.)

Needlemanseesnota triptoGreecebutsomethingmorelike

childproofing.“It’slike it hasnoedge orsenseofhumororsense

ofmystery,”shesays.“There’snoweirdness.There’snothingthat

clashes.It is very controlled.”

Pinkis nottheonlysoftcolorinthemillennialpalette.There’s

green,oftenintheformofplantlife—ithasa wholesomeappeal

nexttothepink—andthenanexpandingarrayofcolorssimul-

taneouslysaturatedandchalky, mutedevenwhennotactually

pastel:seafoam,terra-cotta,lavender,and(especially)ocher. In

explainingtheappetiteforcolorsthat soothe,wemightgesture

vaguelyinthedirectionofNowMoreThanEver,anxiety,the

news.A moredirect explanationwouldprobablybethat other

stalwart ofmillennialpopsociology:thephone,nowthebasic

toolwithwhichweview, record,anddisseminateimagesofthe

world.Allthattimespentstaringintoa glowingscreenmakes

theprospectofsomethinggentle—somethingliterallyeasieron

theeye—enticing.Themillennialpaletteis theoppositeofglare;

onscreenoroff, it’s colorsoftlyveiled.

Pinkis a colorwithbaggage, of course.It arrivestrailingassocia-

tionsofrepressivefemininityfrompreviouserasofpastels:the

1950s,mostpointedly, butalsoa childhoodof1980sand’90s

Barbieplastic.Millennialpinkmutesthosebrightbubblegumcol-

ors,chewsthemupa little,leavesthemfaded.In doingso,it sug-

gestsa slight,winkingself-awareness,albeitonethat stopsshort

BeveledEdges

TextEverywhere

CuratedMesses

 Sans Serif

MARCH2–15, 2020 |THECUT 55

GratuitousFruits

 Generic Houseplants