Nymphet Alumni is an American fashion and cultural commentary podcast founded in 2021 and hosted by Alexi Alario, Sam Cummins, and Biz Sherbert. It is credited with coining the term "blokette" (a portmanteau of "blokecore" and "coquette," which describes a style combining coquette fashion with British football apparel) and its American counterpart, "broquette." They were described by

Interview Magazine ''Interview'' is an American magazine founded by pop artist Andy Warhol and journalist John Wilcock in 1969. The magazine, nicknamed "The Crystal Ball of Pop," features interviews of and by celebrities. Background In 1965, pop artist Andy War ...

as "equal parts cool-girl historians and low-key visionaries" and by stylist

Mel Ottenberg Mel Ottenberg (born 1976) is an American wardrobe stylist and the editor-in-chief of ''Interview'' magazine. From 2011 to 2019, he worked as Rihanna's stylist and has styled numerous other high profile musicians, actresses, and celebrities. In 20 ...

as "three fun gals talking about culture and stuff". In March 2025 they were featured in

i-D ''i-D'' is a British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. The magazine was launched in 1980 by Terry Jones, originally as a hand-stapled fanzine it has since evolved into a glossy publication. In 2023 the ...

as one of seven viral creators "shaping the internet" and were picked for

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

's "best podcasts of the week" in November 2024.

Content

Nymphet Alumni's episodes cover analysis, prediction, and commentary of past and future trends, blending internet and pop culture knowledge with cultural theory and criticism. They were noted in ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

'' for their ability to "will trends into existence" and for "demystifying aesthetic codes and making cultural analysis interesting to a new generation of young women." In addition to TikTok and pop culture, they also take inspiration from scholars like

Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan (, ; July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media studies, media theory. Raised in Winnipeg, McLuhan studied at the University of Manitoba a ...

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...

, and Stephan Greenblatt. The first two episodes were dedicated to an analysis of

American Apparel American Apparel Inc. is a North American clothing retailer. The brand began with operating retail stores between the late 1980s and late 2010s. Its operations are based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Canadian businessman Dov Charney in ...

and its cultural impact, and they have gone on to record over 100 episodes on various fashion and cultural trends. Episodes include "Sugar Cookie Consumerism," "Dark Suburbia and the Xandemic," "Mass Bushwick," "Spiritual Bimboism," "Into the Superflat," "Shoe Diva," "Male Pirate Dressing," and "Pastel Protestant Grandmother." They offer additional paid content through their

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...

. The podcast has hosted a mix of academics, musicians, journalists, influencers, and artists as guests including The Dare,

, Dr. Valerie Steele,

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...

Caroline Munro Caroline Jane Munro ( ; born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in ...

, and

Avery Trufelman Avery Trufelman is a podcaster and radio producer. She is best known for her work on ''99% Invisible'' (2013–2020) and its spin-off, ''Articles of Interest'' (2018–present). Background Avery was born into a "radio family" of two WNYC produce ...

Blokette

Nymphet Alumni's "Blokette" episode came out on October 30, 2022, and describes the style as British sportswear elements (such as jerseys, oversized jackets, Adidas Sambas, and scrunch socks) combined with coquette style (such as ribbons, bows, braids, baby tees, mini skirts/shorts). The podcast has been attributed as the originator of the term "blokette" by publications such as

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

, and Harper's Bazaar Singapore. The term has since been seen on the

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

and in publications including

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

, and

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

. Celebrities that have been identified with this style include

Bella Hadid Isabella Khair Hadid ( ; born October 9, 1996) is an American model. Hadid has made 35 appearances on international ''Vogue'' covers. In 2022, she was named Model of the Year by the British Fashion Council. ''Time'' magazine named her one ...

Hailey Bieber Hailey Rhode Bieber (nee Baldwin; born November 22, 1996) is an American model, socialite, creative director and businesswoman. She is the founder and chief creative officer of her namesake skin care company Rhode, and has featured in campaign ...

, and

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

Podcast Origin

Alario, Cummins, and Sherbert met on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and are based in New York, Texas, and London respectively. They started chatting via voice note DMs during the lockdown of 2020. Eventually, Sherbert, a writer and critic whose work has appeared in The Face,

AnOther Magazine ''Another Magazine'', styled ''AnOther'', is an international fashion and culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, bel ...

, and

, pitched the podcast idea to Alario, who was finishing her critical and visual studies degree at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

, and Cummins, who was living in Texas working as a waitress, after seeing a need for more discourse on how internet culture has shaped fashion and aesthetics. They started brainstorming in a Google Doc, and “sparks flew.” They didn't meet in person until 2022, after months of virtual podcasting together. Their podcast name is a reference to early-2010s Tumblr culture.

References

{{reflist 2021 podcast debuts American podcasts