Low-rise and baggy jeans, mini skirts, baby tees, and chunky earrings, this influx of nostalgic pieces may leave one wondering when these trends came back. Stores have recently been hopping on the trend of remimagining past trends in a modern lens.
Hollister recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, releasing their “Y2K Vault” collection with pieces from past lines reimagined. The collection has helped to boost the brand’s total sales by almost 20% according to Drapers. According to Hollister, the reliance on their teen audience for their sales prompted this drop. This begs the question of what the new generation’s intrigue with throwback styles stems from.
With the increased use of social media in today’s world, ideas are spread rapidly. Trends become widespread at a much quicker pace. Entire careers are made of spreading new ideas, ranging from fashion to beauty. One video can reach thousands of people, planting the seeds for a new trend to blossom.
Nostalgia also plays a significant role, with many finding comfort in dressing in styles that were popular in different decades, using old-fashioned trends to dress in a new and unique way that not many others do, instead of following mainstream trends. The new generations are all about expressing themselves, and fashion is just one of the many ways to do that.
Along with following old-fashioned trends, thrifting and repurposing have also grown in popularity and could pose an answer to the question of why new generations love old styles of clothing so much. The label of “vintage” now strikes a chord with so many and can make almost anything appealing. Going to a thrift store and seeing something nice for a cheap price, and the idea that you’re doing something good for the environment by reusing and rewearing, is very self-rewarding.
Maybe Y2K is so enticing because so much went on at that time in the world. Some may associate different styles of clothing with different periods of time or events that happened, and use them as a way to hold onto the past. Many life-changing things happened then, such as new technology emerging like Apple’s iPod, new music genres and artists, new entertainment services like Netflix, and many international developments. Social media also started its rise in popularity at this time.
It has been shown that when major events happen, people associate them with things popular at the time. Maybe new generations have been latching on to the nostalgia of all of these advancements from the 2000s and trying to represent them through their clothing.
Fashion plays a very important role in today’s world. When trends like this one are spread, it might just be proof that people trust one another so much that they can follow along with almost anything they see others do and get attention from.
Or clothes from the 2000s were just so cool that everyone wants to bring them back because they’re tired of the trends we have now. Trends can roll both ways; some are random, and some are intentional.
