Coolness is an unsteady companion. It comes to the unsuspecting, those who did not plan for its arrival, and never seems to stay for too long. Though most things have the potential to be cool if the “zeitgeist,” a German word which means spirit of the time, is right – the U.S. certainly has a list of serial trendsetting offenders.

France, Britain and Japan come to mind. Italy, Spain and Korea certainly belong in this conversation as well. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has no appreciation for any of these places – for their food or their culture.

These countries just have that special sauce, an air of sophistication, of exoticism or of stylishness. Therefore, being trendy on social media usually means incorporating elements from these cultures when selecting an outfit, music taste or dinner.

Japanese matcha, haute couture, “European summer” in Spain or Italy, K-Pop, UK-Drill, Japanese fashion, old money aesthetic… The list goes on.

They have a certain appeal that Germany has always seemed to lack. German culture may be cozy, homey and sophisticated, but it has never been particularly sexy. The country has long struggled to lose its association with beer festivals and pretzels, with medieval old towns, old composers, painters and philosophers.

Modern German music is an afterthought on the world stage and an assault on any eardrum. German fashion, to most, usually involves leather pants – both the brown cowhide and black latex kind – and German food seems to lack any potential for virality. Who wants pork roast and potatoes on their timeline instead of creamy garlic gochujang pasta?

And yet, German cultural exports have consistently managed to infiltrate the American, particularly the Californian, zeitgeist.

Walking around on any California university campus, one is sure to encounter a plethora of fashion styles. From rugged skate-rats to dark, edgy emo-styles and nostalgic alternative influences, some shoes have had a tight grip on the closets of CSUN students.

The most obvious example is the Adidas Samba. Once a humble pair of beaters for soccer fans around the globe, the shoes’ meteoric rise as a fashion staple and wardrobe essential in the 2020s had multiple contributing factors.

The growing popularity of the beautiful game and a shift away from the hip-hop-inspired streetwear of the 2010s certainly played a role. However, the explosion of TikTok microtrends and aesthetics labeled with the suffix “-core,” is the main culprit.

Sambas got their first boost as part of “Blokecore,” a trend referring to British terrace culture. While English football fans turned them into part of a youth-culture uniform, Sambas were thought of as bland and boring in Germany. As a result, social media associated them with Brits in tracksuits screaming at soccer players and opposing fans from their stadium ranks.

Though their hype soon died off, a similar model stepped in to claim their spot. Once the humble sporting shoe of the German and Austrian military, the German Army Trainer (GAT), soon dominated social media in the same way as the Samba did. The catalyst for their success came from France, in the form of Parisian fashion house Maison Margiela.

In the ‘90s, the house started buying up large quantities of GATs to clean and re-lace them before finishing the design with an embossed logo. They even acknowledged their unoriginal approach by renaming their $750 version of the shoe “Replica”.

Since then, the shoe has become a mainstay in the closets of many fashion-forward individuals. They are the quintessential shoes for a generation that has been overtaken by the narcissism of small differences. Their look screams understatement, their price point whispers wealth and their “if-you-know-you-know” appeal speaks to those who want to set themselves apart from the crowd without drawing much attention.

However, Germany’s tight grip on the California footwear goes much further than Sambas and GATs. These shoes might be cool for a few years before fading back into their pre-social media obscurity, so what about a timeless piece – a backbone of SoCal style since the ‘60s? What about Birkenstocks?

Their name already alludes to their heritage, so why does it not raise associations to beer festivals and roast sausages? Because they became an icon not by association with German culture, but by becoming the hippies’ favorite Jesus sandal. Their comfort, simple design and sustainability have kept them relevant ever since the days of flower power.

The Boston model is the latest in a long line of Birkenstock silhouettes to have a real hype moment – a versatile clog that CSUN students have happily adopted into their wardrobes. Over the last 50 years, the brand slowly lost its associations with unshaved armpits and tree-hugging flower children, becoming universally loved by everyone from skaters to clean girls.

They, too, are experiencing a bit of German culture in their safe spaces – the Pilates studios. There, you can experience the beautiful cycle of underestimating the workout intensity, realizing what you’re in for, silently cursing the instructor for an hour and a half and waking up the next morning aching in places you didn’t know existed.

Thanks to social media’s ability to dig up niche workout methods and feed them to a large audience, pilates’ image shifted from the favorite conditioning of New York ballet dancers to Gen Z’s favorite third space to show off Alo sets, Stanley Cups and no-makeup-makeup. If only the poor souls strapped to a reformer, reconsidering their life choices, knew they could thank a German for their misery.

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was a German fitness pioneer who developed his namesake workout method to recover from an injury during World War I. His studio later found success among German ballet dancers and emigrated to New York in 1926, bringing pilates to the United States.

The Big Apple ate him up. He trained famous ballerinas, actresses and rich wives, spreading his method throughout the country. From there, it turned into a wellness fad in the ‘90s before blowing up on TikTok in the 2020s.

Pilates in 2025 has more than enough worldbuilding to stand the test of time. There is a Pilates body – white, skinny and toned. There is a Pilates outfit – pastel sets by Alo Yoga or Lululemon. There is a Pilates demographic – “West Village Girls” from all over America. Pilates cups, after-Pilates-meals, Pilates Princesses… the story remains the same – the idea, method and product spreads, while the Germanness stays behind.

Are the Germans so incredibly sad that somehow no one will recognize their contribution to this fortune’s wheel of trends?

Not in the slightest. No German will accuse Americans of being culture vultures for wearing Adidas and munching on granola. For the most part, they are happy that people stopped talking about them for all the wrong reasons and decided to buy their cars instead.

Having cultural clout is nice, especially in Los Angeles. Having anything of interest past your nationality, however, might be nicer. Many great things await those who decide to dig deeper – to learn about the things they do. Broadening your horizon and expanding your knowledge of the world is the key to living consciously – and if you don’t live consciously, are you truly Californian?