Return of Y2K fashion: why the Gen Z looks of Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are making a comeback
- From the Fendi Baguette to crop tops to boot cut jeans, Y2K fashion is on the way back, with millennials embracing its nostalgic style
- We look back at clothing trends that stood for a simpler time
Walking into H&M a few weeks ago felt a little bit like going back in time. Crop tees, flared trousers, flatform sandals … I had, somehow, inadvertently stumbled into 2003, a time when I would go home after school, log on to MSN Messenger and talk to the friends I’d literally last seen an hour ago.
Back then, my biggest worries were homework and whether any of the boys I fancied had spared me a passing thought. Now, my concerns lean more towards things like if I’ve slathered enough antibacterial gel on my hands and whether a tickle at the back of my throat could be Covid-19-related.
That, and also boys.
Maybe that’s why a number of millennials (born in the 1980s and early ’90s) like me are wholeheartedly embracing Y2K fashion – it was a simpler time, and we’re nostalgic for it. The trend is not new – it has been steadily picking up steam for a few years – but now it’s in full force.
We’re not just seeing this on the high street – major fashion labels are embracing the throwback, too. Tom Ford’s autumn/winter 2020 collection saw a return to low-slung trousers on the catwalk.
A Skims campaign video, released in October 2020 to promote its velour collection, even features Hilton and Kardashian in 2003-esque tracksuits made stylish for 2021.
Many of us millennials, once we gave up our tattoo chokers, dresses-as-tops and butterfly clips, swore we’d consign our fashion fails to the annals of history, but the Y2K revival means it’s probably high time we looked back at some of the many trends that helped define the OG decade.
Louis Vuitton x Murakami
Murakami’s artistry lent the label a much-needed playful, youthful edge with his use of multicoloured monogram prints and cheerful cherry blossoms. The blend of art and fashion was so popular that the collaboration lasted until 2015, making it an early-noughties trend that’s passed the test of time.
Midriff-baring tops
While they were popular before the 2000s and will be again, crop tops, baby T-shirts and strappy tops that showed off your midriff were a classic ’00s staple. The likes of Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson all loved a good cropped moment, and Sarah Jessica Parker wore plenty of crop tops and boob tubes as Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. Let’s face it, we were all living for it.
Fendi Baguette
The iconic ’90s It bag was created in 1997 by designer Silvia Venturini Fendi. It is a compact handbag with a short strap and can be tucked under the arm in the same way the actual French loaf is carried.
The bag was popularised by Sex and the City’s Carrie (hello again!) – in an episode from 2000, the newspaper columnist is robbed at gunpoint and, when the thief demands she hands over her sparkly Fendi, she tells him “it’s a Baguette”. The rest is fashion history.
The design’s popularity has waxed and waned since its inception but has seen a revival in recent years. It can be seen in high street stores like Zara as well as on the runway – Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2020 bag collection featured a sleek, white shoulder bag by designer Demna Gvasalia that looked pretty baguette-like.
And, in true cyclical fashion spirit, Parker even brought Carrie back for a Fendi Baguette bag campaign in 2019.
Low rise, boot cut/wide-legged/flared pants
One of the easiest ways to pick out millennials from a crowd is our skinny jeans, say Gen Z TikTokers. While that may be true – who can forget the coloured skinnies of the late ’00s? – we also did the boot cut, flared thing before they did (yes, I’m aware they were a thing in the ’70s first).
We liked them so much, we wore them to major, glam events – Alicia Keys was spotted in boot cut jeans at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen wore jeans on the red carpet in the 2000s, and Mischa Barton rocked up to the Kids’ Choice Awards in 2004 in bootcuts and a nice top.
The pandemic may have gone some way in helping us let go of our nearly two decades-long love affair with the skinny jean. After a year of comfy loungewear, many of us are reluctant to get back into anything skintight and structured. Both spring/summer 2021 and autumn/winter 2021 collections have showcased loose trousers and jeans, from Dior, The Row and DSquared2 to Stella McCartney, Chanel and Tom Ford.
Platform/chunky footwear
The platform shoe’s popularity, which had tapered off somewhat after the 1970s, hit new heights in the mid- to late-1990s thanks to the endorsement of celebrities such as the Buffalo trainer-wearing Spice Girls, Steve Madden’s iconic Slinky platform sandals, and teen films like 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You. Almost any and every shoe that could be elevated literally was, from sandals to mules to trainers to boots.
The chunky shoe is back for the TikTok generation, thanks to stars like Ariana Grande and Gigi Hadid snapping ’gram-worthy shots in their chunky kicks. The runway, too, has seen a return to platforms, such as in the Tory Burch spring/summer 2020 show and the Valentino autumn/winter 2020 collection. Steve Madden has also revived its flatform Slinky slide several times, most recently in the Steve Madden 30th Anniversary Capsule Collection.
These are, of course, not all the Y2K trends we’re seeing making a return. Our headwear game is being furnished with classic ’90s staples like bucket hats, bandanas and berets, Clueles s-esque skirt suits are gracing the rails of Zara and on sites like Asos, biker shorts are acceptable in public again and lingerie is once more peeking out from under sheer blouses and translucent high-neck tops.
As Paris Hilton used to say: “That’s hot.”
