Our Roman Empires Of The Year
A catalogue of obsessions we had no business obsessing over, and yet, here we are.
There is a question floating endlessly throughout the internet: “What’s your Roman Empire?”
Loosely translated: Which oddly specific cultural phenomenon occupies unnecessary real estate in your brain, long after it deserved to leave?
At Le Mill, we took inventory, and what emerged was a museum of collective fixation; fashion dramas, internet aesthetics, cultural plot twists, and design choices that felt deeply unnecessary yet absolutely essential.
Consider this our 2025 confession.
1. The Louvre Chaos
The world’s most famous museum, swarmed with tourists, was ambushed like a runway show, except the jewels really walked off.
No smoke bombs. No dramatic music. Just precision, blinding audacity and getaway scooters.
2. Watching Jane Birkin Prices Climb Like Real Estate
The woman just wanted a fit-it-all tote never knowing she created the most expensive waitlists in history.
3. The Labubu Takeover
A haunted-looking doll became the most coveted object in the room. Collectors queued, adults fought, and entire economies shifted.
Nothing says late-capitalist tenderness like paying a premium to be watched by something mildly unsettling.
4. The Gentrification of Matcha
Green tea…elevated to haute café couture. Once a meditative ritual, now a ‘ceremonial grade’ label designed by someone who also freelances for tech start-ups. We drink it anyway, obviously!
5.The Chokehold of ‘Clean Girl Aesthetic”
Is it skincare? Is it moral identity? Is it just hair gel?
We’re still processing.
6. Jonathan Anderson Left Loewe, and We All Collectively Sighed
A tragedy in three acts:
Denial.
Grief.
Frantic re-watching of runway clips while whispering, “We were living in a golden age and didn't realise it.”
7.Studio Ghibli x Chat GPT = The Cultural Jumpscare
We adore technology and revere Miyazaki but some things should remain human; emotions, childhood wonder, and the sanctity of Totoro.
8.Capri Pants: The Comeback We All Swore Would Never Happen
And yet fashion shrugged and said “Uh-huh”
9.The Coldplay ‘Kiss Cam’
Grown Adults wept, couples embraced, and somewhere a PR intern high-fived themselves.
10.The Internet Deciding That Everything Is “Aesthetic”
Fridges. Dustbins. Power strips. Existential dread.
11. Kris Jenner’s Makeover
Kim? Is that you? Surprise! Its her mother: Kris Jenner. Ahead of 70th birthday, the Kardashian matriach embarked on an extensive facelift. She debuted her ‘new face’ on IG making us scroll back twice.
12. The Era of Girl Dinner
Cheese. Olives. Grapes. A glass of wine. Feminism?
13. Performative Male Summer
Suddenly men had feelings which were loudly and theatrically curated for social feeds.
A gender renaissance…or just better filters?
14. Oasis Reunion Tour
Nostalgia became currency and we paid gladly.
15. “Is having a boyfriend embarrassing now?” Vogue’s Accidental Grenade
An essay meant as cultural critique turned into a moral referendum. Hot takes. Cold takes. Think pieces about the think piece.
Dating became less about partnership, more about optics.
16. Wicked: “For Good” Press Tours
Cynthia and Ariana were animated, meme-able and deeply online, giving us a masterclass on how press junkets became cinematic universes.
