Throughout the past few years, millions of short-lived trends have taken over the internet. From Dubai chocolate to labubu dolls, social media apps have truly seen it all. Recently, the newest craze involves swapping out Nike Techs for quarter zips and Red Bull for matcha. Like all of the other trends that the internet has experienced, this one is predicted to die down within weeks of its launch in popularity.
The influence of wearing quarter zips and drinking matcha came from a viral TikTok video made by Jason Gymafi and Richard Minor, where the two men encouraged people to upgrade their styles from sloppy to sophisticated. At South, the impact of this video can be found everywhere. Josephine Gehring ’27 sees the allure of the trend, but understands how short the internet’s attention span can be.
“It’s reached a bigger audience because it’s not just dumb words. It can be for younger and older kids,” Gehring said. “It’s definitely different, and more sophisticated from other trends I have seen in the past, however I do think that its impact will be short-lived.”
Despite the fact that the trend is already experiencing a decline in popularity, students at South are still entranced by its attraction and continue to take part in it. Gehring herself does not participate in the trend at school, but other students like Thomas Gorski ’28 do. Gorski and his friend group have created a new spin-off of the trend, keeping its influence alive.
“Me and my friends have a thing called ‘quarter zip Tuesdays,’ where we all wear quarter zips to school,” Gorski said. “Its been going three weeks strong now, and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.”
Gorski is not the only student who actively wears quarter zips and drinks matcha in his free time. Jacob Campbell ’29 has also become a dedicated follower of the trend and tries to participate and spread its influence across the school as much as possible.
“I have been wearing more quarter zips than I could ever imagine,” Campbell said. “Even though it is extremely niche, I do believe that it is a big step in the right direction for our community, because it is causing students to dress nicer.”
Although this trend will likely be replaced by a new trend within the next few weeks, its impact will not be forgotten by the internet or students at South. Its unique qualities and comical urges for people to dress more civilized has left a permanent mark.
“It’s a huge step up from wearing pajama pants to school, and I am sure that other people would agree,” Gehring said. “Although the trend will disappear soon, I think that people will continue to dress nicer, which was a much needed change.”
