Y2K was the main character of the spring 2022 collections. From low-rise jeans to baby tees to the mini-est of mini skirts, the look that had been dominating Gen Z TikTok and Instagram archive accounts made its way onto the runways and into campaigns and editorials. While little is left to be said about the fashion, be it its skimpiness or its skinniness, it’s worth noting that the Y2K trend was avidly embraced. Many of us had seen it all before, but considering the loungewear and athleisure we were all living in during the pandemic, high-octane millennium glam felt fresh.
Now, though, with the spring 2023 collections approaching, Y2K is starting to feel a little played out. How many times can we see baby tees with crystal logos, cargo pants, and lowrise jeans on a runway and call them new? The question is: What’s next?
My best guess is that it’ll be something we’ve seen before. A somewhat made-up but eerily accurate rule states that fashion’s cyclicality sees trends resurface around 20 years after their initial runs. It was true for Y2K, and it was true for ’90s grunge when it came back via Tumblr in the early 2010s. So, here I am placing bets on what comes after Y2K. If you’re still with me, read on to take a trip down memory lane (or to a land of new discoveries, if you’re younger than, let’s say, 20).
Indie sleaze
It’s 2008, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” by the Arctic Monkeys is playing on your iPod. You’re wearing ripped tights with worn-out Converse and a big band tee (from Urban Outfitters, not true vintage) cut into a tank with vertiginously deep armholes. Your friend is sporting gold lamé leggings from American Apparel with a tiny dress vest and a skinny scarf. You’re on MySpace, but then start pulling up photos by Mark Hunter, aka The Cobrasnake, to see what your favorite celebrities are wearing. You see party pics where Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are in the crowd, next to maybe Kanye West or perhaps Tavi Gevinson.
Circa 2006 to 2013, the cool-girl aesthetic Indie Sleaze reigned supreme. Characterized by a grimy, chaotic mishmash of hipster fashion, ’80s maximalism, and ’90s grunge, Indie Sleaze was lo-fi and DIY but above all hedonistic. It was deeply tied to party culture (and to some values and romanticized aesthetics we have thankfully moved past from).
