Vibe shift
Etymology
Coined by the trend forecaster Sean Monahan and popularized by a February 2022 New York Magazine (The Cut) piece by Allison P. Davis, which framed it as the sense that a cultural era was ending and another beginning.
noun · /VYBE shift/
A broad change in the prevailing cultural mood or aesthetic, after which what felt current suddenly feels dated.
What it names
It names the moment a whole atmosphere turns over — the styles, tones, and attitudes that defined a period quietly giving way to new ones. Its value is in describing change that is real and felt but too diffuse to pin to any single event.
Example
The earnest, over-sincere tone of the late 2010s gave way to something colder — a genuine vibe shift.
Related idea
Broader than a trend, which is a single rising taste; a vibe shift is the change in the whole climate that makes many trends rise or fall at once.