WINNERS

ZOHRAN MAMDANI

Mamdani triumphed in New York’s mayoral election against overwhelming odds, including a vicious and often Islamophobic smear campaign, lukewarm support from his own party, and the deep pockets of billionaire donors backing rival Andrew Cuomo, who out-raised him more than seven to one. Mamdani achieved his victory partly by being a charismatic and skilful communicator, but also because he promised substantial improvements to people’s daily lives: rent controls, free childcare, free buses and cheaper groceries. This, along with the failure of the effort to smear him over his support for Palestine, could set a powerful precedent in American politics. But that wasn’t the only reason Mamdani became a beacon of hope: the fact that he and his incredibly cool wife, Rama Diwali, met on Hinge has inspired a generation of singletons to give the apps one last spin… (JG)

SABRINA CARPENTER 

I’ve always liked Sabrina’s schtick – I think she’s a brilliant pop star with a unique, unapologetically feminine brand; her songs are catchy (and surprisingly witty); and it’s good, in my opinion, for her young fans to see a woman be so candid and unashamed about being horny. But this year, for me, Sabrina went from being a mere generator of earworm-y pop songs to a bona fide force for good. I rated how unbothered she was by the boring, pearl-clutching backlash to the Man’s Best Friend album cover (God forbid a straight woman play with submissive sexual fantasies!). Then she used her VMAs performance to advocate for trans rights. Then, just this month, she immediately and unequivocally condemned the White House for using her song to soundtrack one of their pro-ICE propaganda videos, slamming the administration’s “inhumane agenda”. It’s refreshing to see a pop star with principles after years of T*ylor Sw*ft pussyfooting around politics completely. (SS)

THE SLOGAN: “THERE IS NO COMMUNITY WITHOUT INCONVENIENCE” 

This slogan was everywhere this year, which reflects an ongoing shift from a more individualistic notion of self-care (“you don’t owe anyone anything”, “protect your peace”) to one which acknowledges that we have obligations towards other people and that only ever doing what we feel like can stand in the way of what we really want. Any online catchphrase can become annoying if it’s repeated often enough, but “no community without inconvenience” is a useful idea to internalise. While it hasn’t inspired me to launch any grassroots organisations, it has inspired me to go to the pub when I couldn’t be bothered and generally made me less prone to cancelling plans. A slogan by itself isn’t going to address the crisis of loneliness, but recognising that we have to make an effort is a good place to start. Even if you’re tired and in a bad mood, sometimes you have to put down the LED face mask and go to your friend’s birthday drinks. (JG)

SALLY ROONEY 

Sally Rooney is a bad b in every sense of the word. Not only does she write heart-shattering literature, but she’s also an incredibly principled individual. When news came out that Palestine Action was being proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government, she pledged to use the income from her work, including the BBC adaptations of Normal People and Conversations With Friends, to support the group’s efforts. “I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can,” she said. The High Court has since told Rooney that it was “almost certain” she could not publish new novels in the UK, and may have to withdraw her current books because of the ban on Palestine Action. Despite that, she asserts that she will “continue to be a committed supporter.” (HJ)

THE SKARSGÅRD CLAN

I was initially just going to put Alexander Skarsgård on this list because he’s been a favourite of mine for a long time. His sinister performance as Perry Wright in Big Little Lies, his outrageous guest appearance in Donald Glover’s Atlanta and now his role as a sexy BDSM daddy in Harry Lighton’s Pillion, you quite literally never know what this crazy chica will do next. Remember when he dressed as a little British school boy while being interviewed on Lorraine?

But Alexander isn’t the only Skarsgård to have captured our hearts. Bill Skarsgård continues to haunt our nightmares as Pennywise – both in IT and the prequel series Welcome to Derry – and recently divided the internet with his sexy (contentious) take on Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. And then there’s Kolbjörn Skarsgård – the youngest of the eight siblings – who’s made his breakout in the 2025 Swedish horror series Blood Cruise.

Let’s not forget the patriarch of the clan, Stellan Skarsgård, who stars in Joachim Trier’s acclaimed new film Sentimental Value. A man of real class and integrity, he spoke to Vulture in October about the illusion of freedom under capitalism: “In America, people think social democracy is some kind of communism. They think capitalism is freedom. It’s not. It’s only freedom to exploit people.” Real!! Shout out to that whole family. Talented and smart. (HJ)

ARIANA GRANDE AND CYNTHIA ERIVO 

OK, hear me out. I am aware of all the controversy surrounding Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo and their bodies. But this is not what I am here to talk about today. I am here to talk about their other controversy: their closeness, which I greatly support. The clip people use to exemplify how “odd” their closeness is is an interview they did last year with Entertainment Tonight, where Erivo is crying because the reporter says Elphaba’s perfectly represented what it feels like to be othered and relates that to her Blackness. This deeply touched Erivo, and while both Black women were tearing up, a helicopter flew overhead, and Ariana shooed it away, saying, “Not now, helicopter”. Since its release last year, this interview has been misread and framed as if Erivo is having a panic attack because of the helicopter, with Ariana babying her.

This clip is one of many that have been taken out of context. I honestly think people’s reactions to their friendship are more telling of them than of Erivo and Grande. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Nobody knows how to be friends anymore! Most people believe the intimacy the pair shares is odd because they deem it appropriate only in romantic relationships. You can be weird, emotional and coddle-ly with your friends, too. As much as everyone has hated Grande and Erivo’s displays of affection (they are also drama kids, remember that), I have loved and appreciated them. Their relationship serves as a great reminder of how life-affirming friendships are and should be. (HJ)

AGEING 

OK, so technically ageing is losing big time this year (look at the faces of Kris Jenner, Lindsey Lohan and Mandy Moore). We are all becoming more aware and anxiously attuned to the tightening of celebrities’ faces, and they’re not ashamed of it either. It’s so sad because ageing is a privilege. Having smile lines and wrinkles by your eyes and mouth to show that you laugh, smile, cry and feel are such wonderful, beautiful things that we shouldn’t run from. So even though visibly ageing is losing amongst the celebrity class, it wins in my eyes because it’s awesome, and genuinely refreshing to see people allow themselves to naturally age before our eyes. Isabella Rossellini, I’m looking at you, girl! (HJ)

LOSERS

KEIR STARMER 

There’s not much to say about Keir Starmer that we haven’t said before, but he has managed to become an even bigger loser this time round, having become one of the least popular politicians in the Western world. No matter how cravenly Labour tries to appease the right – banning Palestine Action, overseeing a vicious rowback of trans rights, toying with the idea of confiscating jewellery from asylum seekers – they still hate him as much as, if not more than, the left do, and even his natural constituency of sensible centrists are beginning to lose patience. It’s surely only a matter of time before he gets ousted: whoever replaces him will probably be just as bad. But it will be satisfying when his career ends in humiliation, and he is remembered only as a dismal failure. (JG)

LABUBUS

I still can’t believe anyone bought these heinous little things. They weren’t even cute. Consumerism really is a psy op. (SS)

SYDNEY SWEENEY 

I’ll keep this short and sweet: Sydney Sweeney has had one hell of a year (negative). From her weird eugenics-coded jean ad with American Eagle, being defended by the Trump administration, her bathwater fiasco with Dr Squatch, and her box-office flop with the film Christy, Sweeny has fallen entirely out of public favour. I hope she sorts herself out next year, ‘cus things can’t continue this way… (HJ)

TAYLOR SWIFT

It may seem ridiculous to call Taylor Swift a loser when she has just released the fastest-selling album in history, but this felt like the year her iron-clad grip on the culture began to weaken. It wasn’t just the critics who were lukewarm on Life of a Showgirl: there were more dissenting voices than ever from within the ranks of the Swifties, many of whom showed great personal courage in admitting their disappointment, and in refusing to pretend that “did you girl boss too close to the sun?” or “every joke’s just trolling and memes” are good lyrics. She is still too big to fail, but her era of full-spectrum global hegemony may be coming to an end – much like the United States itself. (JG)

MEDIA LITERACY

Keep reading, everyone, please! Media literacy continues to be down the toilet. We’d especially love it if people read more than just the Instagram caption before commenting and missing the point of an article entirely x (TM)

TREND FORECASTERS 

Prefacing this with a disclaimer: I am pro-accessibility in the industry (it’s how I got here), but we need to require some form of filtering when it comes to slapping the term “trend forecaster” into your bio and job title. If you are telling me that functional garments and nostalgia are trending, please don’t. That’s not forecasting, that’s reporting! (TM)

NICKI MINAJ

I do not want the Barbz to come after me, but come on… You guys have to admit that the last few months have not been good for Ms Minaj. From her absolutely diabolical fight with Cardi B on X, where they were insulting each other’s children (a bad look for both of them), to Minaj’s public support of Trump and his administration and much more that I am too scared to mention – it has all just felt like an unfortunate and alarming year for her. (HJ)

NEEDING TO BE THE MOST NICHE PERSON

Having a niche interest is great... when it’s real. This year’s sweep of “performative XYZ” speaks volumes: some interests are authentic, but when people latch onto scenes, subcultures and identities they don’t actually want to connect with, it shows. Also, the coolest people just like what they like. Popular culture is popular for a reason: embrace it. (TM)

BEING ONLINE

Are you finding yourself falling for AI pictures? Did you also think Cynthia Erivo was having an anxiety attack because of a helicopter in the sky, because you uncritically believe everything you see on your phone and are passively absorbing every opinion and thought you see? Do you become a literal zombie every time you go on TikTok? You are a victim of being online, and it is killing your brain cells. We are losing this war!! And we must fight back!! (HJ)