Polaroid: celebrities opt for the retro cool of a less hackable medium

It’s true that we no longer need Polaroid cameras to get that sinful hit of instant gratification (all photos being now viewable on our devices as soon as we've taken them). But what no phone camera can ever replace, and even an Instagram filter can only aspire to, is that glorious bleached-out effect. Girls look like Debbie Harry c. 1975, while boys channel Lou Reed around the same time (sunken eyes and a deathly pallor – what could possible be cooler?)

So we’re not entirely surprised to learn that after real records, real books and real magazines, under 25s are rediscovering the joys of the real Polaroid. There’s another big advantage for the famous and not so famous; Polaroids cannot be hacked, or shared on social media, or ‘sexted’ to all and sundry. Taylor Swift has used Polaroid artwork on her 1989 album cover, and FKA twigs, Lana Del Rey and Miley Cyrus have all flirted with the Polaroid; Tumblr, the hip microblogging site, is flooded with the characteristic white-bordered images (proving that if you're willing to take a photograph of a photograph, even Polaroids can be shared).

Creed O’Hanlon is CEO of The Impossible Project, which took over manufacturing Polaroid products in 2007. He told the Guardian, ‘In the past 10 months we have seen a 75% increase in the 18-25 demographic, with teenagers turning their backs on digital for something more tangible. Over the past six months, we have doubled the volume of films we sell and refurbished more than 30,000 classic Polaroid cameras. Next year, we expect these numbers to double.’

I already know what I’m buying my goddaughter for Christmas – but to get a flavour of the craze visit Tumblr (and if you've developed a weakness for One Direction due to prolonged proximity to the teenage girls in your life, follow Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson’s rather charming Polaroid…stagram? blog for a candid camera take on the boys’ antics.