Meme Fashion: How Internet Culture Is Shaping Streetwear

Let’s face it, the internet has ruined attention spans, romantic expectations, and the ability to eat a meal without taking a photo of it first. But it’s also done something miraculous — it made fashion un-serious again. Like, beautifully, gloriously unserious.

Enter meme fashion. A weird, chaotic collision of TikTok brainrot, self-aware irony, and low-stakes emotional unravelling, printed directly onto a T-shirt. It’s not just a trend — it’s the new language of streetwear. And at this point, if your outfit isn’t slightly unhinged and referential, are you even online?

Wearing the Internet (Literally)

Once upon a time, your T-shirt said “Calvin Klein.” Now it says “Tummy Ache Survivor.” And somehow, that’s a glow-up.

Meme fashion is Gen Z and Gen Alpha's unofficial dress code. Forget brands chasing minimalist logos — the culture now belongs to the kid wearing a shirt that reads “Master Baiter” while sipping an iced coffee with shaky hands. This isn’t just about being funny.

You’re not flexing wealth. You’re flexing references.

Orbital’s own collection is full of these cultural easter eggs — tees like the Iron Deficiency Princess Vintage Style T-Shirt let you publicly identify as the kind of person who has low iron and even lower standards. And we mean that lovingly. Meanwhile, the Alpha Male (Updated Design!) tee taps into that post-Tate, ironic masculine collapse we’re all enjoying from a safe distance.

The Influence of TikTok, Twitter, and Chronically Online Behaviour

TikTok’s chokehold on fashion can’t be understated. One viral soundbite can generate an aesthetic, a subculture, and a dozen ironic outfit trends overnight. One minute it’s “feral girl fall,” the next it’s “sad beige baby-core.” The cycle is as fast as it is unhinged.

What’s fascinating is how quickly those online moments become literal wardrobe staples. You don’t just tweet about your intrusive thoughts anymore — you wear them. That’s how pieces like the Wrestling is Real, God is Not T-shirt happen. It’s self-deprecation with sleeves. Trauma, but make it wearable. And it works because we all know that person (or are them).

Memes also function as social sorting hats. Wearing a T-shirt that says “Gluten Tolerant” in a room full of oat milk sippers is performance art. It’s trolling, but fashionable. You’re not just dressing for the ‘fit — you’re dressing to see who gets the joke.

Why Serious Streetwear Is Dead (And That’s a Good Thing)

For years, streetwear was trapped in the loop of hype culture. Drops, bots, resale — the whole thing started feeling like a finance bro simulator in oversized hoodies. Meme fashion cracked that wide open.

 Now? It’s chaotic good energy. It’s Dimes Square meets Depop. It’s the guy at the rave in a "Jesus Died For Your Zyns" tee — and everyone wants to know where he got it. Spoiler: it's from here.

The point is, the people have spoken, and they want dopamine over drip. They want clothes that say something, even if it’s "I had three breakdowns this week but still slay." Especially if it says that.

The Future Is Ironic (and It’s in Your Basket)

We used to ask, “What are you wearing?” Now we ask, “Why does it say that?”

Fashion is once again about expression. The good kind. The deeply unserious, “I romanticise my IBS” kind. In a world that’s spiralling faster than your screen time stats, meme-driven streetwear isn’t just a trend — it’s a coping mechanism.

And honestly? It looks pretty damn good doing it.

So wear the joke. Be the punchline. Let your T-shirt speak before you do.

Shop Orbital’s full collection of funny, culturally-charged tees here — because if you’re gonna lose the plot, you might as well do it in style.