Why The Squat Is The Hottest Instagram Pose Of The Year

In an Instagram post from March 14, artist Cami Arboles squats in a white dress over a pair of chunky heels, her gaze coyly sent beyond her left shoulder. Later in the carousel, from her 24th birthday celebration, two friends pose a level below the rest of the party, knees out, butts down. The post has over 15,000 likes.

“I feel like a statue when I pose like that, like I belong in a museum,” Arboles tells Bustle, of the aesthetic squat.

The cool kids of the internet are no longer standing tall — they’re dropping low. Though the year has just begun, it looks like the best Instagram pose for 2022 has already been claimed by the squat. The vibe is both complex and casual. It’s giving movement, while also serving, “I’ll stay seated, thank you.”

“Somehow I always make my way down to the ground for a candid photo,” creator Olivia Rouyre tells Bustle. “Squatting just feels natural, less posed,” she adds. The 22-year-old actor, model, and best friend of Emma Chamberlain — a fellow squatter — curates a grid that could easily be a mood board for a magazine, but insists that she’s actually a “casual poster.” That’s the 2022 Instagram way, after all. “The biggest thing for me is being comfortable — I like how I look better when I’m in a squat because I’m relaxed,” she says.

While the mid-step influencer outfit flex might have seemed like the pose of 2021, its staged-ness makes it officially passé. The squat takes the spot as the Instagram pose of 2022 because it’s dynamic. Dropping your rear to your heels takes more effort than sitting in a chair, but looks as effortless as a stoop hang or as try-hard as a dance move, depending on the ‘fit you serve with it. A good squat also solves the riddle of what to do with your hands in a photo — you use them to stay balanced — while also helping you create an interesting shape with your body with minimal effort. “The days of the arm pop and overly staged poses are over,” Rouyre says.

According to fashion trend analyst Mandy Lee, while the squat might look like a low-key, “I’m too chill to even get up for this picture” pose, it’s actually a pretty calculated position. “I think the reason the squat is one of the trendiest poses right now is because it’s a way to capture full body outfits without a 'standing up' pose,” she says. What’s more, when you scale back and look at the grid as a whole, Lee says the squat is also “a way to break up and diversify their Instagram feed."

It-Girl photographer Davis Bates tells Bustle that “comfort poses” like the squat are spreading on Instagram right now for a reason — they come naturally. “People are just trying to feel and look good.”

If you’re new to squatting, Rouyre suggests taking bursts of photos, starting in a standing position, and working your way down to the floor. “There’s always a good shot in between the ones you mean to take, a little moment that catches you candidly,” as if teetering on the balls of your feet over the floor with your butt just out of frame were truly candid.

You heard it here first. The next time you take a selfie, the vibe is pretending you’re using the port-a-potty at a festival — just make it fashion.