The Phil mullet effect..
Phil Collins Effect sees style’s return
NAFF fashion trends like the mullet became popular again due to the “Phil Collins Effect”.
Scientists use the pop star’s name to describe the rise and fall of icons, artists and fashions – and say it can even be plotted out in an N-shaped graph with each phase lasting approximately 10 years.
Prof Andre Spicer researched the phenomenon after seeing a clip of 21-year-old twins Tim and Fred Williams going wild on hearing the drum break in Collins’ 1981 hit In The Air Tonight. Fred raves: “I ain’t never seen anyone drop a beat three minutes into a song.
You killed it, Phil!”
Prof Spicer, from City,
University of London, observed the video triggered even greater praise for
Collins than in his heyday.
He said it made him “reflect on the fact that when you go to a hipster bar in
Hackney you now hear
Phil Collins playing”.
Many trends follow the same path. Pop star Billie
Eilish reinvented the mullet when a pal burned off half her hair dying it.
Bell-bottoms returned thanks to trendies such as singer Harry Styles. And models like Gigi Hadid and Kaia Gerber have been seen in socks and sandals.
Researchers say it is fuelled by new generations rebelling against the tastes of their elders.
AGAINST all odds, some revolting fashions have made a comeback this year.
Mullets and flares are among the horrors to have darkened our doors once more.
And now the worrying phenomenon has been given a name.
It’s called the Phil Collins Effect. Apparently, things that were once fashionable – and then became so naff even your nan wouldn’t be seen dead listening to or wearing them – make a comeback generations later.
While that may be an unenviable tag for poor old Phil, it does make sense in some cases.
But it still doesn’t explain how in the name of holy hell Crocs have managed to sneak their way back into fashion!