Please note that this page exists for the purposes of documentation, not promotion. Due to the role the Nazi Party played in history and the subsequent sensitive and offensive nature of this aesthetic, it is not recommended that you adopt it for yourself. Aesthetics Wiki does not endorse Nazi ideology - but it is important to acknowledge its impact on modern culture.
Nazi chic is the use of Nazi-era style, imagery, and paraphernalia in clothing and popular culture, especially when used for taboo-breaking or shock value rather than out of genuine sympathies with Nazism or Nazi ideology.
Its use began in the mid-1970s with the emergence of the punk movement in London: the Sex Pistols' first television appearance occurred with a person of their entourage wearing a swastika. Nazi chic was later used in the fashion industry.
Usage of Nazi Chic
It should be noted that, more often than not and contrary to popular belief, a Nazi Chic aesthetic is usually invoked when trying to symbolize a fascist, authoritarian ideology and is generally a criticism of said aesthetics. Lady Gaga here has utilized Nazi chic aesthetics in her music videos before (most famously for her music video for "Alejandro") as a criticism of their restrictions on freedom of self-expression. Other noteworthy example invocations of Nazi Chic include The Empire in Star Wars (or, more recently, the First Order in the recent trilogy of films, which is a bit more on-the-nose with its Nazi imagery).
Lady Gaga - Alejandro
An example of utilizing the Nazi Chic aesthetic to criticize.