photography by SAM NICKLIN
There were signs: internet girlies hoarding perfume; this year’s inexplicable labaubu-mania; teenage hypebeasts turned vinyl hoarders; the comeback of old-school iPods.
But for me, our collective fate was sealed in February when, on a whim, I decided to share my marble egg collection on Instagram. Not only did my post receive a miraculously rapturous response (for what is, literally, a bowl of egg-shaped rocks), I started to get messages from other people who collect hyper-specific trinkets. I began to realize that, behind closed doors, there’s a secret majority of young people obsessively gathering distinctly untrendy (and at times totally unhinged) objects. If there was ever any doubt, I was now fully convinced: we are a generation completely obsessed with collecting.
Perhaps it’s obvious that this would be our destiny. Collecting, after all, is a primal human instinct. Freud was certain it had something to do with fecal eroticism (I’ll spare us the details), though psychologists now agree that collecting helps humans orient ourselves within time and space—through memory, identity building, and community. It’s a habit that has marked every generation: 83% of adults in the U.K. are collectors, according to a 2019 poll, and it’s statistically impossible that that number is solely made up of grandads with stamp collections and mums with fridge magnets.
But as the first generation of young people to grow up alongside the internet, collecting objects carries a certain deeper significance. Given our existential fear of being permanently sucked into the doomscroll (and losing touch with reality altogether), it’s no surprise that we’re clinging to the physical world for dear life. By devoting ourselves to tangible objects, we’re building personal lore that’s grounded in the IRL rather than the digital—reflecting the most treasured corners of our identities back into the real world. In doing so, we’re connecting with ourselves, fellow collectors, and with the past—self-soothing our generational loneliness and our nostalgia for simpler, more analog times.
So, of course, I had to speak to other young collectors quietly squirreling away their wares. Read on to hear what their very cool (and very weird) collections mean to them…
Isabel, 27
What do you collect? Slogan T-shirts. Why do you collect them? They allow me to flex different parts of my personality; there’s a lot of humor and sexual innuendo. They’re quite silly. I really like how provocative they can be—from a really young age that spoke to me. My mum used to make me go to church, and I’d wear this T-shirt that said “I hate everyone” [laughs]. What’s your favorite? I really enjoy ones that invoke a strong reaction from people. I mean, “I’m with Stupid” is literally doing crowd work when I wear it. I like to push the boundaries a little bit.
Willem, 28
What do you collect? Alt phones. Why do you collect them? People think I’m doing it to get off social media, but I’m doing it to experiment with different mobile ways of being online—to have more agency. I’ve bought them all for functionality as opposed to just looking cool, which a lot of them do, for sure. What do you like about being a collector? I get sent phone memes all the time because all my friends are like, “He is the phone guy.” It’s kind of cute being known as the phone nerd in the friend group.
Bee, 29
What do you collect? Crystals and perfume Why do you collect them? They’re these beautiful objects, but they’re also tied to ritual. My dad bought me my first crystal from Peru when I was six years old, but I got really into the energetic and healing properties when I moved to London because it’s so divorced from nature here. Perfume is similar in a way because it connects you to something tangible, but it has such deep ties to memory and psychology. It’s deeply personal. What’s your favorite perfume? Ambilux from Marlou. It’s very animalic—people either love it or think it’s disgusting. Some people say it smells like cat pee; I think it’s because I love cats!
Compulsive Leia, 22
What do you collect? Kandi, Monster High dolls, sunglasses, Batman merch, Paul Dano memorabilia. What do you like about being a collector? Seeing myself surrounded by things I love makes me so happy. When I was little, there were lots I wanted but couldn’t have. It’s so nice now to be able to buy things I want—to get to live that life. Young Leia would be so excited. Does Paul Dano know that you have the world’s biggest Paul Dano collection? [laughs] No, I think he’d be freaked out.
Fred, 29
What do you collect? Clay pipes and other trinkets from the River Thames. Why do you collect them? My family has at least three generations of Londoners, which is rare. I like being connected to the past of the city. Clay pipes are like time capsules—they don’t exist in today’s world, but they were so present for so long. They’re like windows into ordinary lives from the past. What’s your favorite piece from your collection? There’s this pipe in the shape of a guy’s head. I know who he is from [mudlarking] Facebook groups… He’s an Ottoman general from the Crimean War.
Aaliyah, 23
What do you collect? Interesting-looking shoes. What’s your favorite part of your collection? My Adidas x Jeremy Scott winged ballet pumps. What’s your favorite part about collecting? A lot of people have never seen anyone wear shoes like these before, so it’s a good conversation starter in public. Sometimes you can tell people are just a bit lonely and want to chat, and this gives them an excuse to start a conversation, which is nice. I got stopped twice on my way here and even saw someone taking a photo!
Arty
What do you collect? Soft toys, which I sew into hybrid teddies. When did you start collecting? I have an addictive personality—I’ve always been a bit of a hoarder. Why do you collect soft toys? Teddies have this kind of universal understanding, but they’re always treated like trash. I wanted to try and give them a second chance at life—to turn them into something new. When you see them all mashed together, you can feel all these memories of the past come together.
