This is not so much as a design trend as a designer's in-joke that is getting more attention than it deserves. While more dimensionality vs. texture and gradien

This is not so much as a design trend as a designer's in-joke that is getting more attention than it deserves. While more dimensionality vs. texture and gradients for depth is definitely where things are going and this is part of it, it's like saying coughs are the new trend while there's a flu epidemic. If you're stuck emulating little techniques like this to stay current you're doing it wrong.