During the second month of quarantine – as the now-familiar blend of boredom, anxiety and despair began to hit with each passing day – I suddenly had the unrelenting desire to buy a tie-dye sweatshirt. Though I couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly where this desire was coming from, I figured it might have something to do with the influx of tie-dye imagery flooding my social media feeds. Every time I scrolled through Instagram, I was inundated with ads for matching loungewear sets or pictures of a friend’s latest DIY tie-dye project. Rather than scoff, I found myself taking screenshots and mental notes of the looks, finding an odd sense of comfort in the colourful patterns. A week later, I was basically living in my blue tie-dye sweatshirt. It turns out I wasn’t alone – tie-dye is back in a major way, and experts say it’s part of a larger cyclical historical trend that shows Americans reach for the classic style during times of unrest. In other words, in times of turmoil, tie-dye thrives. While tie-dye was most prominent in the West during the counterculture movements of the 1960s and ’70s, Kayla Marci – market analyst at retail data analytics firm Edited – said current cultural unrest in many ways evokes this period in a way that lends itself to the resurgence of the trend. “Nostalgic fashion can be used as a form of escapism as consumers face global issues including the pandemic, recession, and civil unrest,” Marci said. “In the ’70s, we saw a big shift in politics and culture – drawing parallels with the current climate. This has aided in the resurgence of some notable trends from this era, such as tie-dye.” Fashion brands have been quick to capitalise on the tie-dye boom, particularly in the athleisure and loungewear categories . In the past week alone, brands ranging from Everlane – which just debuted tie-dye masks – to Chico's have rolled out fresh colourful tie-dye styles, and Instagram continues to be laden with sponsored posts for matching tie-dye loungewear sets from online retailers like Lulu’s and Romwe. Working from home? Don’t let it limit your style. Seven loungewear looks “I think people are looking for a sense of freedom, and tie-dye prints represent this feeling,” said Kimberly Swarth, CEO of the athleisure brand Onezie. “Tie-dye prints bring back a feeling from revolutionary ‘hippy’ free-form periods in history. Through these magical prints, people can radiate those feelings.” For Chico’s, Kelly Cooper – senior vice-president of merchandise and design – said the look is more of a “perennial inspiration” for the company and has been prominently featured throughout its 37-year history. “From the runway to home decor, there is no doubt this is the must-have print for summer,” Cooper said. “Given the pandemic and consumers spending more time at home, the interest in nostalgic fashion has been popularised once again in comfortable clothing items.” View this post on Instagram Our best-selling cotton masks—now in tie-dye. Five colors. Five for $25. A post shared by Everlane (@everlane) on Jul 8, 2020 at 9:00am PDT Tie-dye has also been especially popular among resale companies like Poshmark. According to Poshmark data provided to Business Insider , listings and purchases for tie-dye apparel increased by 75 per cent for women and 100 per cent for men during March, April, and May compared to the same period last year. “Nationwide shelter-in-place orders have changed the way we dress and we’re wearing a lot of tie-dye lately,” a Poshmark spokesperson wrote in an email to Business Insider . “As the trend began to take over our quarantine wardrobes, Poshmark sellers have met the demand.” For more crafty homebound Americans, searches for tie-dye projects and kits have also been on the rise. Swasti Sarna, insights manager at Pinterest, said searches for “tie-dye techniques videos” have doubled in the past five weeks. At the same time, queries for “bleach tie-dye” and “tie-dye crafts” are each up 13 times the amount they were in the same period last year, and Sarna anticipates interest for the activity will continue as the pandemic continues. “Tie-dying at home has become a fun hobby for pinners during the pandemic, and now, pinners are looking for new techniques to learn,” she said. Marci said part of the resurgence of tie-dye can also be traced to the rise of celebrities sharing photos of their own creations and DIY videos on platforms like TikTok that gave quarantined Americans inspiration for everything from dalgona coffee to home-made bread. View this post on Instagram #diytiedye A post shared by Katie Holmes (@katieholmes212) on May 3, 2020 at 12:13pm PDT “It re-emerged as a DIY trend with tutorials going viral across TikTok and YouTube, even with celebrities sharing their attempts,” she said. “The print lent itself to another significant quarantine trend – loungewear with tie-dye sweatpants, hoodies and coordinated sets becoming sought-after products throughout the pandemic.” Although tie-dye has long been “synonymous with summer”, regardless of the current state of the world, Marci anticipates the enthusiasm for tie-dye to continue, particularly with athletic wear and streetwear. “As an essential element within streetwear, tie-dye often features in season-less drops and collabs,” she said. “Darker washes can also apply for cooler months where it can continue to compliment the prominent ’70s trend in nostalgic product edits.”