Blazers, earth tones, and sepia filters — dark academia is an aesthetic that encompasses the romanticization of education. It’s pouring over the poetic prose of dramatic authors and reading about romantic longing in a candlelight scene as rain drips down the window. It’s the obsession over classical literature and philosophy — an alluring pursuit of curiosity and existentialism.
Dark Academia thrives along with the pretentiously prestigious campuses associated with ivy leagues. Further exploration of Dark Academia on Pinterest and Tiktok reveals that interpretation of the aesthetic caters to a single target audience. When the main features highlighted are mainly skinny, rich, and white, the aesthetic becomes one that discourages POC from believing that they can belong in the same creative spaces. The core of Dark Academia is passion — whether in labs of textbooks and beakers or studios of paint and canvases. “Where’s the Color, Dark Academia?” is a twist on the conventional — an appreciation of color and celebration of simplistic beauty in all shades.
Creative Direction, Styling and Words by Bri Shufford
Photography by Jacqueline Kim
Makeup by Annika Petersen
Talent is Asia Redhead and Faith McCurdy