Newstalgic 2000s: An aesthetic revival

2000s fashions have undeniably made a comeback. Rhinestones, bold colour palettes and prints, wide belts, and prominent logos are now in vogue again… literally. Vogue has published countless articles addressing how the various trends that arose during the era are now being revived.

Driven by popular films like Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, and The Devil Wears Prada that are now being re-produced or given prequels and sequels, we might perceive the revival of 2000s fashions as representing a shift in popular culture more widely.

Consider also that these 2000s styles were largely inspired by the 1960s – only to have returned now, quite a few years later. So, while it is difficult, if not impossible, to establish an objective fashion timeline for the 2000s era (or any for that matter), we can dive into some of its most iconic trends and how they’ve recently been modernised.

They all seem to be experiencing a collective state of ‘newstalgia’: nostalgic for those who lived through them and renewed by those who did not

This includes ‘Y2K’, ‘McBling’, and ‘Gen X Soft Club’ styles, all of which are often merged under the Y2K umbrella, but that are really either adjacent to or evolutions of it. And if you’re now wondering ‘what exactly is McBling?’, let me sum it up in a criminally over-simplified way: think Juicy Couture, Ed Hardy, Von Dutch, and bedazzled flip phones. Brands are inherent to McBling, often described as tacky and tasteless, so it is unsurprising to find that the former half of its title refers to McDonald’s and McMansions, standing for the hyper-consumerist and commercialised nature of its time.

In terms of Gen X Soft Club, that’s quite different – it is techy, muted, and blue-toned, in-line with the kind of melancholic chic of Lost in Translation. Y2K is positioned between these: colourful and bold, yet futuristic, like the bright red latex jumpsuit Britney Spears wore in her timeless ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ music video.

It seems that the 2000s fashions we reference today often also encompass those worn in the late 1990s too. In an attempt to pinpoint a rough chronology, Gen X Soft Club was around from about the early 1990s until 2002, Y2K from the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, and McBling from the early 2000s to 2008. Many suggest that the transition period between Y2K and McBling styles occurred most noticeably between 2002-2003.

We can choose what to repeat and redesign from 2000s aesthetics

But what do these have in common? They all seem to be experiencing a collective state of ‘newstalgia’: nostalgic for those who lived through them and renewed by those who did not. Fashion naturally follows a pattern of circularity but, with social media as a catalyst, these styles seem to be especially popularised.

Popularised, however, has also sometimes meant sexualised. McBling was especially renowned for this, considering the brands embedded in its culture. Playboy, Victoria’s Secret, and g-strings above the waistline all had offending parts to play in the era’s projection of body standards and, importantly, remind us of what not to repeat today.

Still, hindsight is 20/20. We can choose what to repeat and redesign from 2000s aesthetics. Many of its iconic looks were worn by celebrities of the time, namely Paris Hilton, Christina Aguilera, and Victoria Beckham. Being students, however, doesn’t stop us from taking inspiration to upgrade our own wardrobes – if only to attend lectures and library study sessions.