When Did the Unicorn Trend Start?

Unicorns have been one of our favorite creatures of all time. Whether they are adored by children or embraced by the LGBTQ community there is no doubt that Unicorns have been around for a long time and they are here to stay!

The unicorn trend got a start many centuries ago when people believed that their horns had magical healing powers. This was only the start for our craze for unicorns, nowadays the unicorn trend has been popularized by the 80’s cartoon “My Little Pony”, Primark and Starbucks creating products that revolve around Unicorn themes. This trend boomed even more with our usage of social media like Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest.

Unicorns appearing to our lives

The first appearances of a unicorn in texts and in paintings come from Mesopotamia, but this graceful and majestic creature made its way into ancient Indian, Chinese, Korean, Persian and Anglo-Saxon culture.

In these ancient stories, it was said that unicorns horns had magic healing powers. So the curiosity of the people started to grow. It was said that to catch a Unicorn a virgin maiden needed to be involved. Unicorns would only approach these maidens and let themselves be touched and held by them. If you want to know more about unicorn horns, you can check our previous article “What does a unicorn horn look like?” over here.

In Greek writings, some texts have been found with the first example of a unicorn description. Doctor Ctesias wrote in the 4th century about Unicorns as we know them today

. He said that he had encountered creatures that looked like a big horse even though they were much more powerful than any horse he had seen before. They were white from color, had red-heads and hypnotizing turquoise blueish eyes. He also described their horn being over a foot long and multi-colored like a rainbow.

I think at that time nobody could have predicted how popular unicorns would become in the future but they definitely rule this generation nowadays.

Unicorns getting popular

With Starbucks coming up with a delicious and colorful Unicorn Frappuccino, Primark selling the cutest unicorn adhesive nails and Instagram having over 7.5 million tags with #unicorn we can know for sure that the Unicorn trend is not going anywhere any time soon.

The start of the unicorn trend is closely related to our media consumption. Before the internet, the love of unicorns was becoming popular thanks to the cartoon “My little pony” and skyrocketed from there when the internet appeared. We all had our favorite Pony, so mine was “Princess Celestia” because of her fabulous rainbow hair. Do you remember which character was your favorite?

In 2017 this cartoon was remade making a comeback and giving this new generation the experience to grow up watching those unicorn-ponies as well. It also made it so much fun for parents who grew up with this cartoon to be able to watch a newer version with their kids.

For the generation who grew up in the ’80s, this trend brings nostalgia and memories from watching the show during the youth. For the younger generation, Unicorns mean a whole new fantasy world

that can be explored with their own imagination, a world where nothing is impossible. This also inspires us to believe in so much more than what meets the eye.

Unicorns become a trend

With the internet, the unicorn trend became easily accessible to any person with a computer or a cellphone. Going on Youtube will give you an infinite number of unicorn tutorials. You can find anything, from amazing and colorful makeup tutorials, unicorn cupcake tutorials, unicorn paintings, unicorn Halloween costumes, and even rainbow-unicorn slime tutorials.

Even one food blogger in Miami claimed she started the unicorn trend because she started creating toasts with “unicorn–themed” cream-cheese. She would mix the cream-cheese with beetroot juice, blueberry extract to create lilac and fuchsia and turquoise colors, creating toasts that would remind anyone of mermaids, rainbows, and unicorns.

I’m not sure if one person taking pictures of their toast could start such a massive trend but what I do know is that she also grew up watching “My little pony” and most likely found her inspiration there. I know for sure that if I get a chance to eat those toasts I would!

I think the images of Unicorns are clearly ingrained in our brains and therefore anytime we see one we find comfort in it. Some cafés have also taken it upon them to create Unicorn-themed places where you get to choose a Unicorn Onesie once you enter the shop. Some even have a selection of rainbow horns that you can choose and even purchase afterwards.

It’s clear that unicorns have become an all-time favorite and marketers know that. With a little help of celebrities like Katy Perry with music videos where everything is made out of candy and having Nicky Minaj riding an inflatable Unicorn in one of her music videos more and more items are created each day to satiate our thirst for unicorns. I know deep down we all want an inflatable Unicorn for the hot summer days to take to the beach or to the swimming pool.

Nicki Minaj riding a unicorn and supporting the unicorn trend in her video “Va-Va-Voom” – more than 116 million views

Unicorns as part of a lifestyle

If we can’t have a real unicorn in our house we will definitely take second best, and that could be any item that fits our lifestyle. Declare me guilty of being part of the unicorn trend since I have the cutest Unicorn keychain but I’m sure you are also guilty here!

Unicorn items are mostly loved by women under 18 although it still extends for many over their 20’s. They give women a sense of power since it’s a big and strong animal that cannot be defeated. Some people think it is infantilizing our generation by bringing back rainbows and childhood memories but for many females, unicorns stand for empowerment.

Who says that your coffee cup at the office has to be black and can’t be a rainbow themed unicorn-cup? Most adults find that it brings back a spark of color into everyday life which can become grey and dull as an adult.

The work environment of adults had been very strict for the past decades. Working in an office meant wearing a grey or blue suit and having pale and boring colors in the cubicles. This generation is changing that with big companies like Google, Netflix and Yahoo embracing colors. Office workers have felt stress-relief while working for these companies since the rules are not so strict anymore. At these companies, anyone could wear a Unicorn onesie and no one would get fired.

Whatever the reason is for unicorns to become a trend it is not harming anyone and to be honest, most people just get a smile on their faces when they see any Unicorn related item or outfit. Unicorns have been spreading love to our current generation so let’s hope they are here to stay a while longer.

Nobody would get mad at seeing their school teacher rocking by in a unicorn–themed car or outfit. I’m sure that unicorns will only bring more dazzle and sparkle in everyone’s life.