Being Smart Is Officially Sexy Again: Enter the Era of the Literary It-Girl
Intellect Reclaims the Zeitgeist
In a cultural moment once defined by wellness-core minimalism and the relentless pursuit of visual perfection, intellect has re-emerged as the ultimate marker of allure. The pendulum has swung: to be clever, curious and well-read is now the height of desirability. But as intelligence becomes an aesthetic, is this a genuine renaissance of depth, or merely the latest form of self-optimization masquerading as substance?
The Rise of the Literary It-Girl
Over the past year, intelligence has become synonymous with cool. Book clubs, incisive cultural commentary, and carefully curated media diets have supplanted mindless scrolling as the new status symbols. Celebrities are not just participating in this shift—they are pioneering it. Dua Lipa and Kaia Gerber helm digital book clubs with cult followings, while Charli XCX and Troye Sivan engage audiences through thoughtful Substack newsletters. Emma Chamberlain’s podcast now delves into philosophical musings, signaling a broader movement: the ascendance of the literary It-girl.
Book Clubs as Social Capital
Dua Lipa’s Service95 has quickly established itself as both a cultural platform and a digital book club with global reach. Each monthly selection—currently Mark Ronson’s “Night People”—ignites a collective hunt for copies, sparking lively discussions, author interviews, and guided explorations. Reading, once considered a solitary or even anti-social pursuit, has been rebranded as a cornerstone of contemporary cool. Snapshots of books in cafés, annotated margins, and literary-inspired selfies have become the new aspirational imagery—a marked departure from trends of previous years.
Substance Over Surface
This intellectual awakening transcends celebrity circles. Figures like Rama Duwaji, the New York-based illustrator and partner to City Council member Zohran Mamdani, embody a deliberately unvarnished, intellect-driven approach to style. Eschewing the trappings of traditional luxury, they signal a preference for substance over surface, marking a decisive shift in what it means to be fashion-forward.
The Performance of Smart
Naturally, the resurgence of intellect has spawned a new strain of performative pseudo-intellectualism online. On TikTok, trends such as “going analogue,” “becoming disgustingly educated,” and “media I consume instead of doomscrolling” proliferate alongside self-curated curricula and ambitious reading challenges. Creators document their battles against “brain rot,” championing focus and depth in an age of digital distraction. As creator Bella recently declared in a cultural trends forecast, “being smart is sexy.” Yet by rendering intellect a trend, we risk accelerating its eventual commodification.
Depth as the New Cool
Amid growing anxiety over AI’s cognitive impact and the endless churn of digital feeds, a desire for depth has emerged as a subtle act of resistance. Concerns about eroding attention spans and the outsourcing of thought have transformed long-form writing and print media into emblems of discerning taste. Where Instagram once privileged glossy, surface-level imagery, feeds today increasingly feature idea-driven content—the new hallmarks of sophistication. Yet, as every intellectual pursuit becomes content-ready, the line between authenticity and performance grows ever thinner.
Intellect: The Ultimate Differentiator
In an era where style can be instantly emulated and trends rapidly globalized, intellect has become the final, authentic differentiator. The modern literary It-girl is not defined by the size of her library, but by her ability to curate, contextualize, and interpret culture with nuance. As AI threatens to automate thought itself, critical analysis and cultural fluency ascend in value—context, reference, and discernment become the rarest forms of currency.
Show, Don’t Tell: The Rise of Intellectual Transparency
This evolution is fueling a compulsion to “show your work.” Outfit videos are increasingly punctuated by runway references; books are dissected and discussed on camera; conversations are enriched by article citations, not just viral soundbites. Today, cachet lies in the ability to anchor one’s style and persona within a sophisticated intellectual framework.
The Intellectual It-Girl Arrives
The literary It-girl has transformed into her intellectual successor. No longer limited to fiction, she subscribes to political newsletters, carefully curates her media intake, and delights in the hyper-specific. Esoteric references and niche fixations are now emblems of discernment, signaling a deliberate distance from the mainstream.
Intelligence Is in Vogue
In a landscape saturated with surface-level content, the renewed appetite for reading and critical thinking—even when filtered through an aesthetic lens—signals a collective yearning for substance. Whether this marks a true intellectual revival or simply its latest stylized iteration remains to be seen. For now, intelligence is in vogue—and, for the first time in years, that feels genuinely exhilarating.
