Explore The Future of Identity:
Throughout the year, the 2030 Project residents are examining the issues that matter the most to their generation — and how to inspire progress as we look toward the near future. This is the first of four themes.
The 2030 Yearbook
Gen Z is shifting the paradigm of fashion and redefining superlatives along the way.
Gen Z is defined by radical ideals and an innovative vision for the future. Young people are deconstructing norms and this seeps into how they express themselves. In this 2030 Yearbook, we are challenging traditional superlatives and tapped three Gen Z artists — Tatiana Tift, Montes Jackson and Mellow Domingo — to define their future for themselves. This series is styled by DeMarcus Johnson, who is envisioning the future of fashion. The result? A mix of avant-garde, fluid, and cutting-edge pieces — all things embedded in Gen Z’s DNA.
Designers: DUALITY JUNKIE / @DUALITYJUNKIE, BOBBY DAY / @BOBBYDAYNYC, MELITTA BAUMEISTER / @MELITTABAUMEISTER, NON BY SEYOUNG SHIN / @NON_BY_SEYOUNGSHIN, TERRENCE ZHOU / @BAD_BINCH_TONGTONG, NICHOLAS LEE WOLF / @NLSWOLF & ARNALDO, CAMPBELL / @ACSUAVE, SUNNI SUNNI / @SUNNISUNNISTUDIO, FLOYD HOGAN / @FLOYD.HOGAN, KENCO KORP / @KENCOKORP, SYRO / @SHOPSYRO, ANDREA PINA / @ANDREA.PINA_, CAMPER LAB / @CAMPERLAB, ELENA VELEZ / @_ELENAVELEZ, SUNNI SUNNI / @SUNNISUNNISTUDIO
Gen Z Game Show
For Gen Z by Gen Z. Shaking the room one generation at a time.
Whiteness Is Not at the Center of America’s Future
By 2045, the United States will no longer be majority-white. How can we create equitable change for an increasingly diverse population?
By Reana Johnson
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Diversity and inclusion have entered the national conversation in recent years, but much of the focus on race, religion, ethnicity, and cultural background are still centered around whiteness and white feelings. It took until 2020 for Band-Aid to create its first range of skin-color band-aids for people who aren’t fair-skinned. Former President Donald J. Trump said assimilation was necessary to be in the U.S., and that no one should speak Spanish. And while half of children under 18 identify as people of color, most states have not made ethnic studies courses mandatory in K-12 education.
How the Internet Is Saving Gen Z in Flyover Country
The World Wide Web has a very literal meaning for those of us living between the U.S. coasts.
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Growing up in Minnesota, my friends and I would run around cornfields on Friday nights as lights from the city five minutes away shined above the grain. We’d talk about our dreams of leaving “Middle America” and moving West or East, placing us closer to cultures that represented who we were.
And we were spellbound by the internet.
Gen Z Is Deconstructing Religion And Finding Faith
Young people are "taste-testing" religions to chart their own path to spirituality.
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I was raised with Friday night worship and Sabbath lasting until sunset on Saturday. I missed sleepover parties and dinner dates because of it, and struggled to explain to my friends why our outings had to adhere to the setting of the sun as if we were living in a dark age of history when everything was defined by the availability of natural light. As a Seventh-Day Adventist, my identity was completely saturated by the beliefs and traditions of my church, and other than missing outings here and there, I was comfortable with my faith. But as I got older, I learned that some of the cultural traditions I grew up believing—the unspoken rule that women only wear dresses and skirts, and disallowing them from being pastors, for instance—weren’t actually ordained by God.
More from The 2030 Project
The Future of Sustainable Fashion:
The fashion industry has to center sustainability, but how far away are we from that reality? VMG’s 2030 Project residents interrogate what’s at stake if we don’t figure it out, and fast.
- The Future Of Sustainability Should Look A Little Like My Family’s Basement
- How Far Away Are We From Downloading Our Clothes?
- Beyond The Red Carpet, What’s Hollywood Doing About Fashion Sustainability On Set?
- The Elegance Of Shredded, Worn, Loved-To-Death Clothes
The 2030 Project: Community
The pandemic has been isolating. How do we build community in a fractured world? VMG’s 2030 Project residents interrogate how we can build a shared future, together.
Meet the Residents Behind The 2030 Project
Inspired by the VICE Guide to 2030, this program embeds talented residents in teams across VICE Media Group and empowers them to drive the future of storytelling. We wanted to find curious and passionate people from different backgrounds who have unique life ambitions, and we believe we found them. Here they are.
Reana Johnson
- 2030 Audience Resident
- Conducting analytics for VICE Insights Team, writing articles for VICE & R29, and working with various departments on video & script production.
Samir Ferdowsi
- 2030 Creative Resident
- Weathered writer covering international environmental justice, the climate crisis, and wildlife with VICE News and Motherboard. He’s breaking into adventure production and shooting.
Terrance Purdy
- 2030 Creative Resident
- Creative on the social innovation team at VICE; where he produces, shoots, and is an editor.
Kathleen Garrison
- 2030 Video Resident
- Creative Producer on the Digital Long Form team, where she assists in the production of creating videos that push the boundaries and limits of everyday life and conversations.
Sydney Clarke
- 2030 Creative Resident
- Editorial writer at Vice and Refinery29 working with three teams: Beauty, Entertainment, and Unbothered where she also assists with social content like Wash Day and the Go Off Sis podcast.