I think detailed, illustrative icons can be iconic - human eyes are good parsing 3d things with complex shades, and the lighting and color can convey more infor

I think detailed, illustrative icons can be iconic - human eyes are good parsing 3d things with complex shades, and the lighting and color can convey more information than just 2d shapes. I think the purpose of an icon is to be instantly and universally recognizable, as opposed to being a platonic ideal of the thing being conveyed. It's just that skeuomorphism is out of fashion at the moment so this style look a bit dated.