First there was unicorn slime — shimmery lumps of colourful goop made from mixing Borax with glitter glue. Its purpose? Unclear, other than holding it in your hands and stretching it. The sparkly stuff took over online communities and DIY web pages.

Soon after came the food. Unicorn cupcakes, doughnuts, popsicles, corn on the cob, and everything else under the rainbow. And with the introduction of Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappuccino this spring, we reached peak unicorn.

The Star asked experts to help us understand the recent unicorn-mania in pop culture.

It’s no coincidence that unicorns are making a comeback just as a generation raised on The Last Unicorn and Legend are coming of age. “Unicorns are enticing to millennials now because they associate them with childhood nostalgia,” says Isabel Pederson, Canada Research Chair of digital life, media, and culture.

Pederson, who teaches at the Institute of Technology at the University of Ontario, points to the popularity of fantasy narratives such as Harry Potter and Game of Thrones as media perpetuating the myth in popular culture today, the same way woven tapestries from the Medieval period would tell tales of the white horse with its magical horn.

Colour is making a comeback

Perhaps as a pushback against “normcore” and our drab political climate, colour is undoubtedly making a comeback. Unicorns have traditionally been associated with rainbows and bright colours thanks to entertainment franchises such as My Little Pony.

“It’s a fun reminder that life can be playful,” said Ashley Brewsmith, who regards unicorns and the colour palette they evoke as more of a culture change than a fad. She’s a hairdresser and owner of the Proudest Pony Hair & Co., a boutique salon specializing in rainbow hair colouring. On any given day, patrons can walk out of her establishment with fuchsia balayage or a multicoloured pompadour. The company’s logo is the silhouette of a rearing unicorn.

“The Pinterest generation is very aspirational, and we grew up with very borderline psychedelic media like Care Bears,” she says. “We’re also the generation that’s doing things differently. We don’t love the five-day work week and we don’t love being in an office all the time. Many of us were raised on the motto that we could ‘be whatever we wanted to be’ so hey, if we want to rock unicorn hair that we feel magical about, then we will.”

The Internet and digital culture have also played a significant role in popularizing unicorns. In the technology sector, a unicorn is a company valued at more than $1 billion.

“The term unicorn has been popularized thanks, in part, to the ballooning spotlight on technology industry’s hottest startups” technology expert Amber Mac says. “Today, according to TechCruch, there are almost 200 private tech companies valued at more than $1 billion each.” (To provide some perspective, that’s compared to about 40 in 2013).

“With the millennial generation fiercely competing to work at one of these ‘unicorns,’ they’ve given this beloved mythical creature a rebirth as a symbol of success” Mac says.