The Race To Kill Instagram’s Nostalgia Accounts

First @velvetcoke was ​“disabled” by Instagram. Before being tossed headlong into the digital ether, the account’s owner, Naomi, shared images of major key celebs who shaped the ​’70s, ​’80s, and ​‘90s, like Axl Rose and Alicia Silverstone. She posted upwards of five times a day to 940,000 odd followers, which included Kendall Jenner and Shawn Mendes. Each post was accompanied by a short caption with a fun fact or description for context. For The Face, I run a series on my account @treytylor in partnership with @velvetcoke called ​“Hollyweird,” detailing forgotten or lesser-known stories about everyone from Kate Moss to Kurt Cobain. After her seventh copyright notice, @velvetcoke’s account was greyed out. ​“User not found,” Instagram declared. Less than a month later, @90sanxiety was taken down. Its owner James shared pre-millennium images of Princess Diana in biker shorts, the cast of Friends and a coquettish Winona Ryder to 880,000 followers on what author Anna Wiener accurately describes in her book Uncanny Valley as a platform that helps “[people] feel close to celebrities and other strangers they’d loathe in real life”. Instagram was made for this: sharing photos or nostalgic moments, of stuff we can all double-tap and reminisce upon. Or so we thought. Read more at The Face.