Move over, Chappell Roan and disco cowgirl — a new aesthetic inspired by a not-so-new popstar has already taken over summer 2026, and a nihilistic TikTok meme is to blame. That’s right — the airbrushed Y2K tank and shiny hibiscus hair clips you just bought at TJ Maxx are back in, all thanks to Zara Larsson’s meteoric return to fame. Passionate fans are already rushing to her concerts in full “Midnight Sun” fashion, claiming the track as the song of the summer before the season has even hit.
The Coconut Girl neon-dolphin-core sensation, known as the “Midnight Sun” aesthetic, traces its roots to a TikTok meme posted by user @heiratet in August 2024. The image features an early 2000s, Lisa Frank-style image of a dolphin jumping out of the water with the caption “I’m depressed,” soundtracked by the chorus of Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson’s 2017 hit “Symphony.” The ironic “reverse hopecore” meme became a sweeping phenomenon online, with thousands of users posting pessimistic captions over the hyper-positive dolphin image and pop song. Seven years after “Symphony” became Larsson’s first number one hit in the UK, the track was once again stuck in the heads of countless users on TikTok and Instagram Reels.
To this point, Larsson has not been a household name in the US, but the Swedish singer has released multiple songs with significant success, including 2015’s “Lush Life” and “Never Forget You” and 2017’s “Symphony.” The international buzz around Larsson died down significantly after the 2010s, though, and these first few hits of hers became bygone staples of retail corporate playlists. When the “Symphony” dolphin meme became a global sensation, Larsson and her team could’ve easily laughed it off as a silly, fleeting moment online like any other nostalgic meme. However, Larsson took the 15 minutes of fame and ran with it for a total image rebrand: One that would greatly change the course of her career and fashion trends, launching her look to international icon status by mid-2026.
In September 2025, Larsson released her fifth studio album, Midnight Sun, to critical acclaim. Not only was the album full of Europop dance bangers, it came with its own signature aesthetic. On the “Midnight Sun” tour that began in October, Larsson and her dancers’ looks combined the neon Lisa Frank-esque imagery associated with the “Symphony” dolphin meme with the beachfront Y2K-inspired “Coconut Girl” aesthetic. Their makeup featured bright, saturated neon colors with festival-style ornamentation, while their outfits ranged from the custom airbrush tanks popular at beachside stands in the 2000s to mermaid-style netting over miniskirts with starfish and tropical flower accents. The "dopamine dressing" fashion and imagery of the tour harkened back to an early 2000s beach-vacation vibe that really resonated with Gen Z and solidified Larsson’s assertion in Midnight Sun‘s title track that “summer isn’t over yet.” But, rather ironically, the endless summer rebrand didn’t hit global sensation status until after the 2026 Winter Olympics.
In January 2026, British producer PinkPantheress released a remix of her song “Stateside” featuring Larsson as a single. A month later, American ice skater Alysa Liu was catapulted into stardom after coming out of early retirement and winning a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Liu’s ice skating routine at the Olympics’ Exhibition Gala was set to the “Stateside” remix featuring Larsson, and that routine’s opening moves instantly became a huge dance trend on TikTok. “Stateside + Zara Larsson” reached number one on both the Billboard Global 200 and the Spotify Global Daily Chart, a first for both artists involved. Suddenly, international attention was on Larsson more than ever before, and her rebrand stole the spotlight.
By spring 2026, videos of Larsson performing “Midnight Sun” on tour were consistently going viral. In the dance routine associated with the track, Larsson’s dancers lift her above their heads into a dolphin formation in homage to the meme that prompted Larsson’s flashy new look. TikTok dancers ate this routine up, and soon, fast fashion outlets, which had already been capitalizing on the Y2K trends of late, were stocking shelves full of glittering tropical pieces. Fans flocked to Larsson’s shows dressed to the Coconut Girl dolphin-core nines, regardless of the weather. TikTokers deemed “Midnight Sun” the 2026 song of the summer well before school was even out.
One could argue Larsson is finally getting the [hibiscus] flowers she deserves. Her live vocals are phenomenal, dance moves sensational and her public persona remains positive and approachable — more like the sunny dolphin images themselves than the demotivational quotes on top of them. TikTok is arguably the most influential social media platform out there right now, so don’t be surprised when the “Midnight Sun” aesthetic starts to pop up everywhere you turn this summer. In parts of Larsson’s native Sweden, the sun never sets during the summer, and it’s about time the world enjoyed some “golden hour all the time.”
