The Revival of Y2K Fashion

10/02/2021

The fashion industry prides itself on bringing older clothing pieces and making them trendy once again. Every now and then, pieces of clothing trends are revived, blessing the older generation with nostalgia while also giving the newer generations a fresh lookbook. But because of the ongoing pandemic, we would've thought everyone would stray from the fashion industry, right? Well, if this isn't obvious yet, fashion clearly continued to rise.

So... what exactly is Y2K fashion?

Y2K alone stands for the year 2000— why Y2K Fashion refers to the unique fashion pieces from the late '90s and 2000s. Some of the pieces include chunky sneakers, tiny bags, tiny sunglasses, wide jeans, low-rise jeans, sparkly clothing, designer deadstock, trucker hats, baby tees, and more. It started in the late 1990s when people were anticipating the new era along with the emergence of technology. Their nervousness, excitement, and fear reflected well onto the fashion industry. Everyone splurged on luxury brands intending to bring a new futuristic look to the table. But later through the years, newer clothing trends emerged, and y2k was deemed out of trend.

Spread

To be honest, even I was surprised fashion was such a hot topic during quarantine. I expected everyone to not care as much about fashion since we were just staying home. Well, my predictions were right for a few weeks until the fashion storm on TikTok occurred. Limiting access to in-store purchases did not stop gen-z from shopping, so they did it online. Eventually, everyone was giving hauls, showing off their nostalgic outfits, and providing fashion advice on TikTok. It's hard to pinpoint when and who started it, but it surely spread throughout other social media platforms. With the spread, fast fashion was much rather encouraged in a way. However, we can see a change in this as more people started to promote thrifting and shopping at ethical and sustainable brands.

Overall thoughts

Different fashion senses will definitely influence your view on Y2K Fashion, of course. Personally, I think Y2K Fashion was a great hit. It brought a sense of nostalgia to many who lived during that era and also made older, vintage clothing pieces look trendy again. I didn't participate much in the y2k fashion trend, but I much rather preferred watching people style the different pieces of clothing. It was both entertaining and remarkable how people were able to bring joy amongst themselves during such a difficult time. Clothes that were seen as "out of date" and "old" for a period of time were revived and given a second chance. To be honest, who knew low-rise jeans would be trendy again? To some, this fashion trend might seem very tacky or "revealing", but I think you can always style it to your preference. Some people prefer a more minimalistic style so, at the end of the day, it's up to you to decide!

- Halena C.